OCD and Nutrition OCD or obsessive-compulsive disorder is a type of anxiety disorder which affects 2.3% of the American population between the ages of 18 and 54. This condition is characterized by irrational or unwanted thoughts, obsessions, urge for repetitive rituals and compulsions. Symptoms usually start during early childhood or adolescence and the exact cause is still unknown. Some thought that OCD manifests due to personality defects and bad parenting, but this is not the case. OCD impacts the communication systems in the brain and according to the National Alliance of Mental Illness, it produces a chemical imbalance in the brain wherein low levels of serotonin have been recorded. Serotonin plays an essential role in mood regulation, learning, calmness, and sleep. Several medications can help in behavioral therapy for OCD since it is known to be incurable. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRIs helps in raising the serotonin levels in the brain leading to reduced OCD symptoms. Nutritional Therapy A nutritious diet may not prevent the OCD’s onset, but it can assists in managing the symptoms with the help of medications, supplements, and mental health therapy. Tryptophan - This amino acid promotes the formation of serotonin which is essential in mood regulation. It has been shown to be successful in treating OCD and it’s also effective for other anxiety disorders. This is formed from precursor coenzymes found in B-vitamins. Example of foods with high tryptophan level are elk meat, goat, seaweed, soy, spinach, crabs, halibut, and shrimps. Inositol - Inositol is a nutrient related to vitamin B complex, which is necessary for the cell membranes’ proper formation. It has an ability to affect nerve transmission as... ... middle of paper ... ...sis. Vitamin B5 is also important for the adrenals when it comes to modulating stress. Vitamin B12 and folic acid supports against heart stress if you’re suffering from anxiety and depression. Spirulina - This dietary supplement is known to have RNA which has been found advantageous for the nervous system. It helps in nourishing myelin sheaths and nerves that is helpful in reducing OCD symptoms. Magnesium - Magnesium is a calming mineral that helps in minimizing the release of stress hormones in the body. There are still limited scientific evidence of magnesium’s effectivity but several research shows that herbal supplements containing magnesium may be effective in relieving depression, anxiety, and stress. Lactium - Lactium is a supplement derived from the casein protein in milk. It assists in reducing stress-related symptoms, including anxiety and panic attacks.
The indole nucleus of serotonin is commonly found in the chemical class of tryptamines (Abraham, Aldridge, Gogia 1996). Psilocybin in one of the best studied tryptamine derivatives and is related to other indolealkylamines that are derived from various plants (Nichols and Glennon 1996).
Tryptophan is an essential amino acid, one of the building blocks of protein. It is termed essential because the body cannot manufacture it on its own. When tryptophan enters the body in the presence of pyridoxine (B6), it is converted into 5-Hydroxy L-Tryptophan, or 5-HTP. This, in turn, converts into seratonin, a neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitters are extremely important at the neurochemical and physiological level, as they carry impulses between nerve cells. Seratonin can be converted into melatonin, which regulates the sleep wake cycle. Elevated levels of seratonin are credited with relief of depression, reduced pain sensitivity, lessened anxiety and stress and a feeling of calm and sleepiness. Seratonin deficiencies are blamed for depression and insomnia. I recognized that name from the new sleep supplements out there. Hence, I thought to myself, the whole drowsy thing.
In order to increase the level of serotonin, you should eat Tryptophan rich foods like tuna, salmon, dairy products, nuts and etc. At second step, you should get outside of the sunlight and absorb Vitamin D. Sun is considered to be best source for Vitamin D. Serotonin production is mainly based on availability of vitamin. It is a component of protein and which human will eat normal diet consume in significant amounts. One will increased with his weight by eating more carbohydrates. This serotonin will be helpful to promote happiness, relaxation and sleep. It is sometimes known as happy neurotransmitter. If there are any deficiencies in molecule, it will lead to depression. Individuals who are feeling difficult to sleep cannot try glass of warm milk before bed. There is some speculation that the popular thanks giving day coma where people will feel tired after a big meal. It is a kind of hormone which helps people to feel relaxed and contented. Similar to many hormones and brain chemicals, serotonin is having role in optimizing the concentrations. It is formed by the acid named tryptophan. It will work to make one to feel sleepy. Serotonin inside our body helps in increasing the ability of being relaxed, happy, confident and calm. It can regulate the memory and temperature. Apart from internal health, it will also help in the external health like with skin. It can be said as boon to the skin. Another name feel
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a disease that afflicts up to six million Americans, however all its characteristics are yet to be fully understood. Its causes, triggers, attributes, and variations are still unknown although effective medicines exist to treat the symptoms. OCD is a very peculiar disease as Rapoport discusses it comes in many different forms and have different symptoms yet have many similarities. One sure aspect is that it appears, or at least its symptoms do, out of the blue and is triggered either by stressful experiences or, most of the time, just appears out of nowhere. One example is a boy who's father was hard on him for being affected by the worlds "modern ways", the boy at a high school party tries LSD ( a hallucinatory drug), after that thoughts of whether his mind was dangerously affected by the drug. What seemed like completely appropriate worrying and anxiety turned into attacks of anxiety, he couldn't shake the thoughts that something was wrong with his mind. Essentially he had "his mind on his mind" constantly and that haunted his days his thought were as follows: " did the lsd do anything to my mind? The thought never went away ; instead it got more and more complicated. There must be something wrong with my mind if i am spending so much time worrying about it. Is there something wrong with my mind? Was this from the lsd? Will it ever get better?" (The boy who, J. L. Rapoport 125,126) Dr. Rapoport promptly put him on Anafranil (an anti-depressant, used for OCD, not marketed in the U.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder which causes people to develop an anxiety when certain obsessions or compulsions are not fulfilled. OCD can affect both children and adults with more than half of all adults with OCD stating that they experienced signs as a child. People living with OCD display many obvious signs such as opening and closing a door fifty times because they have to do it “just right”. Others exhibit extreme cleanliness and will wash their hands or take showers as often as they can because they constantly feel dirty. OCD devastates people’s social lives as they are fixated and obsessed with perfection that can take forever to achieve. However people living with OCD are often found to have an above average intelligence and typically excel at school due to their detail oriented mindset, cautious planning and patience. OCD can be caused by many different factors such as genetics or the ever changing world a...
middle of paper ... ... It is very important to try to treat OCD and not just ignore it. According to the article, there are certain interactive online activities for children to help treat OCD. These games are played with parents and therapists for the child to have a better understanding of the treatment methods.
Not surprisingly, serotonin is implicated in a broad range of serotonin disorders like depression, schizophrenia, and Parkinson's disease (3).. Serotonin deficiencies have been one of the factors to blame for ailments such as anorexia, bulimia, obsessive compulsive disorders, migraines, social phobias and schizophrenia. (9). (12). I am not taking a stance that serotonin has its hand in all of these different pots, but after the research that I have completed for this paper, I feel comfortable talking about serotonin in reference to depression. No one can say for certain what exactly "causes" depression. But in this paper, I hope to give further insight into serotonin's specific role as a possible predeterminant for major depression and some hopes for those suffering from this illness.
...hope that diagnosis is found when the individual is still young and the symptoms will not worsen over time. Response of treatments varies in each individual and some studies suggest that medication and behavioral therapy are the most effective in relieving the symptoms of OCD (What is OCD?, 2014). While there is still a small percentage of individuals with OCD that neither medication nor behavioral treatment produces no significant change at all their symptoms. The combination of both methods has been found in several cases to be superior to either treatment on its own. Most individuals who have received effective treatments find that the symptoms are reduced drastically by 40% to 50%. That makes it enough to change their lives where upon they are to go back to school, work and their families. In other words they can become a functioning part of society again.
One out of every 20 Americans will become depressed this year. This is obviously a very major and serious problem. St. John’s Wort’s main ingredient, hypericin, is what appears to help alleviate mild to moderate depression, although not much is known about whether or not it proves helpful in severe depression. Hypericin is the red pigment of the plant and it seems to inhibit monoamine oxidase (MAO) and the breakdown of the brain’s neurotransmitters and is also a SRI, serotonin reuptake inhibitor. However, according to Jean Carper in Miracle Cures, “recent research finds hypericin less potent an antidepressant than the whole plant extract itself, suggesting the herb’s complex mixture of chemicals, including xanthones and flavonoids, also are critical in the plant’s pharmacological benefits”.
There are several things that are included in OCD, including its symptoms, treatments and its involvement with the brain. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder recognize their symptoms to be ego-dystonic which are thoughts one would not usually have and not within one’s control but is still a product of one’s mind. The two common symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder are obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions take the form of persistent and uncontrollable thoughts, images, impulses, worries, fears or doubts. An anonymous writer wrote about his/her images, “These images included hitting, stabbing, poisoning and shooting people, even the people I loved the most…” However, compulsions are either repetitive physical behaviors or mental thought rituals that are performed over and over again to help relieve a person’s anxiety. Over time compulsions can become more elaborate and time- consuming. Shirley Brinkerhoff mentions in her book Amanda, a high school girl facing OCD, said, “Then I started having to count my steps. Like, 387 steps to the bus stop, and if missed...
Herbal remedies have been used throughout the world for thousands of years and recently their use has become popularized in America. People tend to view herbal remedies as being safer then prescription drugs because they are believed not to contain chemicals or cause side effects. St. John’s Wort is an herbal remedy, which prevents the destruction of seratonin, a natural anti-depressant, is often used to treat depression. Due to the increasing interest it St John’s wort, as well as in other herbal remedies, there has been a great deal of research done recently in the effectiveness and safety of this herb in regards to depression.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a disease that a lot of people suffer with in society especially young adults. While it is not a disease that is deadly, it does affect the victim in every day aspects of their life and can ultimately control their lives. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is defined by the National Institute of Mental Health as, “… a common, chronic and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over”. The thoughts that individuals have when suffering through Obsessive Compulsive Disorder cannot be restrained and really can disturb the individual. Thoughts or actions that people may have can range from worrying about daily occurrences, such as washing their hands, to having thoughts of harming people that are close to them. People tend to have these reoccurring compulsions because they believe by doing them or thinking them, they will either prevent something bad from happening or because it eliminates stress that they have. This disease can last a lifetime and can be very detrimental and disabling to how one lives their lives. Individuals can start to see signs of OCD in either late adolescence or even early adulthood and everyone is susceptible. When it comes to classifying this incurable disease, there is much debate on whether or not it a type of anxiety (Abramowitz, Taylor, & McKay, 2009). It is important to be able to understand this mental disorder since so many people are diagnosed with it. While there are treatments for OCD, there are no cures yet. Treatments could range anywhere from taking prescribed medication to just going to therapy and counseling fo...
OCD has symptoms such as compulsive hoarding, extreme anxiety, depression, and food aversions. It currently has no sure cause but it has said to be a product of genetics or abnormalities in the brain and serotonin levels as controlling serotonin tends to help in treatment of OCD. Obsessive Compulsive disorder is seen in 2.3% of Americans. It’s more prominent in adults than in children.
Supplements - Supplement and herbal remedies are commonly used in relieving depression, though it is not really clear how effective they could be. One example is St. John Wort, which is an herb that has been found effective for mild and moderate depression. Other remedies include SAMe, Melatonin and Omega-3 fatty acids.
...e several different theories that try to analyze the stem of this disorder. OCD can be attributed to stress, which can intensify or prompt the symptoms. Experts on this medical field also identify brain dysfunctions such as encephalitis, head trauma, or some other brain disorder as a possible cause of brain abnormalities that may result in OCD. The patient’s genetics can also have a pertinent role in the developing of the disorder experts believe that a person can inherit a tendency to develop OCD under certain conditions. An unbalanced level of brain chemicals according to serotonin theory can also be attributed to a person suffering from OCD. Lastly, learned behavior, is also a crucial factor that needs to be analyzed. If a child is taught that he/she may be predisposed to fear, he/she develop compulsions in order to reduce said fears when negative thoughts occur.