This is a really complicated topic so I'm going to make it really brief - for anyone who's on a raw diet yet still struggling with energy and mood issues, I encourage you to start researching minerals. Over the past year I've gained alot of expertise on being able to noticeably and immediately improve (or accidently ruin) my mood or energy levels through eating mineral foods and/or drinking mineral waters and/or wheatgrass juice. The mineral sources tend to add up after some time (and coffee and sugar are things that will deplete them).

The interplay and interdependency of minerals is so complicated that I haven't yet felt up to the challenge of writing it all down. But for me, this discovery has been huge. I would say stay away from supplements and instead learn what foods contain exactly what minerals and research what each mineral does in the human body, as well as deficiency symptoms.

For instance, a deficiency of either magnesium or calcium will result in tiredness & irritability - but they are DIFFERENT KINDS of tirednesses and irritabilities. Also too much magnesium will result in tiredness - but again, it's yet another different type of tiredness. Some mineral waters are quite high in calcium and I have found these helpful in combating tiredness from over-magnesium.

The common misconception of "fat makes you tired" is really more the intake of too much magnesium to blame for the tiredness, as high-fat raw foods such as nuts and avocados tend to be high in magnesium without being high in calcium (unlike greens which tend to be high in both calcium and magnesium and thus provide a balancing feeling). On the other hand, those same nuts and avocadoes will GIVE you energy if you happen to be deficient in magnesium but ok on the calcium.

I also hesitate to write too much about this topic because thus far these are just my own experiments and experiences on myself, so it's only anecdotal evidence and I don't want to mislead anyone. Thus, I encourage you to do your own research and experiment on yourself.

There is a handy website www.pmgeiser.ch/mineral/index.php?func=disp&parval=1183

This site contains a list of mineral waters of the world and their mineral contents. One water that doesn't list its mineral content is the Glaceau Smart Water (clear with a blue label) that you see everywhere - but from its effect on me I tend to think of it as being quite high in calcium.

Bottom line, if you are deficient in minerals, you will feel like crap, and if you have a mineral imbalance you will feel like crap, and if you have overdone the minerals you will feel like crap. It's a delicate balance. Also if you drink coffee or eat sugar, you will have to work harder at this balance because both those foods deplete minerals (although I do love me some coffee & chocolate!)

Also... I don't know if this is true or not, but I tend to wonder whether we might be born mineral-deficient or mineral-rich, depending on maternal nutrition. It's a question on my mind.

Ok good luck!

xoxo
Sunshine

Sunshine,
Thanks for your input on this.
Very fascinating topic for me also.........moods and what you put in your mouth.
I also have a gut feeling that you should stay away from supplements.Alot of them dont even dissolve.
Its also a gut feeling of mine that fresh organic dark leafy greens have about the best balance of nutrients in them as just about any other food.

Opinions?

Brian

[ I don't know if this is true or not, but I tend to wonder whether we might be born mineral-deficient or mineral-rich, depending on maternal nutrition. It's a question on my mind. ]

You can usually correct a mineral deficiency swiftly with supplements.

But you can't easily correct the damage due to the mother's faulty diet and mineral deficiency.

Sometimes these problems are due to flaws in the body's uptake of what is present in foods.

[I also have a gut feeling that you should stay away from supplements.Alot of them dont even dissolve. ]

They have their uses. I'd much rather take a b12 supp than eat an animal. They vary in usability. That's why some supplements are rx only--these tend to have better bioavailability.

[Its also a gut feeling of mine that fresh organic dark leafy greens have about the best balance of nutrients in them as just about any other food. ]

Yes, this is true. The next in line is sold green vegetables, like broccoli or asparagus.

This pic is from the October 2005 ACJN paper,
Concept of a nutritious food: toward a nutrient density score
Adam Drewnowski





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/26/2008 07:42PM by Bryan.

I'm a regular blood donor, and often increase my intake of greens in the few days leading up to a donation. (By a factor of two or three.) I feel that whoever gets my blood will be in a serious condition, and I want to do everything I can to make sure that my blood will give them the best help possible. Nearly everything about a person's current condition is in the blood. Can you imagine giving blood with a hangover? That's the last thing the guy who just got in a car crash needs to get from his blood donor! (Well, no, I can think of worse things.)

Anyway, I've found that for these few days when my intake of greens is so much higher than usual, I definitely feel the difference in my mood. I'm just so happy!

Quote

when my intake of greens is so much higher than usual I definitely feel the difference in my mood.

yeah, I've definitely noticed a FOOD - MOOD connection between eating greens and feeling good too.

arugula

that was the most useless graph i have ever seen LOL

I shrunk the graph in arugula's post so it would be more readable.

yes; i've been thinking lately about vitamin and mineral deficiencies and I definitely believe that these are the things that keep us very balanced and shouldn't be over looked

there is so much science behind food that i would like to learn about