Treating Depression Naturally

In the United States there are over 12 million people suffering with depression.

These numbers are rising at an alarming rate.

All of the steps in this guide are 100% actionable.

So if you want to learn about ways in treating depression naturally, check out the new guide.

The DSM-IV is a manual published by the American Psychiatric Association to establish diagnostic criteria and descriptions to guide the classification and diagnosis of mental disorders.

According to the DSM-IV, the diagnosis of depression is based on specific symptoms including:

• Depressed or irritable mood most of the day
• Decreased interest or pleasure in daily activities
• Fatigue/loss of energy
• Changes in sleep and weight

When it comes to treating depression, traditional mainstream medicine focuses on the symptoms.

The worst part?

It treats the symptoms of depression instead of its cause…

…and we label people with these labels like depression and bipolar.

But these are just labels and tell us nothing about what caused the depression in the first place.

The symptoms of depression can be the result of a whole list of things…

…and the diagnosis and treatment plan of each of those causes is very different.

Yes, there are reasons for depression when you have loss, death, trauma, and all sorts of real things that happen that could lead to depression.

But keep this in mind:

Often times we attach meaning to our moods that may have nothing to do with what is going on in our head, but instead what is happening in the body.

Depression is extremely important to notice as soon as possible. If you are depressed, this is something that therapy can help with. Psychology is an important aspect of our mental health… Watch Video

Here are a list of potential underlying causes of depression:

1. If you have a gluten sensitivity or an autoimmune condition related to gluten it could be causing hypothyroidism which is contributing to depression. Learn more at PubMed
2. You might have inflammation in your digestive tract as a result of your diet and stress levels.  Inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy, and sugar effect the integrity of the digestive system, which is where over 95% of the body’s seretonin is produced.  Seretonin regulates, mood, appetite, sleep, and cognitive function.
3. If you have been using acid blockers for the treatment of acid reflex, this can lead to the impairment of vitamin B12 absorption.
4. Like 80% of America you can be vitamin D deficient, which can also contribute to depression.
5. Or you have nutritional deficiencies contributing to symptoms of depression you are experiencing, like omega-3s and methylating nutrients like folate, B6, and B12. B vitamins are important for helping your body make neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine.

Almost all individuals suffering from depression have one or a combination of a number of the mentioned contributing causes of depression.

The following are just a few of the common causes of depression:

How Depression Affects Thyroid Function

Approximately 10-15% of patients with depression have a thyroid hormone deficiency (2). It is very important to have your thyroid tested by your doctor.

We’ll be honest with you:

It is very important to run a comprehensive thyroid panel to rule out thyroid disorder as a possible cause of depression.

There are studies that have shown a link between depression and reduced levels of thyroid hormone, T3.

Treatment with Synthroid, which is a T4 medication, is the common treatment for hypothyroidism, which has made the situation even worse due to its inability to adequately address the T3 deficiency.

How Depression Affects Adrenal Function

Disruptions in the body hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis have been linked to depression.

One hormone of interest the pituitary gland produces associated with depression is adrenocorticotropic hormone (ATCH).

What this means is:

ACTH triggers the adrenal glands to produce DHEA and the stress hormone, cortisol. Studies are now showing a relationship between the overproduction of cortisol and mood variations. It is very important to see how your HPA is functioning.

How Depression Affects Nutrient Deficiencies

There are numerous studies in the medical literature showing the link between nutrition deficiencies and depression.

The following are a list of nutrients/micronutrients that deficiencies in have been associated with depression.

• Vitamin D
• Omega-3 Fats
• Zinc
• Methylating nutrients such as folate, B6 and B12

How Chemical Toxins Affect Depressions

In present day society, we are being constantly bombarded by environmental toxins. The body requires zinc to be able to properly detoxify these toxins.

Which means:

If the body’s ability to get rid of these chemicals is impaired, possibly due to a zinc deficiency, the toxins can back up and accumulate in the brain causing many depression associated symptoms.

Steps and Natural Ways to Treat Depression

The first step in the treatment of depression is to determine the causal factors involved.

Causes can range from: dysfunctions in the thyroid and adrenals, nutrient deficiencies, and chemical toxicity exposure.

Avoid exposure to plastics (BPA), harsh cosmetic and household cleaning products, and drinking clean filtered water are all great ways to minimize the body’s exposure to toxins. By better understanding how nutrition can help play a active role in the treatment of depression, you can benefit from an online personal training program that is tailored and customized to your specific needs and goals.

Some of the best ways to address many of these factors is through food.

Eating real whole foods is the answer to everything and the greatest form of medicine. It is important to get rid of the pro-inflammatory and put in the anti-inflammatory foods. Get rid of gluten and dairy.  As we mentioned earlier these foods cause havoc on the digestive system, which affects the production of very important neurotransmitters, including seretonin.

Remember:

Eat good fats like omega-3s from fish and fish oil, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, avocadoes, nuts, seeds.

Eat high quality proteins because your brain makes neurotransmitters from amino acids in protein. Also, cut down on sugar because sugar drives depression.

(This is simple, yet effective)

Minimizing environmental toxic exposure and promoting the body’s detoxification process are also an integral component of the treatment plan.

Click the above image to watch a video on natural treatments for treating depression.

To promote detoxification, it is important to engage in regular exercise. Exercise is a great way to sweat out toxins and it increases the body’s production of pleasure chemicals.

Cool Bonus: Download a free PDF version of this guide. The PDF version contains all the tips, links and resources found here… plus 10 exclusive bonus techniques that you’ll only find in the PDF that will help with make sure the foods you are eating are getting absorbed by your body correctly.

The truth is:

Be sure to work out and break a sweat at least 3 times each week.

Supplements that promote detoxification, such as N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) are also beneficial. To learn more be sure to read our article How to Naturally Detox Your Body.

The message here is that if have depression it is very important not to lose hope.

Interesting Side Note:

What is important is to look for the root cause and connect it with your diet and these various factors and work to fix them.

Getting your body healthy, your mood will get better as a side effect.

Mood will get better, anxiety will get better, brain symptoms will improve by fixing the body.

Bottom line: When you take away the bad stuff, and put in the good stuff, the body has an amazing ability to heal itself.

Now It’s Your Turn

You just saw an natural-based action plan to treat your depression.  But for you to get value from this post, you need to take action with it.  And step #1 is to download the additional checklist below.  Enter your email to get access to the free checklist for additional health benefits:

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