Depression, Dairy, and Artificial Sweeteners

Lead up: During WWII sugar was in short supply and sweets and chocolate were a luxury!!  You could only get these items with tokens from your Ration Book - when they were available.

Post WWII, the items that had been rationed became more plentiful, and we started to guzzle as much as we could grasp. 

Consequences: We started to give our children the things we had been deprived of, particularly sweet things, to the point that ortho-dontists became concerned at the state their teeth.

Rickets  was a common disorder amongst children lacking Vitamin D in their diets both before and during the war, to the extent that the government decreed that all schools should provide a daily third of a pint of milk for every primary school child (School Milk Act 1946).

Legacy: The messages 'sugar is bad for you' and 'milk is essential for your health' have become mantras in our food industries. 

The hidden combination of sugar and salt that makes food tastier is not something we are consiously aware of, neither do we recognise it as being unhealthy. 

The increase in obesity, and in our image-consciousness, with everyone wanting to be a celebrity and to fight the ageing process, has resulted in a massive industry for consumer goods that allegedly make us thin, beautiful, desirable, and successful.

In addition, our obsession with diets, as well as not wanting rotten teeth has resulted in a very lucrative  'sugar free' food industry.

So let's look at some of the facts that are just beginning to emerge:

1. Whilst we need vitamin D and Calcium, the Casein and Lactose in Cow dairy products can have an adverse effect on our emotional and physical well being.
2. Small amounts of raw cane sugar are good for us but artificial sweeteners are toxic.

Intolerance to dairy products is associated with

• Skin problems (soles of feet, dermatitis, spots, dry areas)
• IBS (irritable Bowel Syndrome)
• Depression
• Anxiety (Panic Attacks, Phobias, Palpitations)
• Mood swings (similar to Bi-Polar disorder)
• Behaviou problems in children (excess energy, lack of concentration, similar to ADHD)
• Confusion, saying the wrong words (similar to Alzheimer's symptoms0

Artificial Sweeteners are associated with:

• problems with vision
• confusion
• depression
• anxiety/ aggression / irritability
• bloating
• liver/kidney problems
• skin problems
• allergies
• chest pain
• hearing difficulties
• epilepsy
• and many more

The most common combination of sweeteners and milk is in coffee!

3. Caffeine is a stimulant - one cup of coffee means that caffeine is in your system for 12 hours. 

Caffeine is associated with:

• anxiety
• irritability
• aggression
• fatigue
• palpitations
• diarrhoea
• IBS
• skin problems

So what can you do?  Try a little test:

1. remove or reduce the amount of caffeine in your diet for 10 days
2. remove dairy products from your diet for 4 days (read labels carefully and check for: whey, lactose) - if necessary find an alternative source of vitamin D
3. remove all artificial sweeteners from your diet for 7 days and replace with raw cane sugar- check labels for E numbers
4. drink plenty - at least 2 - 3 litres (doesn't have to be water, but sugar free drinks are forbidden)

You may have some withdrawal effects, but after a week you should start to feel generally better - if not, then these ingredients may not be what is affecting you.

For more information contact: Dr Dawn Heather on dawn@dawnheather.com