Coffee doesn't do it anymore.
What the hell's wrong with me?
Coffee washes OUT the B Vitamins which play a role in producing brain chemicals that affect mood and other brain functions. Low levels of B-12 and other B vitamins such as vitamin B-6 and folate are linked to insomnia, depression, anxiety.
And Low levels of these B vitamins can result from eating a poor diet
or not being able to absorb the vitamins you do consume as your gut is
lined with gluten. Older adults, vegetarians and people with digestive
disorders such as celiac disease (gluten intolerrance,) IBS or worse, Crohn's
disease may have trouble getting enough B-12.
suspected.
The best way to make sure you're getting enough B-12 and other B vitamins is to eat a healthy diet that includes sources of essential nutrients.Vitamin B-12 is plentiful in animal products such as fish, meat, poultry, eggs and milk. Fortified breakfast cereals also are a good source of B-12 and other B vitamins.
Taking a daily supplement that includes vitamin B-12 may or may not help your body get the nutrients it needs as most B-12 supplements are not asorbed. See "GET THE REAL THING OR SKIP IT."
It's not cheap so stop the coffee and maybe you can get by with VITAMIN B12 from liver but COFFEE would totally be the wrong tack to take if you have nerves, insomnia, anxiety, depression or that vivid imagination we know as schizophrenia. What this boils down to is... if you ever wished that you could take some magical vitamin for negative mindedness, well now you can, Vitamin B deficiency is the main cause of ripples in the brain or nervous system. Start by taking away the foods that wash precious Vitamin B Complex out of your body and caffeinated sodas and coffee are the main two offenders. Then simply add the FOODS that give Vitamin B Complex. Sit back and relax. Your mind will become as unruffled as that of a saint in a monastery.
As a lack of B Complex is the main offender with depression or schizophrenia symptoms, let's start with them.
The B-Complex Vitamins
The B's are essential to mental and emotional well-being. They cannot
be stored in our bodies, so we depend entirely on our daily diet to supply
them. B vitamins are destroyed by alcohol, refined sugars, nicotine, and
caffeine so it is no surprise that many people may be deficient in these.
See: http://www.vitamin-update.com/definition.cfm/id/10.html
Here's the rundown of recent finding about the relationship of B-complex
vitamins to depression:
* Vitamin B1 (thiamine): The brain uses this
vitamin to help convert glucose, or blood sugar, into fuel, and without
it the brain rapidly runs out of energy. This can lead to fatigue, depression,
irritability, anxiety, and even thoughts of suicide. Deficiencies can also
cause memory problems, loss of appetite, insomnia, and gastrointestinal
disorders. The consumption of refined carbohydrates, such as simple sugars,
drains the body's B1 supply.
* Vitamin B3 (niacin): Pellagra-which produces
psychosis and dementia, among other symptoms-was eventually found to be
caused by niacin deficiency. Many commercial food products now contain
niacin, and pellagra has virtually disappeared. However, subclinical deficiencies
of vitamin B3 can produce agitation and anxiety, as well as mental and
physical slowness.
* Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid): Symptoms
of deficiency are fatigue, chronic stress, and depression. Vitamin B5 is
needed for hormone formation and the uptake of amino acids and the brain
chemical acetylcholine, which combine to prevent certain types of depression.
* Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine): This vitamin aids
in the processing of amino acids, which are the building blocks of all
proteins and some hormones. It is needed in the manufacture of serotonin,
melatonin and dopamine. Vitamin B6 deficiencies, although very rare, cause
impaired immunity, skin lesions, and mental confusion. A marginal deficiency
sometimes occurs in alcoholics, patients with kidney failure, and women
using oral contraceptives. MAOIs, ironically, may also lead to a shortage
of this vitamin. Many nutritionally oriented doctors believe that most
diets do not provide optimal amounts of this vitamin.
* Vitamin B12: Because vitamin B12 is important
to mental stability. Without it, depression, nerves and insomnia can hit.
It is key to red blood cell formation. The deficiency leads to an oxygen-transport
problem known as pernicious anemia. Go out in the sun. Look at your palm.
Is the skin red enough? That shows iron and red blood cells. Is it orange
enough? That shows carotene and anti-oxidants are present. The anemia disorder
gives white palms and can cause mood swings, paranoia, irritability, confusion,
dementia, hallucinations, or mania, eventually followed by appetite loss,
dizziness, weakness, shortage of breath, heart palpitations, diarrhea,
and tingling sensations in the extremities. Deficiencies take a long time
to develop, since the body stores a three- to five-year supply in the liver.
When shortages do occur, they are often due to a lack of intrinsic factor,
an enzyme that allows vitamin B12 to be absorbed in the intestinal tract.
Since intrinsic factor diminishes with age, older people are more prone
to B12 deficiencies.
* Folic acid: This B vitamin is needed for
DNA synthesis. It is also necessary for the production of SAM (S-adenosyl
methionine). Poor dietary habits contribute to folic acid deficiencies,
as do illness, alcoholism, and various drugs, including aspirin, birth
control pills, barbiturates, and anticonvulsants. It is usually administered
along with vitamin B12, since a B12 deficiency can mask a folic acid deficiency.
One can take pills or capsules but B12 in pills is mostly a hoax, see:
REAL
VIT B 12 is hard to find.
Fact that B12 is not available from plant products makes
B12 deficiency a concern for vegans who cannot eat Liver. Vitamin B may
also be delivered by injection to reverse deficiencies but there
are side effects see: http://www.holistichealthtopics.com/HMG/Bvitamin.html
So that leaves natural sources tasty foods that you might EAT to get natural VIT B COMPLEX. Liver in any form, chicken livers as a Pâté , liver and onions as a main course, Brewer's yeast as a supplement, (though information is trickling in that yeast inhibits calcium assimilation. )--and molasses baked into oatmeal cookies, in particular black strap molasses.
B vitamins are found in whole unprocessed foods. Processed carbohydrates such as sugar and white flour tend to have lower B vitamin than their unprocessed counterparts. B vitamins are particularly concentrated in organ meats such as beef or cow liver, chicken livers. Also to a much lower extent in turkey and tuna and allmeat products. Good sources for B vitamins include kombucha, whole grains, potatoes, bananas, lentils, chili peppers, tempeh, beans, nutritional yeast, brewer's yeast, and black strap molasses.
Liver is chock full of vitamin B complex essentials like B 12, folic acid, thiamin, pantothenic acid and B7. Fry up some adult cow or baby calf liver in onions. Dredge the liver lightly in flour, fry it in the onions add salt, pepper and don't overcook. Barely show it to the flame as heat destroys the precious Vit B complex. Not only delicious but good for you. Do it once a month, more if you get little sore cracks at side of mouth (an indication of B deficiency).
Dairy products like milk, cheese and yogurt are essential sources of numerous components of the vitamin B complex, including riboflavin, B12 and niacin.
Vegetables, particularly the green leafy variety, are rich in nutrients, including those contained in the vitamin B complex like riboflavin and folic acid. Produce like spinach and kale are especially nutritious.
Beans and Nuts - Essential sources of protein, beans and nuts like peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and fava beans, also contain parts of the vitamin B complex like thiamin, riboflavin, pyridoxine and niacin. Favas are in season spring, summer, delicious, like lima beans. Arab markets have them. Easy to grow, too.
Eggs contain vitamins B7 and B12, which are necessary for a well-rounded nutrition plan. Find some vital chickens from an organic farm, those yolks are pure gold. Do not overcook as the good fat in yolks turns into transfat. Leave your yolks runny!
FOOD AMOUNT B12 AVAILABLE
Beef liver, cooked 85g
95.0 (chicken livers assumed to be equally high)
Beef kidney, cooked 85g 43.6
Trout, cooked 1 fillet
4.64
Tuna, canned 1 cup
4.38
Pink salmon, cooked ½ fillet 4.29
Beef steak, grilled 100g
2.11
Haddock, cooked 1 fillet 2.08
Tempeh 1 cup
1.58
Cottage cheese 1 cup
1.36
Clams ¾ cup
1.05
Oysters 6 oysters
1.02
Cheeseburger 1 serve
0.97
Skim milk 1 cup
0.88
Whole milk yogurt 1 cup 0.86
Whole milk 1 cup
0.83
Feta cheese 1 wedge
0.64
Miso 1 cup
0.54
Eggs, hard boiled 1 large
0.56
Eggs, scrambled 1 large
0.47
Chicken, roast 1 cup, chopped 0.44
Eggs, omelette 1 large
0.43
Breaded fried chicken 6 pieces 0.31 (fat in it would kill you tho)
Cheddar cheese 1 slice
0.23
For info on Molasses read: http://www.natural-health-restored.com/blackstrap-molasses.html
For Info on brewer's yeast, read:
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/b12.htm
For reasons to avoid algae as a
source of B's see: http://home.earthlink.net/~astrology/algae.htm
NEXT FOOD GROUP: The next group of mind-restoring supplements would be the minerals, with calcium and magnesium at the top of the list. These should also come naturally as easily assimable foods, rather than as supplements (which can clog the arteries with plaque.) Calcium is important but it's hard to know which is the best type of calcium to consume. Is it calcium citrate? Carbonate? Calcium from milk? From Green leaves? How about chewing on the end of a chicken bone? YES! All of these things will give you calcium. The question is, is that calcium getting down to the appropriate cellular level so it can be utilized for the purpose intended? Addressing this issue involves the concept of BIOLOGICAL UTILIZATION. We will cover that concept here while at the same time clearing up some calcium myths and mis-information propagated by commercial interests and unknowing physicians and nutritionists.
~ The best food sources of calcium are fish & dairy products, but there is controversy about the assimilability of calcium from pasteurized, homogenized milk. My preferred food sources include goat milk and goat cheese, salmon, sardines, mackerel, seaweed (especially kelp), sesame salt (gomasio), tahini and dark leafy greens Such as turnip tops, beet greens and kale.
~ There are roughly 200 mg of calcium in two ounces of nuts (excluding peanuts), one ounce of dried seaweed, two ounces of carob powder, one ounce of cheese, half a cup of cooked greens, (kale, collards and especially dandelion) half a cup of milk, three eggs, four ounces of fish, or one tablespoon of molasses.
~ Most wild greens are exceptionally rich in calcium arid the factors need for calcium absorption and use. lambs quarters, mallow, galinsoga, shepherd's purse, knotweed, bidens, amaranth and dandelion leaves all supply more calcium per 100 grams than does milk.
~ Bones soaked in apple cider vinegar release their calcium into the acidic vinegar. A tablespoon of this vinegar in a glass of water supplies needed calcium and relieves morning sickness too.
~ Many fruits are rich in calcium (though not as rich as the above foods). Dried dates, figs raisins, prunes, papaya and elderberries are the best source.
~ Raspberry leaf infusion contains calcium in its most assimilable form. Assimilation is further enhanced by the presence of phosphorous and vitamins A and C in the raspberry leaves.
~ Fresh parsley and watercress are available in most grocery stores year round. They are both good sources of many minerals and vitamins, including calcium, phosphorous, vitamin A and vitamin C.
~ Nettle Infusion supplies calcium and phosphorous, vitamin A and the vital vitamin D, in a readily assimilable form.
~ Foods that are thought to interfere with absorption of calcium should be avoided: spinach, chocolate, rhubarb and brewer's yeast.
~ Do not use bone meal or oyster shell tablets as sources of supplemental
calcium. They have been found to be high in lead, mercury, cadmium and
other toxic metals.
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