Need to save my brain so fast...

[GTing]

For the last couple of years (perhaps almost the last decade? (I'm 30)) my brain has felt like I've been racing to some downhill finish line. I remember back in high school and university (at the start of it that is) I was thankfully good in math, I loved it because it clicked mentally for me, economics (in university) in turn also clicked with the graphical understanding of the different theories and such. At some point however, and I remember roughly when it occurred, everything just stopped making sense and I felt that section of my brain that understood it all was NOT inaccessible so much as not there anymore.

When I got into university, my family traveled back to our home country and I stayed behind. When I lived with my family, the food STILL wasn't healthy but at least I wasn't eating fast food every day. In fact I had this ridiculous diet of eating only twice a week and just drinking my meals for the rest (which was just water, not juice or anything). The food I ate was indeed fast food but...at least not daily (lol)? When I started living by myself, I just binged fast food and the order of the day was KFC. I always had an indoor life but I think I probably saw a bit more of the outside then than I did later (so Vitamin D and all that). Vegetables and fruits were a rarity, I think the only vegetables I had were just whatever had been hastily crammed in a burger.

Recently though I've been trying to do some writing and to go back to my reading habits (I loved reading as a kid), but my mind is sluggish and...asleep? I watched a TED talk that mentioned that some of the hostile foods to the brain were dairy products and meat, I mean I knew fat and grease were bad but I wouldn't have thought dairy products and meat itself could be bad as well. I'm truly passionate about my story, but when it comes time to write, my mind can't even start to work so I comprehend how people think so that I can write them realistically instead of just forcing who they are. My mind is so sluggish it's made it that I don't bother to even think, and just waste my time gaming and watching movies and shows that I don't really care all that much for, and this is not who or what I want to be.

I admit that my choices for going vegan are purely for health reasons, but I would truly appreciate any help or support in that regard. I saw another TED talk that also recommended fasting for a number of benefits, so I'm going to reduce my meals to one a day (though I'm still allowed to drink freely).

I've been thinking to meet my daily needs (on one side note as well, I have G6PD deficiency so almost zero beans, though garbanzo beans/chick peas have thankfully never affected me):

Quinoa for protein (though dear God do I hate how they taste)
Lots of blueberries
1 cup garbanzo beans
palm's worth of nuts (saw that in the same TED talk)
omega 3 supplement
Maybe a b12 supplement too (unless I find out some ill health effect with them, like vitamin C supplements)
???? for vegetables (need help on this one, I have a child's tolerance for vegetables. I can't stand the bitter taste of rocket leaves for example that other salad aficionados adore, and I don't mind cauliflower or broccoli so much other than my fear of kidney stones (which I hear are so painful that it allows men to have an understanding of what childbirth is like), it's also why I'll no longer touch spinach)

In case the transition thread is one that tends to get ignored by forum goers (I usually ignore introduction sections on forums myself), I'll post my thoughts on my diet in a separate post in a different section.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

Vegetables - try and get 20% of your food as vegetables which is somewhere where health guidelines based on scientific studies might suggest. If that sounds tough, don't do it if it's a struggle, but at least do 5-10%. Try and eat at least three different types for a range of vitamins and minerals. At least some of your veg should be green veg. If you struggle with veg eat more fruit. Also try 10 different vegetables and just stick with 3 or so favourites. No need to eat ones you hate. Try some new ones. Carrots, sweetcorn etc.

You are not likely to get side effects from B12 pill, very unlikely. If you do you can try nutritional yeast as B12 source. You do need to make sure you get B12.

Don't eat quinoa if you hate them. Eat something else for protein. What about mushrooms, broccoli, tomatoes, beans, lentils, soy burgers. Just one or two of those should be enough. You don't need to worry too mcuh about protein on a vegan diet anyway. I suggest you ditch the quinoa if you don't like it or just mix it in to other meals in small quantities so you can't taste it.

If you eat either walnuts or ground chia/flax seeds you can skip the supplement although the supplement is not a bad idea. Make sure an omega 3 supplement includes DHA, the most important one for vegans.

Your list of foods is good but you need to add some fillings things like rice, pasta and bread. Consider brown or organic or whole type products if you are concerned about health. Try and eat foods that come from a plant, not foods that were made in a plant. Processed foods often have good parts with vitamins and minerals stripped away. By all means eat junk food from time to time but don't go crazy with it.

That being said the reason for a vegan diet is ethical and environmental reasons (as I explain here https://whytryveg.wordpress.com/2017/02/19/my-veg-argument/).

I suspect your mental health issues are probably majority caused by things other than diet.
Minimize stress, get exercise including outdoor exercise and fresh air, get enough sleep, get the right balance for you of being alone and being with other people, have good times with loved ones, and so on. Limit your time in front of screens like computer and phone to a short time a day - an hour or two?

I sometimes get stuck watching series on Netflix for slightly too long when they start good and then go downhill, sometimes you've just got to know when to quit them. I'm looking at you, Heroes and Lost.

Also the brain needs exercise. If you don't practice brainy things as part of your daily routine then do some maths puzzles, crosswords, IQ tests on a semi regular basis to keep the brain ticking over.

Also experiment with writing at different times of the day. Some people cannot do it first thing in the morning and must work in the late evening, for others it's the other way around. Find the right time for you.

These are just my suggestions. I hope they are helpful. Apologies if they are not. Good luck.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

I'm not convinced that fasting is what you need if you are short on mental energy. I like 3 meals a day. Brain uses or more energy when you are doing intelligent stuff - or trying to.

I would only fast 1 or 2 days a week in my opinion if you need to lose weight, and no days at all if you don't need to lose weight.

The other benefits of fasting (apart from losing weight) are debatable and unproven.

 

[GTing]

Thanks for the help, I actually forgot about rice, lol. I'll give mental exercises a shot and will try to write at periods other than the morning as well. Also I usually just go from work to home and home to work, I actually almost never fraternize with anyone (also single so no family) but I see I ought to change that habit and do something different.

As to the fasting, I saw this video on youtube (and yeah I know, I know, everyone's got a video on youtube, even the crackpots) but the guy was saying that the body going on starvation mode would enhance the mind. There was even a TED talk where a lady brought it up as well and said it was one of the things that helps neurogenesis. Based on another TED talk (about brain foods), I've also bought a whole bunch of blueberries and plan on having 2 cups a day (also turns out you can't easily liquefy frozen blueberries in a blender, who knew?).

EDIT: Oh, and I'd rather avoid soy due to my G6PD. I've had products with some traces of soy but I'm hesitant to go for anything made primarily of soy.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

You may be right about the mental alertness. From what I've read it's unproven either way but it sounds like you may have looked into it more than me. It if works for you, great.

OK so almost no beans and no soy. That brings us to an interesting question. How much legumes do you really need on a vegan diet? As far as I know from studying nutrition books, articles and studies, there are 2 reasons why we might need legumes on a vegan diet.

1. To boost total protein since average protein content of legumes is higher than other plant foods. However, it's not clear whether we really need as a vegan to have the same protein as a meat eater. It's quite possible, and probably likely, that we could get 20% less and be fine. However, I can't say that 100% and it does vary by individual.

2. Protein is made up of different amino acids. The amino acid lysine is high in animal foods and legumes only, so a diet with neither would be low in this essential amino acid. You will still get some, but less than the RDA.

Keep in mind that, according to a nutrition chart in a book I have, chick peas are only 21% protein (excluding water content and as % of calories) which is on the low side compared to some other legumes at around 30% and some meat at around 40%. Garbanzo isn't listed but I think it's related to chick peas so probably about the same.

I found a vegan sausage that was 80% protein, however I think it was soy. However if you look around I think there are some vegan processed foods made out of very high protein that may be non-soy?

I suggest you try different method of getting protein, with at least some from legumes, however I wouldn't stress out over it.

I still suspect other things are more likely your issue that agonizing over every detail in your food.

 

[GTing]

Thanks for the tips, I'll try and bring in lots of chickpeas to make up for the lack of protein and see if I can't mix them up with something else so I don't get bored of it. The primary reason I believe my diet is the largest influence for my mental health is also because my meals for the last ten years, maybe more so, has been because 95% to 99% of my meals have all been junk food and fast food, I'm not exaggerating when I say vegetables and fruits almost never factored into my meals. Grease, fat and chemicals have been close and constant companions.

I might try passing by my doctor to see where soy stands in my G6PD situation (there are many levels of G6PD, soy might actually be low when it comes to its danger, like garbanzo beans/chickpeas). There are too many soy products to not explore this avenue. It's fava beans that is 100% off the table for all levels of G6PD, many other beans are negotiable, I think I've had kidney beans as well without any side effects.

 

[Sally]

When I first became vegan I was making sure I had beans and vitamins and everything people said I should have, but the best thing I have done is just listen to my body. I don't like beans much, other than baked beans, I'm not keen on quinoa, I can't bear tofu and so I have just developed an eating pattern of stopping and thinking what do I want? Then eating that, and if it's a plate of spaghetti with olive oil and black pepper, then that's what I'll have. Another time I might fancy something like a large plate of roasted vegetables. Sometimes I'm not hungry. By doing this I find I do not get tired, I'm not stressing over what I eat and I'm losing weight in a slow healthy way. Make sure you have basics in the cupboard, like tins of tomatoes (if you like them) as they are a great base for lots of stuff, or just on toast. Keep tins of peas or carrots and make easy vegetable stews if you want something warming. Vegetable stock cubes, mustard, mixed herbs, salt, pepper, tomato puree for stews. Turmeric black pepper, salt and fenugreek for stir fries. Mixed herbs are lovely sprinkled over vegetables before you roast them in salt, pepper and olive oil. I don't like bitter salad stuff, I like normal lettuce and cress, that sort of thing.

Regarding fruit, I rarely eat it. But if I do it's to have a banana in Alpro Simply Pure soya youghurt. Or a tin of peaches or apricots in light syrup.

I find by listening to my body I have a varied and healthy diet.

Only you really know what's best for you. When you are happy and feeling well, then you will know you are doing the right thing.