January fills itself with new resolutions, new prospects, new starts… and new cloud cover. Endless gray days mean less time spent outside in the snapping cold of an already excruciatingly short day. As our fingers tap perpetually on keyboards, our minds wander to Southern France, Cyprus, the Maldives. We fantasise about bright golden sand, nectar-sweet pina coladas, dreamy luminesce sunsets. Sigh.

Winter in the UK hugs us tightly throughout these early months, its firm grasp exhausting our 'happy' resources and squeezing us into tunnels of despair. Many jet off to warmer locales and receive a sunlight injection that holds them through until summer. And some of us, unable to scamp away for a break, slip deeper into the thick arms of an arctic, overcast unfriendly winter.

Known as SAD (seasonal affective disorder), this descent during the wintery months tends to affect ladies more than gentlemen. Typical symptoms include:

• Loss of energy

• Anxiety attacks

• Weight gain as a result of craving the wrong foods

• Excessive sleeping

• Reduced sex drive

Even if your personal resolve bravely outweighs the pull of the 'winter blues, strong emotions tend to be contagious. So, if your partner is experiencing some SAD, there is an increased likelihood that you will 'catch' it as well.

How does it all start anyway?

What happens chemically in your head during a SAD attack involves tiny messengers called neurotransmitters. In addition to transferring impulses from one brain cell to another (i.e. thought), they shack up with various neuropeptides that help process their information. Neuropeptides are simply chains of amino acids in your brain cells. For example, the amino acid tryptophan helps the neurotransmitter serotonin become abundant—more of one equals more of the other. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter well known for influencing mood.

Controlled by the food we consume, neurotransmitters regulate our behaviour. A craving for bread often translates into your body signalling you for some tryptophan, and fast! The tryptophan digested from the complex carbohydrate boosts your brain's ability to flood itself with serotonin, giving you a calming effect. The highest concentration of tryptophan is in raw flax seeds. More great sources include lentils and chickpeas, nuts (peanuts, almonds, walnuts), raw seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, butternut squash, watermelon, sesame), seaweeds like spirulina and kelp, alfalfa, soy, rice, grains including quinoa and amaranth, spelt, oats and barley, mangoes, dried dates, bananas and…chocolate. (yes!)

Another sure-fire way to counteract your SADness entails two distinct neurotransmitters called dopamine and norepinephrine, both of who use the amino acid tyrosine for processing (neuropeptide). Tyrosine is manufactured from your body by the amino acid phenylalanine. Phenylalanine is the famous neurotransmitter that creates the hormone adrenaline. Adrenaline, being our in-built 'fight or flight' response mechanism, controls our reaction to stress and can effectively 'rouse' someone out of depression. Sources of phenylalanine include bananas, soy proteins, frozen tofu, many seeds (watermelon, fenugreek, roasted soybean nuts), and chocolate. (double yes!)

Show me the supplements

Food is fun, and if we could eat all day long, we might just get the amount of nutrients equivalent to what our ancient ancestors used to get from their naturally organic fields. Nowadays, we definitely need some help in making sure our internal nutrient stores overflow from modern day produce farming (even organic). When stuffing your face leaves you exhausted, turn to supplements to give you the edge in amending SAD moodiness:

Zinc: Max 50 mg daily. Tryptophan facilitates in transporting newly digested zinc from the stomach to the bloodstream. A deficiency in tryptophan leads to a loss in zinc.

Vitamin B Complex: 100 mg 3 times daily, recommended sublingual form. The B vitamins contribute to the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system, and collaborate with many other vitamins to maximise their absorption. They resemble the Musketeers, working only in unison, and so must be taken together. Make sure the complex contains B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), folic acid, and B12.

Soya lecithin granules: 2-3 teaspoons daily, sprinkled on food. Choline is one of the big boys as far as nutrients for our body cells go, including neurotransmitters. Acetylcholine plays an important role in the cognitive functioning of the brain.

Calcium and Magnesium: Get a 2:1 ratio, i.e. 1000 mg Calcium to 500 mg Magnesium. These two antagonists affect tremendous impact on our ability to calm and relax our muscles as well as our nervous system.

Essential fatty acids: Omegas 3, 6, 9. Mammoth sources include flax, pumpkin, chai, and walnut, black currant seed oil and evening primrose oil.Udo's Oil and most especially, the purest form EPA and DHA micro-algae derived V-Pure supplement(available at www.water4.net). EFAs do uncountable amounts of goodness in your body including aiding in the transmission of nerve impulses. Their antagonist is Vitamin D, and the two use their opposite forces to get calcium out of the bloodstream and into your cells (and vice versa). So, I also recommend taking a Vitamin D2 supplement (with Calcium), or getting some sun on your face. Solgar makes a fantastic Calcium and Vitamin D2 supplement. Recommended supplements are

Vitamin C with Rutin: 5000 mg daily in split doses. Besides immune function, Vitamin C aids in preventing feelings of depression. Rutin is a buckwheat-derived bioflavonoid. 300 mg daily of Rutin taken with Vitamin C helps its absorption.

Herbs A-Plenty

Herbal supplements and teas, tinctures, and extracts combine some known and many unknown nutritional powerhouses from plants. Scientists continue in astonishment to discover endless intricate healing properties of these truly divine little beings. Some recommended herbs to help counteract SAD are:

St John's Wart: Consistently and embarrassingly outperforms all pharmaceutical anti-depressive drug with no side effects. It happily combines antiviral and antibacterial properties with its abilities to significantly balance and lift mood (particularly SAD), improve deep sleep, anxiety-reducing, and sexual interest. (Bonus!)

Gingko Biloba: Helps streamline mental functioning, mood, and sociability, expedites sufficient cerebral oxygen flow (to the brain) to surge alertness and raise cognitive function. It has powerful antioxidant activity and protects brain cell membranes, and improves neurotransmitter availability.

Rhodiola Rosea: Improves mood, energy, and mental clarity, battles stress and fatigue (both physical and mental). Incredibly, while increasing physical and mental energy, it calms you at the same time. It also boosts learning, thinking, and memory.

More Hints and Tips

You also can beat SAD with these further suggestions:

• Stuff your face with endless amounts of raw fruits and vegetables, soybeans and soy products, brown rice, millet, and legumes. Bursting with complex carbohydrates, your serotonin levels will stay colossal and keep you smiling.




• Eliminate wheat and wheat products from your diet. One of the highest allergenic foods (and food allergies usually have depression as a top symptom), wheat particularly finds itself joined to study results of depressive disorders.




• Bypass all foods high in saturated fats. Saturated fats (found in meat, fried foods such as hamburgers and fries, etc) induce sluggishness, slow thinking, and fatigue. Causing blood vessels to become blocked by making the blood sticky and clumpy, saturated fat consumption contributes to poor circulation, especially to the brain. They also induce heavy swelling and inhibit nerve communication. The healthful exceptions are coconut oil and palm oil.




• Sugar, sugar, sugar. A simple carbohydrate, the body overreacts to its presence (all forms) and inevitably leads to fatigue and depression. Sugar scarily reduces your white blood cells ability to fight infections, too.




• Investigate light therapy. SAD lamps and full-spectrum bulbs have been known to work wonders during the winter months by stimulating the sun, which stimulates our production of the mood-helper hormone melatonin.




• Be aware that steroid drugs and oral contraceptives may provoke serotonin levels in the brain to fall.




• Smoking uses up vast amounts of Vitamin C. Either put down the fags or supplement with extra Vitamin C and double your dose of a multi-vitamin and multi-mineral.




• Vigorous exercise releases endorphins (morphine created by your endocrine glands) that allow you to feel 'high'. A brisk, energetic speed walk outdoors in the cold gives you a triple whammy of fresh air, endorphins, and Vitamin D.

To find out more about SAD and to receive a free 20 minute Nutritional Consultation, register with UltimatelyBournemouth by clicking here.

References:

Balch, James F. and Phyllis A. (30 Sep 2000). Prescription for Nutritional Healing. 3Rev Ed edition. Avery Publishing Group Inc. U.S.

Woolven, Linda and Snider, Tim. (30 Jul 2007). Healthy Herbs: Your Everyday Guide to Medicinal Herbs and their Use. Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited., Ontario.

Erdmann, Robert with Jones, Meirion. (1 Jun 1989). The Amino Acid Revolution. Prentice Hall & IBD, USA; Reprint edition.

Jenson, Bernard and Anderson, Mark. (31 Jan 2000). Empty Harvest. 2Rev Ed edition. Avery Publishing Group Inc., U.S.

Schmidt, Michael. (28 Feb 2007). Brain-Building Nutrition. 3rd Edition. North Atlantic Books, U.S.

Murray, Michael and Pizzorno, Joseph and Lara. (23 Dec 2005). The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods. Atria Books, New York.