Do supplements and high protein diets really hurt your emotional stability?
Marlee W asked:
My husband came back from his second tour in Iraq feeling cold and less like himself (both of which are symptoms of PTSD). That along with other issues we’ve had caused us to seek marital counseling. Our therapist informed us that one of the first things he has to do (other than let time pass so his brain can start producing serotonin again) was to cut the high protein diet he’s been on, along with any body building supplements he’s on. Me or my husband have never heard of such a thing, and my husband is hesitating listening even though through her expertise, she has seen a good outcome from men cutting supplements and high protein out of their diet. I wanted to know if anyone has ever heard of this, so I can tell my husband to at least humor her for now.
My husband came back from his second tour in Iraq feeling cold and less like himself (both of which are symptoms of PTSD). That along with other issues we’ve had caused us to seek marital counseling. Our therapist informed us that one of the first things he has to do (other than let time pass so his brain can start producing serotonin again) was to cut the high protein diet he’s been on, along with any body building supplements he’s on. Me or my husband have never heard of such a thing, and my husband is hesitating listening even though through her expertise, she has seen a good outcome from men cutting supplements and high protein out of their diet. I wanted to know if anyone has ever heard of this, so I can tell my husband to at least humor her for now.
December 27th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
I can’t think of any particular reason a high protein diet would be a problem, as long as he’s still getting a reasonable amount other nutrients (carbs, fat, vitamins, minerals, etc).
The bodybuilding supplements on the other hand I can understand, as the packaging of many reads like chemistry class. The stimulants (caffeine and taurine in particular) have been known to increase anxiety and affect mood. Not a lot of solid research has been done on most of ingredients or how they interact with each other. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to leave them out for a month or so; any loses in strength and such would come back in a hurry. Part of the problem is many are designed (though whether they work or not is debatable) to increase arousal and therefore performance. It sounds like increased arousal might not be a good thing for him right now.
If he’s hellbent on taking something, regular creatine (not in a pump or mix), whey powder and a multivitamin should be fine. Those are all found naturally in your diet and shouldn’t affect mood at all.