Do changes in diet help?

[Truename12]

Has anyone had the luck getting better by changing their diet to get the gut healthy again, such as no caffeine, making fresh vegetable juices, or eating fermented foods like kimchi?

[Sallyskins]

Eating sensibly is good for your health anyway, and feeling good physically helps you to feel good mentally.

There are studies that bear out the beneficial effects of a healthy gut on OCD, so gut health should certainly be taken seriously.

By all means eat kimchi and other fermented foods, but I don't think caffeine in moderate quantities is harmful. I certainly don't plan to give it up - it's my only recreational drug!

As for vegetable juices, both vegetables and fruit are better eaten as they are, whether you cook them or not. Fruit and vegetable juices sound healthy, but the body digests them differently to the way it digests them in their unliquidized state. Digestion partly relies on the process of chewing, which starts off the digestive process and gets the digestive enzymes flowing. Liquid food bypasses that process.

Also, the fibre in whole vegetables and fruits is good for your gut, - fibre that the juicing process removes. The gut needs fibre - partly to move the contents along, but also to feed the good bacteria. And the sugar content of juices, particularly of fruit but also of vegetables, can let to sugar spikes in your bloodstream, as the body accesses them more quickly.

So no to juicing, but go ahead with the kimchi! Lots of vegetable, raw or cooked, and some fruit, but not juiced!

[Phoenyx in reply to Sallyskins]

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with you. I've been juicing for more than 10 years and I've never had issue with it. There is no connection between juicing and worsening symptoms of OCD. The sugar in fruit and veggies is very different then the process/refined sugar so unless you have diabetes, you should not be worried about consuming freshly squeezed juice. When I'm actively juicing, I never catch colds and viruses even when people around me are sick. Just sharing my own experience

[Sallyskins in reply to Phoenyx]

I didn't say that that juicing makes OCD worse - or better for that matter. Juicing removes the fibre from the fruit. The fibre slows down the absorption of the fruit sugar (fructose) - and as fructose is processed by the liver, flooding your system with fructose without the corresponding fibre can possibly harm the liver.

The fibre is part of the nutrition in fruit and vegetables, and essential for a healthy gut. And moreover, it takes quite a lot of fruit to make up one glass of juice, so you are consuming, instead of say one orange or apple, many in one go. This increases your intake of sugar, which is absorbed immediately as the fibre has been removed.

Overall, juicing can lead to a hugely increased intake of sugar, which goes straight into your system. Juicing takes away a valuable part of the fruit or veg, namely the fibre.

Better to eat whole fruit and veg. There could be many other explanations for your not catching colds.

[Phoenyx in reply to Sallyskins]

Yes and no. If you know how to juice, you won’t be consuming lots of sugar. I don’t consume citrus fruit so I juice literally anything else. My usual juice consists of 1 cucumber, small piece of a beet, celery and an apple. So you see I get a lot of juice and hardly any sugar. I personally don’t like blending first because it’s like eating the fruit and the veggies (just branded all together) and second I’m more focused on the vitamins and minerals than on the fibers. You literally get fibers with any sustainable meal you eat. Also too much fibers will make you waaaaay too bloated. So yeah, not into blending at all.

[Sallyskins in reply to Phoenyx]

I prefer to eat fruit and veg whole. Juicing is far too much like baby food. A lot of people don't get enough fibre, but if you do, then fair enough.

I don't go in for blending either. Again, like baby food. I make soups, but I prefer to have pieces of veg in it rather than turning it into a puree.

I'm greatly in favour of healthy eating, and try to eat well myself. And I know quite a bit about nutrition. But focussing so intently on nutrition at the expense of enjoyment can turn eating into a chore rather than a pleasure.

[Phoenyx in reply to Sallyskins]

Juicing or no juicing as long as you eat whole foods and eliminate funk, everything is going to be great. I am a strong believer that our bodies need everything and limiting major group foods is not beneficial for anyone.

[Sallyskins in reply to Phoenyx]

I think many people get used to eating a lot of junk food. For myself, I don't actually like the sort of thing they do in burger and chicken places - it's absolutely disgusting as well as not being good for you! The more people eat of this sort of thing, the hungrier they feel because their bodies aren't getting the proper nutrition.

I agree that we shouldn't limit ourselves to a restricted diet. And I think enjoyment is important in eating.

[Phoenyx in reply to Sallyskins]

I absolutely agree consuming food should be enjoyable.

[Truename12 in reply to Phoenyx]

I was reading a book about vegetarianism. It was interesting to see that juices are very cleansing, which of course is exactly what we need at certain times. But after cleansing, one needs to go back to nourishing the body with whole foods. I've also been reading about the gut microbiome. That when it's out of balance, high fiber diet also feeds bacteria that you're wanting to discourage. It was interesting to see that meat broth, not bone broths at first, and small amounts of fermented food are advised for resetting the gut microbiome. Also, cooked vegetables too, where the fiber is well broken down. And then when the gut is robust enough, you can eat your vegetables anyway you want them. The GAPS diet is about the link between the gut and psychology. It hypothesizes of that when they gut microbiome is overpopulated with toxic bacteria, that is, not held in check by the beneficial bacteria, the brain is affected by the bacteria and really bad things happen, like OCD and schizophrenia.

[Sallyskins in reply to Truename12]

There are a lot of myths about cleansing - the body doesn't really need detoxing. The liver and the kidneys do that for us - so it makes sense to take care of them!

I haven't heard of the GAPS diet, but I do know that scientists are learning more about the gut and how it affects our mental as well as physical health.

The gut is already connected with the brain in popular expressions such as 'gut feeling' and 'having butterflies in one's stomach'.

There are academic studies (I read one online some while ago but can't find it) that have found that some probiotics can alleviate OCD.

I don't drink alcohol because I can't tolerate it - I gave it up completely when I was 19. It's a depressant anyway and doesn't go with a lot of drugs that are used for OCD. But I do have caffeine, though I limit myself to 2 cups of coffee a day. I have at least 4 cups of tea in addition, and a little chocolate!

[Phoenyx in reply to Sallyskins]

I wish I could tolerate caffeine. I really like the taste of coffee so I always buy decaf. I also agree that "body detoxing" is a myth. Everything you has is very true- the liver and the kidney do the job just great :).

[Phoenyx in reply to Truename12]

I have to say that juicing in high amounts will make your body flush everything from your intestines. Having a juice once a day will surely not have the same effect- it will only boost your immune system. I've never said I'm not a fan of fiber. On the contrary. I said I get it from my daily meals so as long as you eat healthy, you shouldn't worried about getting enough fiber.

Fermented food is linked to longevity in certain regions of the World so they are actually very beneficial for the gut bacteria. If you can get real kimchi or Bulgarian yoghurt, you will see a tremendous improvement in you digestive system. Don't be fooled that Greek yoghurt is the real deal- it's not , it's just very good marketing.

[Truename12 in reply to Phoenyx]

I agree with you about greek yogurt. It strains out the whey, which is the most beneficial part. It's really fun experimenting with making fermented foods. Sandor Katz's Wild Fermentation book is fascinating and really useful. It's how he cured himself of AIDS.

[Sallyskins in reply to Phoenyx]

I just buy regular live yoghurt. I prefer to the commercial Greek yoghurt - but then I haven't had real Greek yoghurt.

I spent four months in hospital being treated intensively for OCD 6 or 7 years ago. The treatment was great; the food not so! Although there was quite a bit of choice on the menu, including veggie, basically you could have either stodge or stodge! I put on about 15 pounds. Not getting enough fruit and veg makes you constantly hungry and the more stodge you eat, the more you crave!

[Truename12 in reply to Sallyskins]

"stodge"-- I don't know that word. But I can guess

[Sallyskins in reply to Truename12]

It basically foods that are heavy on starch. Great in moderation - not so great if you've nothing else to eat.

[Truename12 in reply to Sallyskins]

It sounds like you've studied nutrition quite a lot! Thanks for your replies.

[Phoenyx in reply to Truename12]

I did 😇. And partially medicine. I will be happy if I can answer any further questions you have.

[Phoenyx]

I'm a healthy eater freak and I never eat fast food. I don't drink alcohol or soft drinks either. I've tried vegan and keto diets. So long story short my opinion is that the only thing that makes difference for me is less process sugar, no alcohol and no caffeine.

[svs2021]

There is strong connection between gut and mind. so, eating healthy will definitely help ( along with ERP, exercise, etc) , Please read this book.Deep Nutrition: Why Your Genes Need Traditional Food

it will change your perspective about diets.

svs

[Truename12 in reply to svs2021]

I will check that out, thank you for the reference. I'll let you know what I think!

[NWOntario]

The short answer from me is yes, although (ironically) diet became an obsession for me: I needed it to be perfect, or else I'd be worried I was making my symptoms worse. Having said that, and echoing what Sallyskins said, eating well is good for you anyway, and it certainly won't hurt you in your recovery. I found eating more fruit and vegetables and cutting back on sugar the most helpful things for me. I worked with a dietician who recommended my plates be 50% vegetables, 25% starches, and 25% proteins, and I try and stick to that. Basically, I do my best. Oh - and I married a vegetarian, which helped

I also didn't cut back on caffeine. I increased my caffeine intake. If God didn't want me to drink staggering amounts of caffeine, He wouldn't have created coffee beans.

[Truename12 in reply to NWOntario]

You have a sense of humor which is probably just as important as a clean diet! I'm really appreciating hearing everyone's feedback. I heard a long time ago that it takes a lot of B vitamins to process caffeine. I think that's what keeps the adrenals healthy. But I think stress is always the worst factor, so knowing what makes us happy probably means a lot?

[NWOntario in reply to Truename12]

Absolutely. For me, too much coffee just makes me feel kinda garbage-y - like physically garbage-y, not mentally. So that's my cue to stop. But I'd rather drink coffee and maybe feel slightly anxious than not drink it: it's a thing I love in life, and I'm willing to make this particular trade 10/10 times.

[Sallyskins in reply to NWOntario]

I think that's called the Eatwell Plate. My problem is too much cake!