No Need To Trip Over It

by DanM@cowseatgrass · Published May 3, 2019 · Updated November 6, 2022

BrekkaDelic Even though it’s all the buzz, you don’t need to take LSD or mushrooms to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. There are safer, more reliable ways to improve or even rid yourself of mental dysregulation issues, and often all it takes is some dietary or lifestyle changes.

Maybe psychedelic drugs have unique magical healing properties, and you need to take some, and all your problems will miraculously disappear. But it would be fair to say that learning to avoid things that damage metabolic function, increase stress, and inhibit brain function, is also a reasonable starting point.

Consider adding a few everyday ingredients that are known to provide powerful pro-metabolic, anti-stress, anti-inflammatory, and brain-fueling effects before you decide to use what some consider to be poorly understood drugs to do a so-called brain reset.

Let’s assume for a second that hallucinogens do help; it’s not like they will work by making you less metabolically healthy, will they? There are more reliable, less mysterious ways to improve metabolism that don’t involve summoning evil spirits or having conversations with aliens. Unless that’s what you want?

Call me conspiratorial, but I think there’s good reason to be suspicious of drugs that suddenly start to receive mainstream promotion for treating mental disorders. And those same drugs have been officially warned against for decades because of their ability to cause what they now say they can treat. So were they wrong before, or are they wrong now?

What about all the “anti-depressants” that have been pushed for the last few decades because they raise serotonin? I thought they were supposed to be the solution. How does that align with science showing that LSD works by reducing serotonin exposure? And if LSD raises serotonin, like some have tried to argue, aren’t plenty of drugs already doing that? Intentional or not, no consistent or coherent reasoning validates any main treatment approaches.

Funnily enough, though, it doesn’t make a difference because people have gotten conditioned to accept that whenever the word science gets used, whatever information comes with that can and must be trusted. Anything else is pseudo-scientific “woo-woo”. And granted, lots of “alternative treatments” are.

But what I’m talking about isn’t “alternative science”; it’s just science that makes sense but disagrees with the mainstream narrative. This uncooperative biological science fits inside a logical view of how metabolic issues can promote psychological dysfunction. Yet, it gets set aside as if it doesn’t exist, and most people never even hear about it.

It includes science showing the dangers of the most popular treatment approaches for depression and anxiety. And how they can cause what they are supposed to treat, and how that makes sense in light of the demonstrated causes of many other metabolic illnesses that often go together with mood-related issues. And in any case, the official ways have not worked very well.

I’m not suggesting that science and nutrition solve every problem affecting the mind. Still, we’re talking about ways to improve primary function and resilience, to raise protection from the stresses of this world, whether biochemical, social, environmental, or spiritual. Not some potion that will “reset” your life with just a few little drops.

I have written articles (with many studies attached) showing things associated with psychological dysfunction. It includes hypothyroidism, inflammation, oxidative stress and rising levels of cortisol. And serotonin, nitric oxide, estrogen, bacterial endotoxin and lactate. And cholesterol, GABA and dopamine issues, and other things. These can promote and get promoted by excess stress and metabolic interference.

And all these can be improved with simple and safe dietary changes that most people have never tried because they never knew they could. And because they got propagandized into believing an utterly false version of nutritional science, spread by people who may as well be tripping.

One of the most significant dietary hallucinations is the idea that sugar causes disease and quitting sugar treats disease. It goes well with the delusional belief that PUFAs are anti-inflammatory and heart-protective. And it goes well with the official fantasies about salt, iron, cholesterol, saturated fats, and dairy.

I know every situation isn’t identical, and you can’t just eat a bit of sugar, and voila, your problems all go away. But if you have experienced how something like a “stomach bug” can affect your emotional state, you have been given a clue as to the dramatic difference a well-functioning metabolism can make to how you feel, even in high-stress circumstances.

That’s why it makes sense to see what happens if you eliminate the main things that can “poison” metabolism and include the things that can fuel metabolism (and the brain) and go from there. If you have yet to try that, you cannot figure out what to do after that.

Sometimes, more sugar and fewer PUFAs can mean slightly less cortisol and adrenaline. And then not as much endotoxin, which can mean lower serotonin. It can tip the balance away from excess estrogen, reducing interference with mitochondrial respiration, moving things away from lactate and nitric oxide, and improving the regulation of dopamine and GABA. Before you know it, your liver works better, and you’ve improved thyroid energy system function, and just like magic, you sleep better and feel a bit better.

Other times, it won’t be so straightforward. But, again, I’m not a doctor. And this is not a dietary prescription. But it’s the idea that’s important. No matter what I say, it can be complicated, and you’ll have to figure out how to apply it to your life and particular circumstances. And, as I said, there can be more to it than just a few dietary changes or pills. But suppose you’re being lied to about the effects of food on physiology. In that case, it can be an unnecessarily tough uphill battle, and I don’t believe adding psychedelics into the mix is a guaranteed solution. But, of course, that’s not to say it can’t be beneficial for various reasons.

If you like what I say and want more information (including lots of studies) showing simple ways to improve metabolic function and reduce mood-related issues, please check out some of my other articles, including Are You Running On Empty?. And please share this and sign the email list up top.

Copyright 2021, by Dan M @ CowsEatGrass. All rights reserved (except for quotations and images having their own protected copyrights). This copyright protects author-publisher Dan M’s right to future publication of his work in any manner, in any and all media — utilizing technology now known or hereafter devised — throughout the world in perpetuity. Everything described in this publication is for information purposes only. The author-publisher, Dan M, is not directly or indirectly presenting or recommending any part of this publication’s data as a diagnosis or prescription for any ailment of any reader. If anyone uses this information without the advice of their professional health adviser, they are prescribing for themselves, and the author- publisher assumes no responsibility or liability. Persons using any of this data do so at their own risk and must take personal responsibility for what they don’t know as well as for what they do know.