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Areas › Your body › Food, caffeine and fuel
The health food shop route usually starts with a self diagnosis, and that first step is the one worth slowing down. St John's wort will do nothing for a vitamin D deficiency that is showing up as low mood, whatever it does for depression. Get the question right, then argue about the answer. It matters for safety too, since several supplements interfere with prescribed medication.
Would you exchange better for worse? (Quran 2:61). The question is put to people who traded what was doing them good for what they fancied instead.
البقرة
وَإِذۡ قُلۡتُمۡ يَٰمُوسَىٰ لَن نَّصۡبِرَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامࣲ وَٰحِدࣲ فَٱدۡعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُخۡرِجۡ لَنَا مِمَّا تُنۢبِتُ ٱلۡأَرۡضُ مِنۢ بَقۡلِهَا وَقِثَّآئِهَا وَفُومِهَا وَعَدَسِهَا وَبَصَلِهَاۖ قَالَ أَتَسۡتَبۡدِلُونَ ٱلَّذِي هُوَ أَدۡنَىٰ بِٱلَّذِي هُوَ خَيۡرٌۚ ٱهۡبِطُواْ مِصۡرࣰ ا فَإِنَّ لَكُم مَّا سَأَلۡتُمۡۗ وَضُرِبَتۡ عَلَيۡهِمُ ٱلذِّلَّةُ وَٱلۡمَسۡكَنَةُ وَبَآءُو بِغَضَبࣲ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمۡ كَانُواْ يَكۡفُرُونَ بِـَٔايَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ وَيَقۡتُلُونَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ بِغَيۡرِ ٱلۡحَقِّۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِمَا عَصَواْ وَّكَانُواْ يَعۡتَدُونَ
Remember when you said, ‘Moses, we cannot bear to eat only one kind of food, so pray to your Lord to bring out for us some of the earth’s produce, its herbs and cucumbers, its garlic, lentils, and onions.’ He said, ‘Would you exchange better for worse? Go to Egypt and there you will find what you have asked for.’ They were struck with humiliation and wretchedness, and they incurred the wrath of God because they persistently rejected His messages and killed prophets contrary to all that is right. All this was because they disobeyed and were lawbreakers
Qur’an 2:61read it in the library
Translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an, Oxford University Press, 2004.
Even well supported treatments depend on who is taking them. Across randomised trials, omega-3 supplementation reduced depressive symptoms, with the benefit concentrated in people with diagnosed depression rather than in healthy volunteers. Same compound, same dose, and the effect largely disappears when the condition is not there.
Grosso G, Pajak A, Marventano S, Castellano S, Galvano F, Bucolo C, Drago F, Caraci F. (2014). Role of omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of depressive disorders: a comprehensive meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.. PloS one doi
Strength of evidence: one line of research. A single study, or a theoretical account.
A treatment can only act on the thing it acts on, so getting the problem wrong makes the rest of the decision irrelevant.
Tell your prescriber about anything you buy over the counter, since St John's wort in particular interferes with a number of medications.
When you find yourself reaching for something sweet again, try asking what the reaching is doing for you instead of telling yourself off. Comfort, a small rebellion, a way to stay awake: the answer usually points somewhere useful.
Skin prick and IgE blood tests find real allergies. The IgG food sensitivity panels sold direct to families have not been shown to measure sensitivity at all, and they tend to come back with a long list of foods to avoid.
Stimulants sharpen focus in almost anyone, so responding well to one does not confirm you have ADHD. The diagnosis comes from your history and how you function, not from a trial of tablets.