Nutrition science meets common sense
The 'Diagnosis Diet' website was set up by Georgia Ede MD - a psychiatrist by training, who first became interested in nutrition following her own personal experiences of ill-health despite doing her best to follow official dietary guidelines, and who is now an authoritative voice for the growing movement for the inclusion of nutritional approaches in psychiatry.
Her articles are highly accessible in addition to being very well-researched and referenced, making this website an invaluable resource for both professionals and the general public.
Exerpts from her 'About' page:
I first became interested in nutrition after discovering a new way of eating that completely reversed a number of perplexing health problems I had developed in my early 40’s, including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Migraines, and IBS. This experience led me on a quest to understand why the unorthodox diet that restored my own health is so different from the diet we are taught is healthy.
I became passionate about the connection between food and every aspect of physical and mental health, and began to read and study nutrition intensively in 2007. Before long it became obvious to me that our cells all require the same basic nutritional care, and that the vast majority of medical literature misses this fundamental point.
Even more interesting to me is how little most of us know about the foods we eat and how they affect our bodies. Nutrition literature steers us wrong by focusing on the epidemiology of diseases rather than the biochemistry of food and of the human body. Nutrition is not rocket science, and the basic principles should not and do not change from day to day. I now apply what I’ve learned (and continue to learn) in my medical practice, and enjoy having a variety of therapeutic options to present to my patients.
I have become convinced that what we eat is by far the single most important factor in our mental and physical health. This is a conviction based not only on my own personal experiences with dietary changes, but also on the experiences of those of my patients who have been willing to try nutritional approaches to a wide variety of health conditions, including bipolar disorder, migraine headaches, ADHD, IBS, panic disorder, CFS, eating disorders, and many others), as well as on my extensive reading across all scientific fields related to food and health, including nutrition, medicine, botany, toxicology, anthropology, and biochemistry.
I am one of a growing number of physicians around the world who has come to believe that everyone who applies the truth about nutrition science to their diet can experience major improvements in their own health and well-being. Most people are surprised at the results they see and become just as excited and curious about the connection between food and health as I am!
When you feed your brain and body properly, they will respond by functioning at their best. The basics of my nutritional philosophy are grounded in a combination of evolutionary principles and food biochemistry. While I am a huge fan of a primal /”Paleo” diet, I would argue that, just because a caveman or cavewoman or cavekid might have eaten something a million years ago, doesn’t necessarily make it healthy, and some of us may need to modify this basic dietary pattern to feel our best.
Even the most perfect diet cannot cure all diseases. I also believe in the power of modern medicines and continue to prescribe medications to those who are either uninterested in changing their diet or who do not achieve good enough results from dietary changes alone. It may be that many years of following misguided nutrition guidelines, and/or exposure to any number of other modern environmental influences does irreparable damage to the chemistry of some individuals, and/or that some people are born with medical conditions that diet cannot cure. However, even in these cases, a healthy diet will significantly improve overall health and may reduce the need for medications, perhaps allowing for lower doses or milder forms of helpful drugs.
I also believe that each person’s chemistry is unique. While there are some dietary guidelines which make sense for all of us, there are others that can be more flexible. Some people can tolerate dairy, some cannot. Some do beautifully with all kinds of vegetables, while others have to eliminate certain vegetables in order to feel their best. Some can include “safe” or “healthy” carbohydrates in their diet while others must eat a very low carbohydrate diet to be well. My goal is to provide you with the information you need to do your own dietary experiments so that you can design the diet that is best for you. I hope you enjoy the journey!