Bipolar disorder is a mental condition wherein a person experiences extreme mood swings. A person’s feelings may go from extremely good to really low in life. Due to the extreme range of symptoms, it often gets tough to diagnose bipolar disorder. There is no cure for it, but the symptoms can be controlled with medications, therapies, and lifestyle changes.

Diet is a major contributing factor to this deadly mental disorder. Certain foods can affect your mood majorly while others can have calming effects. Here are some foods to avoid if you have bipolar disorder.

One should remember that it is vital to take a holistic approach and focus on diet as well as other forms of medication and treatment.

Grapefruit – It has been seen in many cases that some bipolar medicines, particularly anticonvulsants, do not interact appropriately with grapefruit and grapefruit juice. Thus, it is one of the foods to avoid if you have bipolar disorder.

Caffeine – Caffeine in any form is known to irritate people and make them restless. It could also cause sleeplessness and nervousness. It is also known to suppress hunger. Thus, caffeine intake should be minimized, and the person should be slowly weaned off it. If you suddenly eliminate it from the diet, it could alleviate symptoms, so do it gradually.

High-fat foods – Any food with a lot of fat content in it will take time to digest and can add to the lethargy levels already prevalent in bipolar patients. Also, fatty foods make it tough for bipolar medications to get absorbed in the body, thereby inhibiting their benefit. So do away with cheesy burgers, french fries, and other junk food too. These are definitely some of the foods to avoid if you have bipolar disorder.

Alcohol – Alcohol is a depressant, and consuming it can make it very difficult for a person with bipolar disorder. Thus, it is imperative to altogether avoid the substance. The National Institute of Mental Health shows that people with a bipolar issue are five times more likely to get dependent on alcohol than regular people.

Meats – You should also avoid red meats, saturated fats, and trans fats as it can alleviate the symptoms of bipolar disorder. Also, those suffering from type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and obesity face a higher risk if such an eating style is continued.

Sugar – People with bipolar disease should cut down on sugar as sugar highs and lows can make an already unbalanced mood more erratic while sugar crashes can make a person extremely irritated.

Refined carbohydrates – Bipolar patients are more likely to add on calories and get obese as imbalances of seratonin in the brain may increase the craving for more unhealthy carbohydrates. Thus, junk food is most certainly one of the foods to avoid if you have bipolar disorder.