Food for thought

 

I have recently dealt with the worst period of my life. And whilst it's a long way from over; it has caused me to consider where I am in regards to my depression.

Somehow I found the energy to continue: a clear enough mind to deal with problems, and a positive inner voice when I needed it. 

There were many days that I didn't have the above. But I was never so down that I couldn't turn things around after a little time had passed.

A very good support network was essential to this. But was there something else involved? 

I tried to remember when I first noticed an improvement. It was around this post.

When I read a few posts before this one I can appreciate there may have been changes happening for a while leading up to it.

The most obvious change was my dialogue with people around me.

As I thought about it I realised that there could have been something else - my diet.

I became a vegan in the middle of 2021; don't click away. Hear me out.

I changed my lifestyle primarily because of the harm done to animals by providing the products used in our society. Then because of the affect the industry has on the environment. As I read more I came to realise the detrimental impact they could have on me.

While there is no single magic bullet food that can cure depression, a healthy diet can be an important part of an overall treatment plan.

Foods that may help with depression:

• Fruits and vegetables: These are rich in antioxidants and other nutrients that are essential for brain health.
• Whole grains: Whole grains help to regulate blood sugar levels, which can improve mood.
• Healthy fats: Healthy fats, such as those found in fish, nuts, and avocados, are important for brain function. Fish can contain saturated fat plus toxins absorbed from the smaller fish they eat. The industry isn't sustainable and is a big polluter.
  
• Protein helps to produce neurotransmitters, which are the chemicals that carry messages in the brain.
  
• Probiotics: Probiotics are live bacteria that are beneficial for gut health. Some studies have shown that probiotics may also improve mood. Rather than drinking these I'd suggest you eat fermented foods. A plant based high in fibre will also aid this. Some examples are:  

1. Sauerkraut: This fermented cabbage is a good source of probiotics, but choose unpasteurized varieties to ensure that the live bacteria are still present.  
2. Miso: A fermented soybean paste that is a common ingredient in Japanese cuisine. Miso is a good source of probiotics and also contains prebiotics, which are fibers that help to feed the good bacteria in your gut.  
3. Tempeh: A fermented soybean cake that is a good source of plant-based protein and probiotics. 
4. Kimchi: A fermented Korean dish made from vegetables, typically napa cabbage and radish. Kimchi is a good source of probiotics and vitamin C.  
5. Kombucha: A fermented tea drink that is becoming increasingly popular. Kombucha is a good source of probiotics and may also offer other health benefits, such as improved digestion and boosted immunity.

Foods that may worsen depression:

• Ultra processed foods: often high in sugar, unhealthy fats, and refined carbohydrates. They can lead to inflammation in the body, which has been linked to depression. I've cut these out of my diet. 
• Sugary drinks: Sugary drinks can cause blood sugar levels to spike and then crash, which can lead to mood swings and irritability. This includes fruit juices, touted as healthy; they aren't.
• Caffeine: Too much caffeine can increase anxiety and make it difficult to sleep, which can worsen depression symptoms. I do drink coffee, but no more than three cups and rarely after midday.
• Alcohol: Alcohol is a depressant that can worsen symptoms of depression. This was easy for me.  When out with friends it's just water. I haven't missed it. When I have drunk a beer, it reaffirms my choice. What is the point of booze?

This isn't about me saying you should become vegan. But I would ask that you look beyond the media headlines. Investigate what I have written, and make up your own mind.

The benefits, as I understand them, are many and affect not just animals, but the planet we live on as well as personal health.

I know this is largely anecdotal, and is to an extent how I perceive the effects. And it has taken some adjustment but I think it's been worth it.

Being vegan

There is the saying: "How do you know if someone is a vegan? Don't worry they'll tell you."

Because of that I thought long and hard about writing this post. 

I have written a little about why I made this choice. Previous posts.

My intention is not to tell anyone what to do, just to say why I altered my lifestyle. Please research and reach your own conclusion. A caution I would add is that there are vested interests, and books to sell on both sides. So keep an open mind.

I had always been that person who said the line at the top of this page. I bought into the narrative that we need to eat meat, fish and dairy. A plant based diet couldn't provide everything I needed. Meat was the reason we had bigger brains, and developed the ability to run for long periods; to chase down prey. I now realise this may not be the case.

At the beginning of 2021 I watched Game Changers. Many will say it was the reason they changed. But not me. I didn't like the format. In my opinion it lacks substance. I was looking for persuasive info, I was disappointed. So I didn't change. Later I watched other documentaries: Seaspiracy and Cowspiracy were the first two. Others followed about the effects eating meat and dairy have on health, how animal agriculture damages our planet, and the terrible way animals are treated in food production. So I didn't become vegan until July of that year.

Most people become vegan because of the exploitation of animals. It is the definition of veganism. It wasn't my initial motivation. Now though I can say it's a primary reason along with the pollution it generates. I continue to become more informed about how unhealthy it is.

Fish are often left out of diet discussions. Most of the plastic and waste in our oceans is from the fishing industry. The methods used are incredibly damaging to the ecosystem, the quantity harvested is not sustainable, and the bycatch is incredible. So many dead animals are thrown back. Think about the cost to other species of that piece of seafood you're about to eat.

It's nearly two years now and I wouldn't go back. I did sort of missed meat at the beginning. Or was that just habit? I now can't imagine eating anything other than plant based.

Do I feel better, do I have more energy, am I free from disease, am I stronger? I can only say how it has affected me; your experience maybe different. I do feel better, I have reduced my exploitation of animals, and the burden I place on earth's resources. 

Energy is a difficult one to measure. Other parts of my life affect me and can make me feel low and unmotivated. I do generally feel more energetic.

I can only say at the moment I'm not aware of any diseases that are affecting me. 

I am in better shape than I've ever been. Is that just the food I eat, or the additional exercises I now do? Based on what I read and watch; being plant based reduces inflammation and improves my response to stress. I do feel I recovered very quickly from my crash last year. It's anecdotal I know; but feedback from my club mates suggests that I did. 

A recent blood test confirmed I am eating well. The only concern was low vitamin D, not uncommon this time of year.

This and everything on my blog is my opinion. I'm no expert. It's what I understand from personal experience and research. You can agree, ignore it, or disagree. But I would hope that it at least gave you a little incentive to find out more.

A few science based links that helped me.

World Health Organisation and a vegan diet. Will download a pdf.

Link 1. 

Link 2.

Search results for a vegan diet.

Improvements

It's early in the year, but I'm feeling stronger on the bike. Now that the weather is getting better, although I am writing this as the rain lashes down. The longer club rides have started, and the meet up time will return to 08:30 next week.

I worry that just exercising on the trainer doesn't build or maintain my capabilities.

The last few Saturdays have boosted my confidence, especially yesterday. It was a T4 ride, with plenty of hills. I was able to almost sprint up the climbs, something I don't normally do. A climb is more usually at a steady pace, if anyone accelerates away I let them go. I lacked confidence that I'd have energy left at the end to climb the final hill to my house. It's become clear this year that Portley Wood Lane is no longer the barrier to pushing it during the preceding miles.

Without wishing to sound too boastful, yesterday was fairly easy despite the strong headwind. I tried not to ride in the draft of others too much. I had the route on my head unit so I could lead as often as I wanted.

A few times as I settled into a comfortable pace on the front I heard requests to easy off, especially towards the end of the ride. I never want to put others under pressure, I've been there myself. There is nothing worse than seeing the group pull away knowing I haven't the strength to keep up. It's especially hard with a strong headwind. Once out of the slipstream it quickly becomes exhausting to close the gap.

I really hope I didn't spoil anyone's ride.

What could have caused this extra performance, bearing in mind I'm getting older.

I think it's a combination of many things:

My new bike. Info here. I definitely felt a speed and efficiency improvement from the first ride, and then again when the mudguards came off.

My diet. Since becoming vegan I have at times found it hard to get enough calories. This could have impacted endurance and muscle development. Although I think I recovered from my broken hip last year pretty quickly, so I can't have been far off. It may even have hastened that come-back according to the research I have done. Recently I bought a sports watch to track heart rate and activity when off the bike. The info combines with a food tracking app allowing me to more easily spot when I might be under eating. It's shown me I'm mostly about right. I now know that the Saturday club rides have caused a deficit that it takes a few days to catch-up. 

Exercise off the bike. Late 2020 I started doing press-ups, not many at first, twenty was as much as I could manage. This has built to 180, spread across the day in sessions of thirty. Then in May last year I started sit-ups, again only doing a few at first. Now it's 120 through the day. I don't want big upper body muscles, just a strong core. As a cyclist I need light weight, strong legs, good heart and lungs; and a stable mid section for efficient power transfer.

A reassurance about the changes I have made over the last few years came as a result of a chest infection. A visit to the doctor included a check of heart rate and blood pressure. The BP was okay with oxygen saturation of 100%; the HR, was low at around 45 bpm. My new watch had been tracking it so I asked if there might be a problem. The considered healthy range is 60 to 100. I mentioned the amount of activity I build into my day and being vegan. An ECG was booked, this found no problems, but a blood test was then arranged. It seems being a healthy weight and a vegan had the doctor concerned I may be deficient in something. 

The conversation about the results with my doctor revealed I was slightly low in vitamin D and could probably eat a bit more protein. The low HR was likely a result of my active lifestyle and nothing to worry about. More sunlight and a supplement will sort out the vitamin concern and I'm eating more beans and pulses to increase protein. He wished more of his patients looked after themselves as well as I do.

Accidental vegan... almost.

 

I blame it partly on Netflix. I watched a documentary called Game Changer, about people who had become vegans. I found it very poor; it seemed to be a sales pitch, propaganda if you will. There is little compelling info, just selected people who evangelise about the cause. Athletes talked about becoming vegan and finding incredible performance improvements. Other people claimed their lives had greatly benefited. The arguments put forward were badly discussed, and misleading in my opinion. There is also too much anecdotal "evidence" for me to take it seriously. It certainly didn't persuade me.

But it did get me thinking more about the subject. There are far better documentaries the "...spiracy" series is one. The first one was cowspiracy, followed by seaspiracy. Whilst not without an agender, and a conclusion to confirm they are more fact based. Some comments have been reported as being taken out of context by the interviewees. 

Since watching them I have made some changes; it's been gradual, almost without me realising. I do still eat meat, maybe once a week. I don't drink cows milk, replacing it with oat milk; barista version. I'm not sure how the barista version differs but it makes better tea. I think it tastes fine, unless you drink it straight you wouldn't know it wasn't bovin derived. 

I go for the vegetarian pizza and pies, and no longer eat fish. There are plenty of plant based alternatives, some better than others. I tried making a Sunday dinner from Tofu, it wasn't a great success. It's the picture at the top of this post. I was unprepared for how wet it is, the recipe didn't say that I really needed to dry it out before frying. The result was edible but the consistency wasn't as appetising as it could have been. 

Apart from the "tofu incident" I'd say it's been okay. Maybe my meat consumption will drop further, I don't know. If I'm eating out I'll go for the vegetarian option, if it's likely to be tasty and not an afterthought addition to the menu.

I don't think I have experienced improvements to strength or stamina - it's been no game changer - and my weight hasn't changed.

This post isn't about trying to make anyone change. It's just my thoughts and experiences. I'd suggest you investigate the subject and make up your own mind. My nephew is vegan, he doesn't make a big thing of it, he'll talk about his decision without preaching.

Another change I realised whilst writing this; I don't really want alcohol anymore, I was never a heavy drinker, maybe a glass or two of wine a month. There is rum in the house, but I just don't fancy drinking it. When I eventually visit a pub or restaurant again, I very much doubt I'll buy a beer.

  

Coconut Thai curry with chickpeas

This is a bit of a departure for the blog, I normally write about photography and cycling. Today it's cooking.

It's also unusual because I'm not a vegetarian and I rarely follow recipes. But I was bored of the standard food I eat and a friend suggested a vegan recipe. I was keen but couldn't get all of the ingredients. A google for ideas that I could cook came up with coconut Thai curry with chickpeas.

Dealing with butternut squash and aubergines was a first, and I have never included chickpeas in a meal. But it wasn't so bad. An hour to cook gave me plenty of time to start writing this. I didn't know what it was supposed to look like, I just hoped it was going okay.

So how did it go?

Not too bad if I say so myself. Although having eating on hold while I took photos caused the wife some concern. I could have presented it better if I had a bit more time. But when you photographing food you don't then sit down to eat it. I held Marcia off as long as I could and also didn't want it getting cold.

I think next time I'll add more chillies and a bit more liquid. And I don't think I'll be giving up meat anytime soon, but I will cook more vegetarian meals. It does make a nice change.

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