by Teray Garchitorena Kunishi, ND | Jan 17, 2015 | Anxiety, Depression, Food as medicine, Medication |
Your diet is an essential key to healing depression and anxiety naturally. You cannot successfully get off antidepressants, for example, without a mood-supporting diet. This can be daunting to figure out, given all the diets, superfoods and instant cures your friends post on Facebook. Fortunately, from a foundational standpoint, there’s a simple place to start. If you change nothing else in your diet now, do this: Make sure every meal contains 20-30 grams of protein. Yup, every meal. Ideally animal protein at least half of that time. Why protein? It has a low glycemic index, which means it will not spike your blood sugar. Imbalanced blood sugar triggers your stress hormone, cortisol, which in turn can make you feel anxious. Blood sugar swings also deprive your brain of consistent fuel, which can result in depressive thoughts, lack of focus, and fatigue. Real life example: A low protein breakfast (like granola, or a low fat mocha latte) is often followed by a late-morning (or mid-afternoon) energy and mood crash. If you’re like me, that crash often results in a desperate pastry purchase (“Stale chocolate croissant? It’ll do!”) which you almost always regret. A solid breakfast of 2-3 eggs, or a piece of last night’s chicken dinner, on the other hand, keeps energy and mood stable, making you more effective and yes, happier, throughout the day. Why is it important to eat animal protein? Animal protein always contains all the essential amino acids, which are the raw materiasl for your feel-good chemicals: serotonin, dopamine and GABA. “Essential” means you have to get it from food – the body cannot manufacture it....
by Teray Garchitorena Kunishi, ND | Nov 24, 2014 | Uncategorized |
The other night, I bolted upright at 5AM. Way too early, and waytoo awake. My heart was pounding. I heard the voices of all my fears, whispering in my ear. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing myself to fall back asleep. But you know as well as I do, that never works. I got up and scrounged through my cupboards, pawing blindly for something to eat. Finally, I sat on the couch, closed my eyes acknowledged in the depth of my heart: I’m scared. So, so scared. Of doing it wrong. Falling on my face. Following a dream with no guarantees. Then, I reached for my favorite “medicine book”, Make Me Your Own by Tosha Silver. She writes about the Divine, who calls out insistently through billboards, random strangers and 90s pop songs, singing: “Why waste your time / you know you’re gonna be mine / you know you’re gonna be mine / you know you’re gonna be mine…” I laughed out loud. Closed my eyes again. Ignored the mental chatter and focused on my breath. Found an utterly unexotic mantra that cleared my head. Wanna hear it? “Mindfulness” Over and over I said it silently. I reminded my mind that paying attention helps me catch mistakes, sometimes before I make them. Slows down time. Makes large projects easier to handle. Then I wrote down the insights that tumbled out of the slowness. Then, I slept. In the morning, I shared this with trusted friends. Then I reached out to my mentors. Practiced procedures save lives. Pilots know this. Doctors know this. And I want you to know this....
by Teray Garchitorena Kunishi, ND | Nov 24, 2014 | Uncategorized |
Nothing is more fulfilling than being on a path of purpose. But how do you know what your purpose truly is? Here are some questions I’ve used with my patients and clients, to help them discover their true calling: 1. What are you curious about? Author Elizabeth Gilbert put it really well: sometimes, the prospect of “finding your passion” can be intimidating – even exhausting. If this is you, start with curiosity: Which topics do you find yourself drawn to, over and over again? What types of books fill up your bookshelves? What have you always wanted to try? 2. What are you naturally good at? Nothing is too big or too small. Chances are, there is something you do better than most people. It’s possible that you don’t even think it’s valuable. Amanda was a participant at a Deeply Happy workshop I facilitated in Berkeley. When I asked her what her natural talent was, she was embarrassed to say it was decorating her home. To her, it wasn’t an impressive talent. But visitors to her home constantly raved about her impeccable taste and style. And most importantly, Amanda loved picking out furniture pieces and accent colors that would come together in just the right way. It put her in a state of ease and flow. If you want to find work you love, forget about what you “should” do. Start with your natural talents. 3. What do you secretly want to do, but always find reasons not to do? You know that thing that you fantasize about, only to have your critical voice pop in and say: “Yeah right! There’s no way you could do that.” “You’ll look ridiculous.” “Who do...
