Re: Article~MANAGE YOUR MOOD (Food?)

[Guest guest]

These are good suggestions, and I have been making use of all of them. The title of #6, "Remember how great you are," seems a little off, but the suggestion itself is a good one in my experience.I am, however, visually challenged as well, and I somehow managed to read the name of the topic as "Manage Your Food." I quickly discovered my error when I began reading, Nevertheless, I have had more success managing my mood through managing my food than by any other means. The key thing for me has been to eliminate wheat, gluten, and all grains. Beyond that I have been eating in a low-carb "neo-paleo" fashion, and taking certain supplements. The details vary as I experiment over the years, but the elimination of grains has proven essential, and my mood and my relationship have been steadily improving. I can't generalize this to what other people would experience, but it is clear that something good has happened to me, and it has been valuable for me to exchange information with others doing similar things, using online forums. Has anyone else been doing anything like this?

[Guest guest]

This is GREAT topic and I hope that it is just the beginning.I have been removing gluten from my diet as a method of dealing with sinus issues. Directly, I always wake up stuffy after eating gluten...pasta, bagels, etc. so it is easy to see the benefit. However, the indirect benefit...when I remove the gluten, I also feel more energy, which I attribute to my body not consuming energy in fighting off an allergen. While removing the internal fight, gaining energy, my mood does seem more stable primarily because when we are tired, we never behave our best.Food management is widely overlooked as a source of our mental distress. I see emotional changes in me when I carefully manage my food....eating proteins for long terns energy, avoiding sugars, eliminating gluten and boosting leafy greens. I notice this affect on my 7 year old son, who when given access to sugar (which seems to be everywhere), he will eat it all, get real finicky about dinner and complain of fatigue. However, when sugar eliminated, he eats a great variety of healthy foods, has stamina and there is an increase in his focus. Of course, as two mild AS parents, we think it is obvious that sugar be moderated at school; however, such cause and affect, non emotive conclusions would not happen in an NT network, because it feels good to give children sugary treats for every minor accomplishment. Don't get me wrong, we indulge in an ice cream and other sweet treats, but the operative word is INDULGE.So yes, definitely, food affects mood, just as our physical well being affects our psychological well being. I am a stay at home mom and a great portion of my time is figuring out how to eat nutritious affordable foods, so that my boys, who also show AS traits have the best opportunities to employ their social skills that we work HARD to cognitively develop for them and ourselves.Trisha

These are good suggestions, and I have been making use of all of them. The title of #6, "Remember how great you are," seems a little off, but the suggestion itself is a good one in my experience.I am, however, visually challenged as well, and I somehow managed to read the name of the topic as "Manage Your Food." I quickly discovered my error when I began reading, Nevertheless, I have had more success managing my mood through managing my food than by any other means. The key thing for me has been to eliminate wheat, gluten, and all grains. Beyond that I have been eating in a low-carb "neo-paleo" fashion, and taking certain supplements. The details vary as I experiment over the years, but the elimination of grains has proven essential, and my mood and my relationship have been steadily improving. I can't generalize this to what other people would experience, but it is clear that something good has happened to me, and it has been valuable for me to exchange information with others doing similar things, using online forums. Has anyone else been doing anything like this?

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