Depression, if you don’t already know, is suffered by many, many people and for a number of reasons. Running on of mind or racing thoughts and/or obsessing thoughts. Chemical imbalances, vitamin deficiencies, specifically B vitamins and niacin, mineral and amino acid deficiencies are all significantly tied to depression. rnDepression can be a debilitating illness and sometimes we have depression and don’t even realize that’s what it is. If you have sadness, fatigue, apathy, lethargy or malaise and/or random aches and pains with an unknown cause you very well may suffer depression. rnLet’s talk first about racing thoughts. That is probably one of the hardest things to change. It is a conditioned and addictive habit. If one can teach the mind to “stay in the moment,” one can alleviate this problem. It is a habit and habits can take up to six months to break so don’t expect an immediate result. If you find yourself thinking the same old negative thoughts day after day, find yourself something to occupy your mind. Clean the grout in your bathroom or pull weeds from your garden. They key is to stay acutely focused on what you are doing so that you are “not thinking.” Practice having “no thought” is like having blackboard in your mind with nothing on it. Having thoughts on the blackboard literally burns those thoughts into your mind, much like a etch a sketch. Once they are there they are hard to erase and takes time and effort.rnInappropriate levels of serotonin, tyrosine, dopamine or any other monoamine neurotransmitter can also contribute greatly to depression. With low levels of seratonin you will usually notice fatigue, early morning awakening and lack of desire. Low levels of dopamine will usually present with symptoms of anger, inability to focus and anxiety. rnSupplementing with SAM (S-adenosylmethionine) has been demonstrated to possess significant antidepressant activity with improvement sometimes within four to seven days and virtually no reported side effects. Again, it depends on the specific deficiency your body has. Supplementing the diet with the amino acid methionine may offer the same benefit as SAM. Levels need to be monitored though because too much is not a good thing either. Niacin supplementation can also help with certain types of depression because it raises tryptophan levels. Though relatively safe, niacin can causes headaches, flushing and other side effects.rnMeasuring mineral and amino acid levels. By measuring the levels of these substances you will have a base to start. No matter how much dopamine, seratonin and norepinephrine one has in the body, they will not work without appropriate minerals, amino acids and vitamins, especially zinc and the B vitamins, including folic acid. These are crucial for function of the autonomic nervous system. However, do not take more than 400 micrograms daily of folic acid daily because a high intake may hide a vitamin B12 deficiency so it is important to have all of the levels measured. Minerals such as magnesium, calcium and amino acids such as taurine, tyrosine and carnitine play a key role in many aspects of your health including depression. It is important though to learn which amino acid targets the specific type of depression you might have. Evaluate how you feel. Be acutely aware of exactly how your mind and body feels at any given moment. For example, taurine has a calming result whereas tyrosine has an excitatory result. You will need some baseline testing to know which amino acids you lack. Spectracell is a good source for this type of testing. Amino acids contribute to the manufacturing of the brain neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemical compounds, which transmit information to, and from nerve cells. Serotonin, dopamine, adrenaline and noradrenaline are some of the neurotransmitters targeted by pharmaceutical antidepressants thus the recognition of their importance. Amino acids are precursors of neurotransmitters. For example, the amino acid tryptophan serves as the precursor to serotonin and melatonin. Phenylalanine and tyrosine are precursors to dopamine, adrenaline and noradrenaline.rnAnother little known fact is that proper liver enzymes is imperative in manufacturing neurotransmitters, particularly seratonin. Without them, no matter how much seratonin you have floating around in your body, it simply cannot do what it needs to do. Dr. Amy Yasko and Dr. Mark Neveu are currently researching the importance of liver enzymes, particularly BH4 and neurotransmitter levels and have simple tests available to the public. Some patients with depression have been shown to have low levels of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4 ), a crucial co-factor for serotonin. People lacking appropriate levels of this enzyme typically respond to BH4 supplementation.
http://www.holisticheal.com/rnInflammation is also another major and little understood contributor to depression. Chronic inflammation can cause a cytokine storm. A cytokine storm releases a tremendous amount of immune cells into your system in an attempt to fight the inflammation causing an excited immune system. An excited immune system can cause other nutrients to be utilized that would ordinarily be used to bind with other chemicals that are needed to bind with neurotransmitters to keep your central nervous system stable. Thus, a nutrient shortage results and depression can set in. With appropriate nutritional (supplements or dietary) intake, adequate Vitamin C and quercetin this problem may be eliminated. Tumeric is also a good agent to reduce cytokine storms. However, as with any other medication, care must be used. Tumeric is used in Ayurveda medicine to treat diseases of the liver and to relieve inflammation. However, excessive use of turmeric should also be avoided if you are pregnant and for people with congestive heart failure. The curcumin in turmeric activates a gene called p53. This gene deactivates cancer cells, but it also deactivates damaged cells in the heart. rnAgain, with supplementation of any supplement, it is vital to check your liver function on a regular basis. I cannot stress this enough.rnWhen attempting to address depression, it is important to remember that depression can occur for many reasons so if one method doesn’t work, don’t give up hope, just try a different choice of treatment. And remember, stay in the present and leave the past behind. Forgiveness of past events helps almost any ailment.