Depression and Aggression Can Be Signs Of Unhealthy Eating

[Mal12345]

I know that there is much touting and wonking in the news media and advertising these days regarding the physical benefits of eating healthy and not eating junk food. Of course it's true, although when you are young you can generally absorb more of the bad effects. However, caffeine, one of the chemicals found not only in coffee but also in sodas and chocolate, energy drinks, energy pills, caffeinated gum, as well as weight-reducing drugs and some pain killers, can and will cause insomnia and mood swings. Like amphetamine, caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, and that's not always a good thing. It's a matter of whether or not the pros outweigh the cons. And as we all know, when it comes to making money, producers of these products will hype the benefits and downplay or ignore the risks.

But that's not even the end of the story. Caffeine is just a very well-known drug. We take it for granted to the extent that we don't even see it as a drug but just something that "makes me feel more energetic." And that's what we're told to think. There is also a great deal of hype in social media addressing the chemical additives found in things we eat and drink. Among these targeted are preservatives. Whether that's right or wrong, they ignore the hazards of chemicals found naturally in these products.

Unfortunately, one of the most desired and pleasant products on the market, and also one of the most chemically hazardous, is plain old-fashioned chocolate (not white chocolate). People sometimes avoid it because it contains sugar and makes you fat. But sugar doesn't make you fat, your biological and psychological response to sugar makes you fat. Worse yet, chocolate, by itself, contains four natural, mentally stimulating chemicals that can and will hurt you. These four chemicals are caffeine, theobromine, AEA, and PEA.

Theobromine is a known poison and is famous for being the chemical in chocolate that will kill your dogs. And it can kill you if you eat enough chocolate, or even pure theobromine which is available on the market. (But don't even think about committing suicide this way, because your death will be protracted and very unpleasant, consisting of severe nausea and headache, convulsions, and then eventual death by heart attack.) With humans I'm (mostly) not even regarding this chemical as a poison but as a stimulant much like caffeine and amphetamines that can and will cause insomnia and irritability. Again, it's a matter of whether or not the benefits outweigh the risks for you personally.

Caffeine has been shown to increase the number of adenosine receptors in the brain, eventually leading to chronic insomnia and associated issues such as depression, anxiety, and even aggression. These effects take decades to be noticeable, and studies on humans, notoriously, use only young subjects because they don't have as many health issues to confound the results of the study. It would be necessary to follow the lives of these young people for decades to create any observable result. Decades of theobromine and caffeine usage stimulate the brain to cycles of aggression followed naturally by depression.

 

[Smilephantomhive]

Source??

 

[Mal12345]

Caffeine is a known irritant, if that's what you're asking about.

 

[Mal12345]

"There are currently 31 users browsing this thread. (3 members and 28 guests)." Hmmm, lots of google hits I suppose.

 

[ceecee]

Caffeine is a known irritant, if that's what you're asking about.

So this.....

I know that there is much touting and wonking in the news media and advertising these days regarding the physical benefits of eating healthy and not eating junk food. Of course it's true, although when you are young you can generally absorb more of the bad effects. However, caffeine, one of the chemicals found not only in coffee but also in sodas and chocolate, energy drinks, energy pills, caffeinated gum, as well as weight-reducing drugs and some pain killers, can and will cause insomnia and mood swings. Like amphetamine, caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant, and that's not always a good thing. It's a matter of whether or not the pros outweigh the cons. And as we all know, when it comes to making money, producers of these products will hype the benefits and downplay or ignore the risks.

But that's not even the end of the story. Caffeine is just a very well-known drug. We take it for granted to the extent that we don't even see it as a drug but just something that "makes me feel more energetic." And that's what we're told to think. There is also a great deal of hype in social media addressing the chemical additives found in things we eat and drink. Among these targeted are preservatives. Whether that's right or wrong, they ignore the hazards of chemicals found naturally in these products.

Unfortunately, one of the most desired and pleasant products on the market, and also one of the most chemically hazardous, is plain old-fashioned chocolate (not white chocolate). People sometimes avoid it because it contains sugar and makes you fat. But sugar doesn't make you fat, your biological and psychological response to sugar makes you fat. Worse yet, chocolate, by itself, contains four natural, mentally stimulating chemicals that can and will hurt you. These four chemicals are caffeine, theobromine, AEA, and PEA.

Theobromine is a known poison and is famous for being the chemical in chocolate that will kill your dogs. And it can kill you if you eat enough chocolate, or even pure theobromine which is available on the market. (But don't even think about committing suicide this way, because your death will be protracted and very unpleasant, consisting of severe nausea and headache, convulsions, and then eventual death by heart attack.) With humans I'm (mostly) not even regarding this chemical as a poison but as a stimulant much like caffeine and amphetamines that can and will cause insomnia and irritability. Again, it's a matter of whether or not the benefits outweigh the risks for you personally.

Caffeine has been shown to increase the number of adenosine receptors in the brain, eventually leading to chronic insomnia and associated issues such as depression, anxiety, and even aggression. These effects take decades to be noticeable, and studies on humans, notoriously, use only young subjects because they don't have as many health issues to confound the results of the study. It would be necessary to follow the lives of these young people for decades to create any observable result. Decades of theobromine and caffeine usage stimulate the brain to cycles of aggression followed naturally by depression.

...is an editorial with no citation, no references and no medical or research evidence to back up your claims. That is not how you educate people so I'm not sure what your purpose for this is. You may as well go outside and yell CAFFEINE IS BAD! to a tree.

 

[Mal12345]

There are currently 36 users browsing this thread. (2 members and 34 guests)

 

[Mal12345]

I'm gaining in popularity by the second.

 

[Mal12345]

I'll just sum up the OP by saying that if you're feeling angry, irritated, depressed for no apparent reason, there are various other physical causes not just psychological ones, not functions or types or anything like that. My advice is to look into dietary causes. I've given some hints in that direction, that's all.

 

[CitizenErased]

Well, I don't drink coffee, unless someone invites me one. And I don't consume anything that is meant to alter my feelings/states of mind. Not even ibuprofen. I always say coffee is the "credit card" of the drinks because it feels like it takes energy you don't have and then, when the effect is off, you have to pay with interests. I didn't know the constant intake could affect the mood permanently, though I imagined it.

Just came here because of the title of the thread. It's not only the things we consume that can have adverse effects on our humour/mental status, but also the things we don't consume. In the south of my country, which is close to the Antartica (therefore there's never sun), the government distributes vitamin D. In other parts of the country there's more sun and people have fresh fish, especially the little ones that swim near the surface (they -and us- synthesize the vitamin when in contact with the sunlight). Lack of vitamin D produces depression. There must be lots of examples like that one.

Even though sometimes it's tiresome to check all the food we ingest, even the "natural" (most of the time "natural" is not "natural") one and investigate about it, it's useful. The same vegetables coming from two different plantations can have different mineral/vitamin amounts (or be poisoned, contaminated, etc), depending on what the people throw on them/the earth, and the properties of the soil (for example, plantations far away from the ocean or salines don't have enough iodine, and lack of iodine produces goiter -though not a mood swing, so forget about it-).

Regarding what people choose to ignore/hide when telling the good properties of this or that product, you'll find every product is treated like the "panacea of the natural world", just because the people posting in blogs or such felt happy drinking coffee so they decided to attribute all kind of good things to coffee, and so forth with the rest of the food.

 

[Yara the Corpse]

Could easily be true for me. Though I think gluten products or empty carbs are more of a factor. I'd sooner switch to meat, vegetables, legumes, and nuts than give up caffeine.

Being someone with hypersensitivities, I definitely notice that my mind is more pleasant and calm after a few days of no caffeine, normally drinking 1-2 cups a day... I think I'll try to stay off it for a week or two and see what happens.

 

[Mal12345]

Well, I don't drink coffee, unless someone invites me one. And I don't consume anything that is meant to alter my feelings/states of mind. Not even ibuprofen. I always say coffee is the "credit card" of the drinks because it feels like it takes energy you don't have and then, when the effect is off, you have to pay with interests. I didn't know the constant intake could affect the mood permanently, though I imagined it.

Just came here because of the title of the thread. It's not only the things we consume that can have adverse effects on our humour/mental status, but also the things we don't consume. In the south of my country, which is close to the Antartica (therefore there's never sun), the government distributes vitamin D. In other parts of the country there's more sun and people have fresh fish, especially the little ones that swim near the surface (they -and us- synthesize the vitamin when in contact with the sunlight). Lack of vitamin D produces depression. There must be lots of examples like that one.

Even though sometimes it's tiresome to check all the food we ingest, even the "natural" (most of the time "natural" is not "natural") one and investigate about it, it's useful. The same vegetables coming from two different plantations can have different mineral/vitamin amounts (or be poisoned, contaminated, etc), depending on what the people throw on them/the earth, and the properties of the soil (for example, plantations far away from the ocean or salines don't have enough iodine, and lack of iodine produces goiter -though not a mood swing, so forget about it-).

Regarding what people choose to ignore/hide when telling the good properties of this or that product, you'll find every product is treated like the "panacea of the natural world", just because the people posting in blogs or such felt happy drinking coffee so they decided to attribute all kind of good things to coffee, and so forth with the rest of the food.

There's more disinformation out there and those are really based off of agendas of some kind. I feel like if I cite anybody then that source could have an agenda that I don't care about. And then someone will "poison the well" by pointing to the website's agenda. Anyway, as well as I know these forums, if I cite something there will be something wrong with the source, and if I don't cite something then there will be something wrong there.

So over the years I've learned to see the whole "cite?" question to be a way of forcing the reveal of a source out of a desire to "poison the well."

You've at least helped by pointing to the fact that not consuming the right things is just as important a factor as consuming the wrong things.

 

[Smilephantomhive]

Caffeine is a known irritant, if that's what you're asking about.

Were you responding to me?


But that still doesn't explain where you got all the other information.

 

[Mal12345]

Could easily be true for me. Though I think gluten products or empty carbs are more of a factor. I'd sooner switch to meat, vegetables, legumes, and nuts than give up caffeine.

Being someone with hypersensitivities, I definitely notice that my mind is more pleasant and calm after a few days of no caffeine, normally drinking 1-2 cups a day... I think I'll try to stay off it for a week or two and see what happens.

Chemical hypersensitivity is a big factor in this. The problem is, nobody knows what causes chemical hypersensitivity.

 

[Mal12345]

Were you responding to me?


But that still doesn't explain where you got all the other information.

I've read all kinds of sources, but not dietary blogs or anything like that. I also have personal experiences, as do others. But I'm sure there will always be something you can find wrong with a source.

 

[CitizenErased]

There's more disinformation out there and those are really based off of agendas of some kind. I feel like if I cite anybody then that source could have an agenda that I don't care about. And then someone will "poison the well" by pointing to the website's agenda. Anyway, as well as I know these forums, if I cite something there will be something wrong with the source, and if I don't cite something then there will be something wrong there.

So over the years I've learned to see the whole "cite?" question to be a way of forcing the reveal of a source out of a desire to "poison the well."

You've at least helped by pointing to the fact that not consuming the right things is just as important a factor as consuming the wrong things.

I'm studying Art History, and the first thing we see is a definition of culture (which is the whole human production of objects, ideas, etc). The first day, I sat down and I was told: "In the world of humans, objectivity is subjective. Even if able to be proven, some people won't believe in it; even if impossible, some people will believe in it". So yes, I get what you say. The idea is discussing a topic, which is the one you mentioned in the title. Sometimes the source of the information can give data that helps to interpret the text (e.g.: if the author of a book is marxist, you'll read the text with other eyes than if you didn't have that info). But talking about components of coffee or chocolate doesn't seem to be as controversial. The same I could say about apple seeds containing hydrogen cyanide (I think about 80 grams do the trick).

When I was in high school, a professor asked us if the person who discovered nuclear fission, knowing it could be used to do evil, should/shouldn't have kept the information for himself (ethics). I really believe that, no matter how objective we want and try to be, most scientific observations (or non-observations) are tainted wit personal/collective needs/expectations nad what they decide to show/hide has an agenda. Conclusion: read everything, trust no one.

 

[Mal12345]

I'm studying Art History, and the first thing we see is a definition of culture (which is the whole human production of objects, ideas, etc). The first day, I sat down and I was told: "In the world of humans, objectivity is subjective. Even if able to be proven, some people won't believe in it; even if impossible, some people will believe in it". So yes, I get what you say. The idea is discussing a topic, which is the one you mentioned in the title. Sometimes the source of the information can give data that helps to interpret the text (e.g.: if the author of a book is marxist, you'll read the text with other eyes than if you didn't have that info). But talking about components of coffee or chocolate doesn't seem to be as controversial. The same I could say about apple seeds containing hydrogen cyanide (I think about 80 grams do the trick).

When I was in high school, a professor asked us if the person who discovered nuclear fission, knowing it could be used to do evil, should/shouldn't have kept the information for himself (ethics). I really believe that, no matter how objective we want and try to be, most scientific observations (or non-observations) are tainted wit personal/collective needs/expectations nad what they decide to show/hide has an agenda. Conclusion: read everything, trust no one.

There is no basis for believing anything then, including the idea that "most scientific observations (or non-observations) are tainted wit personal/collective needs/expectations nad what they decide to show/hide has an agenda." And in fact, if you do look at the source of this idea, you will find an agenda behind it.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Oddly enough, I'm trying to go without coffee for a few days and see how that works. I've had some stomach issues over the past year, and an aunt of mine with supposedly the same issues suggested I give up coffee. (Obviously, I need to see a doctor, too.)

I'm finding that I think I like my mental state without coffee better. I feel more interested in things and more eager to engage with the world. I consumed a lot of it as a substitute for the Adderall that I can no longer take because of other health reasons, but I'm finding that I might not need the coffee, either. Very interesting.

 

[Cellmold]

Oddly enough, I'm trying to go without coffee for a few days and see how that works. I've had some stomach issues over the past year, and an aunt of mine with supposedly the same issues suggested I give up coffee. (Obviously, I need to see a doctor, too.)

I'm finding that I think I like my mental state without coffee better. I feel more interested in things and more eager to engage with the world. I consumed a lot of it as a substitute for the Adderall that I can no longer take because of other health reasons, but I'm finding that I might not need the coffee, either. Very interesting.

I'm doing the same since the last few weeks. After the meetup in London, I thought I was drinking far too much caffeine, so I've decided to cut it out completely and see how I fair.

So far I've had a much better mood and sleep pattern, though it could be a placebo effect. But so far it's been positive.

 

[Mal12345]

I'm doing the same since the last few weeks. After the meetup in London, I thought I was drinking far too much caffeine, so I've decided to cut it out completely and see how I fair.

So far I've had a much better mood and sleep pattern, though it could be a placebo effect. But so far it's been positive.

A reverse placebo effect?

 

[Avocado]

I eat to numb the pain. Eating is what I live for. So many tastes and possibilities.