Of course, Big Pharma has played a role in perpetuating this idea. Antidepressant drugs, which are based on the chemical imbalance theory, represent a $10 billion dollar market in the U.S. alone. According to the CDC, 11 percent of Americans over 12 years old take antidepressants, and they are the second-most prescribed medications (after cholesterol-lowering drugs). Doctors wrote a staggering 254 million prescriptions for antidepressants in 2010. (1)
Research suggests that depression may be primarily caused by inflammation. Check out this article to find out more about the depression–inflammation connection. #MentalHealth
Yet as popular as this theory has become, it is riddled with problems. For example:
- Reducing levels of norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine does not produce depression in humans, even though it appears to do so in animals.
- Although some depressed patients have low levels of serotonin and norepinephrine, the majority do not. Several studies indicate that only 25 percent of depressed patients have low levels of these neurotransmitters.
- Some depressed patients have abnormally high levels of serotonin and norepinephrine, and some patients with no history of depression have low levels of them. (2)
What if depression isn’t caused by a “chemical imbalance” after all? More specifically, what if depression itself is not a disease, but a symptom of an underlying problem?
That is exactly what the most recent research on depression is telling us. A new theory called the “Immune Cytokine Model of Depression” holds that depression is not a disease itself, but instead a “multifaceted sign of chronic immune system activation.” (3)
To put it plainly: depression may be a symptom of chronic inflammation.
The Connection between Depression and Inflammation
A large body of research now suggests that depression is associated with a low-grade, chronic inflammatory response and is accompanied by increased oxidative stress.
In an excellent review paper by Berk et al, the authors presented several lines of evidence supporting the connection between depression and inflammation: (4)
- Depression is often present in acute, inflammatory illnesses. (5)
- Higher levels of inflammation increase the risk of developing depression. (6)
- Administering endotoxins that provoke inflammation to healthy people triggers classic depressive symptoms. (7)
- One-quarter of patients who take interferon, a medication used to treat hepatitis C that causes significant inflammation, develop major depression. (8)
- Remission of clinical depression is often associated with a normalization of inflammatory markers. (9)
During an inflammatory reaction, chemicals called “cytokines” are produced. These include tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α, interleukin (IL)-1, interferon (IFN)ɣ, and interleukin (IL)-10, among others. Researchers discovered in the early 1980s that inflammatory cytokines produce a wide variety of psychiatric and neurological symptoms which perfectly mirror the defining characteristics of depression. (10)
Interestingly enough, antidepressants (particularly SSRIs) have been shown to reduce the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines like TNF-α, IL-1, interferon IFN-ɣ and increase the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines like IL-10. (11, 12) They also change the gene expression of some immune cells that are involved in inflammatory processes. This suggests that SSRIs are anti-inflammatory, which would explain their mechanism of action if inflammation is a primary driver of depression.
The research on this topic is robust, and the connection between depression and inflammation is now well-established. But if depression is primarily caused by inflammation, the obvious question that arises is, “What is causing the inflammation?”
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Nine Common Causes of Inflammation and Depression
If you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you know that inflammation is at the root of nearly all modern disease, including diabetes, Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, allergies, asthma, and arthritis. So perhaps it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that depression is also caused by inflammation.
The downside of this connection is that our modern diet and lifestyle are full of factors that provoke inflammation—and thus cause disease. The upside is that if we address these factors and reduce inflammation, we can prevent and even reverse the chronic, inflammatory diseases that have become such a fixture of industrial civilization.
According to the authors of the Berk et al review paper I referenced above, the following are the most common causes of inflammation that are associated with depression.
1. Diet
There are several problems with the modern diet. It is high in foods that provoke inflammation, such as refined flour, excess sugar, oxidized (rancid) fats, trans fats, and a wide range of chemicals and preservatives. And it is low in foods that reduce inflammation, like long-chain omega-3 fats, fermented foods, and fermentable fiber. Numerous studies have associated the Western diet with major depressive disorder. (13)
2. Obesity
One of the most harmful consequences of the modern diet has been the dramatic increase in obesity. Obesity is an inflammatory state. Studies have shown higher levels of inflammatory cytokines in obese people, and weight loss is associated with a decrease in those cytokines. (14) Obesity is closely linked with depression, and while that relationship is likely multi-factorial and complex, inflammation appears to play a significant role. (15)
3. Gut Health
Disruptions in the gut microbiome and leaky gut (i.e. intestinal permeability) have both been shown to contribute to inflammation and correlate with depression. For example, a leaky gut permits endotoxins called lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to escape the gut and enter the bloodstream, where they provoke the release of inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-1 and COX-2. (16) And numerous studies have linked unfavorable changes to the bacteria inhabiting our gut with major depressive disorder. (17)
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4. Stress
Stress may be one of the most obvious causes of depression, but the link between stress and inflammation is less well-known. Research has shown that psychosocial stress stimulates the pro-inflammatory cytokine network, including increases in TNF-α and IL-1. (18) These increases in inflammatory cytokines are in turn closely related to depressive symptoms, as described above.
5. Lack of Physical Activity
There’s a huge amount of evidence indicating that exercise is an effective treatment for depression—in many cases as effective or more so than antidepressant drugs. It has also been shown to prevent depression in healthy people with no pre-existing symptoms. (19) Interestingly enough, while exercise initially produces the same inflammatory cytokines that are associated with depression, that is quickly followed by induction of anti-inflammatory substances. (20) This is known as a hormetic effect, where an initial stressor provokes a compensatory response in the body that has positive, long-term consequences.
6. Sleep Deprivation
Chronic sleep loss has been shown to increase inflammatory markers even in people that are otherwise healthy. (21) And although temporary sleep deprivation has been used to therapeutically improve depression, chronic sleep loss is a well-known contributing factor to developing depression in the first place. (22)
7. Chronic Infection
Chronic infections produce ongoing inflammation, so it’s no surprise to see that depression is associated with Toxoplasma gondii, West Nile virus, Clostridium difficile, and other pathogens. (23, 24, 25)
8. Dental Caries and Periodontal Disease
Dental caries and periodontal disease are another source of chronic inflammation, and thus a potential cause of depression. According to one large study of over 80,000 adults, researchers found that people with depression were more likely to have tooth loss even after controlling for several demographic and health factors. (26)
9. Vitamin D Deficiency
Low levels of vitamin D are common in Western populations, and there is growing evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to depression. Vitamin D modulates immune responses to infection, including reducing inflammatory markers like TNF-α and IL-1 that are associated with depression. (27) Supplementation with vitamin D to normalize serum 25D levels has been shown to to reduce inflammatory markers in some, but not all cases. (28)
The Biggest Problem with the Chemical Imbalance Theory
The early 1980s discovery that inflammatory cytokines produce all of the characteristic signs and symptoms of depression should have made a big splash. For the first time ever, scientists had discovered a class of molecules that were tightly and consistently associated with depression, and, when administered to healthy volunteers, produced all of the symptoms necessary for the diagnosis of depression.
Unfortunately, the “chemical imbalance” theory continues to be the dominant paradigm for understanding depression nearly 30 years after this profound discovery, despite the weak correlation between serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine and depressive symptoms. There are probably several reasons for this—and you’d be correct if you guessed that some of them are financial—but I’ll leave that discussion for another time.
The significance of this finding is huge—both for patients and clinicians. It shifts our focus from viewing depression as being a disease caused by a chemical imbalance, which often requires medication to correct, to being a symptom of a deeper, underlying problem. It also leads to entirely new avenues of treatment—many of them more effective and safer than antidepressant drugs.
Understanding the physical roots of depression can have a profound effect on people who are suffering from it. Although the stigma surrounding depression has decreased in recent years, many who are depressed still carry the burden of thinking that there’s something wrong with them, and the depression they experience is “their fault.” When my patients with depression learn that there’s an underlying physiological cause of their symptoms, they often feel a tremendous sense of relief and empowerment. What’s more, when we address this underlying cause, their mood improves dramatically and they quickly realize that the self-judgment and shame they felt about being depressed was misplaced and unwarranted.
I don’t mean to suggest that emotional and psychological factors don’t play an important role in depression. In many cases they do, and I’ve written on that topic before. However, the assumption in mainstream medicine that depression is exclusively caused by those factors is obviously not true, and too often these other potential underlying causes go unexplored. The doctor prescribes an antidepressant, the patient takes it, and that’s the end of the discussion.
What to Do If You’re Suffering from Depression
With this in mind, what can you do if you’re suffering from depression? Follow these two steps:
1. Adopt an Anti-Inflammatory Diet and Lifestyle
This means eating a nutrient-dense, whole foods diet, getting enough sleep, managing stress, engaging in appropriate (not too little or too much) physical activity, and nourishing your gut. For more on how to do this, see my book, The Paleo Cure.
2. Investigate Other Underlying Causes of Inflammation
On your own or with the help of a good Functional Medicine practitioner, explore other possible causes of inflammation that could be contributing to depression. These include gut issues (SIBO, leaky gut, dysbiosis, infections, etc.), chronic infections (viral, bacterial, fungal), low vitamin D levels, dental caries and periodontal disease, exposure to heavy metals and mold or other biotoxins, obstructive sleep apnea, and more.
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Someone close to me suffered from serious depression his whole life. After a health crisis, he removed Gluten from his diet. Six weeks later the rash he’d had on his feet for as long as he could remember, and he started feeling good. A couple of months later (still gluten-free) he told me that he felt that his depression had lifted. Now gluten-free for about six months, he feels that he has found his cure for depression and finally (in his mid 50’s) he feels like he got his life back!
Hitler was depressed. No wonder he did what he did.
Hitler was on methamphetamine, not depressed.
Yes, I agree 100%. It took me 19 years to study, experiment and find a way to move from a toxic lifestyle, toxic relationships, and a world of liars, to live holistically while my adoptive parents forced and threatened me since age 16 to take toxic psychiatric drugs. I now know they used their expensive “expert psychiatrists” to validate their story and to hide their abuses of their myself and the other 2 children they adopted. They “parented” their children by drugging them, suppressing any potential healthy connection to our own bodies, and lives.
I am so grateful for your speaking to the root causes, the true power we have to take steps to feel good, to release the lies that are being perpetuated in every mainstream propaganda machine from grocery stores, conventional agriculture, medicine without morals, and Big Pharma being the machine that keeps the toxic food coming, and the medical bills growing.
I am free of all this, thanks to health food stores, a weekly farm box delivered to my door (for $35. – all organic and diverse) and people like you who have the courage and heart to share what is actually true. Thank you, Chris!…
and my thanks forever to Dr. Hyla Cass, MD, Dr. Peter Breggin, and Donna Gates/Body Ecology Diet author – they made me aware of wonderful choices, and The Truth about my body and mind, so I could heal. Also, Dr. Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith & Rickie Byars Beckwith of Agape Int’l Spiritual Center were instrumental and I think it is worth mentioning my heroes. They are beautiful examples that the Truth is alive and well. They help me and I hope they help you keep it tuned in and turned on. I’m doing my best here co-creating a 260-acre regenerative design community on Maui. Love, Aloha, Claire
I know that I have never felt better, and my depression and anxiety is so much better and easier to manage since I have changed my diet. I have been eating Paleo for the last several months and I know cutting out gluten has helped me tremendously. Also I am type 2 diabetic and my blood sugar levels have dropped from being in the high 300’s to the low to mid 100’s now. I am so happy!
As someone who is at the extreme end suffering from major depression I agree with what you say. However I would add to that by saying that childhood trauma, such as emotional, physical or sexual abuse in childhood has a major impact on depression in later life.
In my own experience I was emotionally and physically abused by my parents as a child and this has left a long lasting impact which has been a key factor on my depression. After reading up on this seems to be via negative neural wiring in my brain. I also volunteer with people suffering from mental health issues such as depression and when I ask them if they have suffered trauma in their childhood, without fail they always describe some sort of abuse or trauma.
As well as the steps you have mentioned to overcome depression I would mention techniques to help rewire your brain via neuroplasticity in a positive way by doing such things as meditation practise and mindfulness based cognitive behavioral therapy. I’ve been eating a paleo diet and lifestyle for 4 years now, and by far the most important step for me has been positively re-wiring my brain which I have only just been doing very recently.
With that said, I can see how having your brain wired wrongly produces inflammation and by re-wiring it in a positive manner reduces inflammation. My personal thoughts are that this seems an under-researched area in the paleo scene due to the massive effects it can have on health, especially depression (and other mental illnesses).
What do you mean by positively rewiring your brain? Aside from meditating, that is?
The brain can re-wire itself throughout the life course through neuroplasticity where it literally changes the neural networks in the brain and this changes how the brain functions. For example depressed people can have a smaller hippocampus which is a key part of the limbic system and is involved in memory and recollection and the amygdala is often over-active. The amygdala is activated when a person recalls emotionally charged memories such as anger, fear and depressive thoughts. They often work together in a negative feedback loop causing depressive thoughts and a depressive mood. Mediation can help to quite down the amygdala and help the hippocampus physically grow as well as thickening the grey matter of the brain, especially in the pre-frontal cortex, the part that really make’s us human and is involved in personality.
Other ways I have personally used to help re-wire my brain is through mindfulness based C.B.T, essentially positive thoughts and actions (which I understand is very hard to do at first when depressed but it worked for me). Socialisation has really helped me too so I volunteer, got involved in some groups to meet new people and cut out all the bad ones I didn’t want in my life.
Whilst we have a brain that can biologically control human behaviour, thoughts and emotions, it does not control all of human behaviour. We have a mind that is not separate to the brain and the mind can be used through the power of will to help re-wire the brain.
A couple of fantastic books to read are The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force by Jeffrey M. Schwartz which is one of my favourite books of all time or The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being by Daniel J. Siegel
With that said I can only talk about personal experience and with my own personal experience I can say that eating an inflammatory diet and so forth makes me feel depressed. I react to corn and oats in the way someone with coeliac disease reacts to gluten and that makes me feel severely depressed like nothing else. Doing all I can to limit inflammation via diet, sleep etc. is the pre-requisite to combat depression. I just find it fascinating the interplay between my emotional and physical health and the effects this has on my inflammation and depression.
I developed severe depression and anxiety concurrently with irritable bowel syndrome. I think gut dysbiosis and inflammation of the gut are central to the etiology of depression –
http://www.ei-resource.org/news/mental-and-emotional-problem-news/depression-linked-to-leaky-gut-syndrome/
http://anp.sagepub.com/content/45/12/1023.short
http://www.gutpathogens.com/content/5/1/3
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21893478
My experience of depression occurred in connection with severe hypothyroidism and I am wondering if this ties into the inflammation question. My thyroid had been malfunctioning for years without my knowledge and I finally ended down the black hole. Luckily I was diagnosed with thyroid lymphoma fifteen years ago, at 52, and recovered with the aid of surg/chemo/radiation. I was given synthroid, which kept me balanced for ten years, no depression.
Two years ago I switched to a desiccated thyroid product and felt even better. However through a misunderstanding on my next prescription, which was for a year because we were sailing to Central America, I ended up taking too low of a dose for 4 months, I should have been taking 180mg and was only getting 150. On the lower dose I gradually went down again, until my husband finally realized what had probably happened and suggested I take more of the thyroid. I took the extra 30mg daily, which was now up to the exchange rate of the synthroid I had been taking, and within two weeks the depression was gone.
Then three months ago, when I got a new prescription but for a different size pill, I again took the wrong dosage, and became very stressed and then depressed. Again my husband, after believing I had gone completely nuts, realized what was going on and suggested I take an extra dose for a few days. I did the math on my new pills and realized the mistake. Again the depression lifted once the dosage was right. There is no doubt in my mind that the depression was caused by low thyroid.
Is having a low amount of thyroid associated with inflammation? Are there ways to build the system so that the low intake of thyroid does not cause this depression and, possibly, inflammation? I still have half my thyroid but was told it’s not functioning, or at least not much. I suddenly realized that if I was out somewhere and lost the pills, well, the thyroid keeps us alive, right? Until that moment I never realized I was so dependent on these little pills. Without them, which would come first, mental collapse, suicide, or does the system finally just give out, is that what happened to people before they had these pills? How long did they last?!
Do you think that the depression is caused by inflammation caused by low thyroid, is that how this works? I would really love to know if there is anything else that would build up the system. I keep picturing this end-of-the-world scenario where there is no manufacture of thyroid pills. Or we’re marooned on a desert island. What would I do?
Thanks so much for any ideas.
Inflammation! This makes so much sense. The depression I lived with for 30+ years lifted when I changed my diet. I notice that when I eat things I shouldn’t, those old feelings come back pretty quickly. I’ve always wondered what exactly was causing it.
Absolutely I relate to this on both a personal and professional level. And just came from a local meeting in Boulder, CO this morning where the Denver Diet Dr. presented as well as a holistic psychiatrist. on this very topic to a group of mental health professionals.
I’m a classic case e.g. adopted as an infant (gut health), childhood IBS syptoms, anxiety, adolescent alcohol abuse, more depression and anxiety, acid reflux, acne. was finally told to eat gluten free 10 years ago but it didn’t change the bouts with depression and fatigue. Continued sugar addiction. Diagnosed with breast cancer at 41 with co-occurring severe depression. Finally after 4 concerning blood markers of metabolic syndrome/pre-diabetes a cross fit friend handed me Gary Taube’s Why We Get Fat! I emptied my cupboard and within 2 weeks felt improved mood, energy, memory,, focus etc. Body aches went away and eventually lost 20 pounds without even trying.
Best yet and related to this article the symptoms of depression I’d struggled with my whole life disappeared. As a former psychotherapist and consumer of numerous modalities of psychotherapy and psychotropic drugs I am a full believer.
This spring I thought depression had returned as I had the same symptoms (primarily insomnia) that I had after delivering my son 15 years ago. Diagnosed with postpartum depression and prescribed a boatload of antidepressants back then, I finally got better and began sleeping after losing the baby weight. I had tapered off the antidepressants several years ago.
Over the 15 years, I gained all the weight back. This time around, I was diagnosed with NASH, low vitamin D, metabolic syndrome, BAV and sleep apnea. It was exactly what I’d felt like postpartum although none of these conditions were considered (and when trying to conceive had been diagnosed with PCOS , which contributes to most of the aforementioned conditions except the BAV).
This spring I bought the Paleo book and another book on nutrient-rich food and fatty liver, and began eating clean as possible and exercising daily, if only walking for 15 minutes. I’ve lost 30 lbs with about 20 more to go. With that and the cpap, I feel pretty good. It wasn’t a quick recovery but gradual. My liver is back to normal and energy returned. My heart is fine (no one ever investigated the heart murmur during pregnancy) and will be checked every year.
I feel strongly now I was misdiagnosed with postpartum depression and wrongly treated with antidepressants when I probably had fatty liver and sleep apnea (insomnia was complaint postpartum and I never felt really “depressed” only from lack of sleep).
How do I obtain the Bibliography?
Each citation in the article links directly to the source.
I have noticed that the pharmaceutical ads for medications for depression note “body aches” as a symptom of depression.
Coincidence? My own personal experience has been that body aches are a symptom of inflammation. So if body aches occur with depression, wouldn’t it seem reasonable that depression is a symptom of inflammation, too?
I heard a news report that the number of children who are “mentally disabled” is at an all time high. Of course, they attributed it to better diagnosis and felt bad because low income people are being “left out” (good for them).
As a Homeopathic practitioner (retired) when someone came for a consultation for a physical problem, & then mentioned that they had been feeling depressed. Depression is a clinical term, in the old days it was called “sadness” or “melancholy”. It is a mental symptom from their inability to solve or resolve an important life problem, eg family, relationships, etc. This mental symptom can cause physical problems if not resolved in the short/long term. Eg, a person develops Gi problems, because they can’t stomach a personal relationship & can’t figure out how to resolve it
I’ve followed this conversation with interest – (and learnt a lot!) hoping to see mention of the value of homeopathic treatment for mood disorders. Homeopathy differs from the other treatments mentioned in that it is ‘energy’ medicine that addresses dis-ease at its fundamental level. It’s safe, non-toxic, compatible with other therapies and extremely potent when correctly used. Don’t buy treatments off the shelf – especially for long-standing problems you need to consult a registered homeopath who will take your case properly and prescribe accordingly. Treatment is always aimed at cure – where cure is possible. So most people shouldn’t need to keep taking a remedy indefinitely. Having said that, I suggest regular followups with an experienced practitioner to keep the mind and body ‘tuned’. If cure is not possible, great benefits may still be achieved and the illness can be managed with the minimum use of drugs, etc. Homeopathy is capable of re-tuning the smallest imbalances and it’s a good idea to seek treatment early, which allows for more rapid results. A rule of thumb: you may expect to need one month of homeopathic treatment for every year of illness.
Just a comment about the article – there is a typo “chronic infections (viral, bacterial, fungal), low vitamin D levels, dental cares and periodontal disease…”
“Dental cares” should be dental caries, should it not?
My editor’s eye caught that while I was reading your very informative article 🙂
Thanks for catching that!
I am on an autoimmune protocol diet for my Hashimotos which developed during a very harrowing time of a cold turkey from a Benzodiazepine and am just finishing up a 3 year taper from Prozac. It has been a long, difficult 4 year journey, fraught with terrible depression and anxiety. The diet has helped somewhat and my body is now allowing me to take some supplements….here is my question…whenever I try to take magnesium, I get very depressed…anyone have any comments on this….very confused…I am low and i need it, but just cannot get it by supplement…
Try topical magnesium. If you have kidney disease, watch your kidney blood levels. Topical magnesium works great for leg cramps too. Make sure you’re supporting your liver, with liver support supplements. Go gluten free if you aren’t already. If your gut isn’t happy, could be source of depression. Are you doing Dr. Kharrazians hashimotos protocol?
After 30 years of mild to severe depression, multiple drugs, and talk therapy, I saw a meme on Facebook that said, “Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, you actually may be simply surrounded by a$$holes.” A light went off – maybe it wasn’t just me? Maybe the stress of my job, a grumpy husband, and an evil mother was a contributing factor in my depression? I got a new job, encouraged my husband to be more thoughtful, and told my mom to fly a kite. I felt much better!! I added paleo a few months later, and I’m now down to a quarter of the amount of Zoloft I was previously taking. I’m not quite cured, but I’m definitely recovering!
Yes, social factors are also often under-recognized as contributors to depression.
I’ve had chronic depression, anxiety and panic since birth. I’ve been on paleo diet for the last two years with mild effects on my depression and anxiety. I think that low inflammation will help depression but not for those with chronic conditions. Psychopharmcological drugs have helped me and many people immensely. However, if you are on the wrong drug or wrong dosage, you will not see the benefit. You have to actively manage your Psychopharmcological drugs intake. If you don’t you will end up no better off or worse or have too many side effects. If you have chronic depression and anxiety, I’d suggest buying books by Stephen Stahl as they articulate exactly how to utilize psychopharmocological drugs to their benefit. If you do it carelessly, they can have side effects and not be helpful
It is also too simplified to say that these drugs effect only dopamine, neuroepernephen and serotonin. There are many of neurochemicals in the brain that these drugs act on.
Something I forgot to mention in the article, but will add now, is that there’s evidence that some antidepressants reduce inflammatory cytokine production and that may in part explain why they are helpful in some cases.
There are apparently [?] minimal blood tests to check for inflammation. This article is spot-on. AND, IMHO, medicine is MISSING inflammatory states too often.
Q.: What does one do when labs all look “in normal range”, but one’s symptoms all point to inflammatory conditions?
Q.: Might taking supplements and herbs to decrease inflammation, screw up lab results?
Q.: Could supplements/herbs require far longer—say, abstaining from them for 2 weeks to one month, to get out of the system, before doing the lab tests to check for inflammatory conditions?
Q.: Maybe we really need far better tests?
[Have not been impressed by mechanized lab testing’s prevalence of false results on so many kinds of tests–for at least 30 years now]
Are there medicines that you believe are safe and possibly helpful to take? If someone has been struggling with depression most of their life, follow a very healthy diet, supplement with resistant starch, take Prescript Assist, exercise regularly, etc., what do you suggest would be the next step in fighting depression?
Research points to EPA without the DHA as treatment for depression. Have you tried that. Have you tried experimenting with high dose EPA.
If inflammatory factors play such a huge role in depression, how is it that many suffer in a cyclical fashion….I would think that unless they know of and are addressing the inflammation,there would not be a cyclical pattern to their experience. My best friend has just come out of a major depression and I need to be able answer questions she may have when I propose that she consider the inflammatory issue. I started personal Paleo Code in May and have seen results in my own life with mood control even though depression has not bee an issue for me…..I’ve also lost ten pounds and am hoping to get my arthritis to decrease… Thanks so much,
Susan
Inflammation often also occurs in a cyclical fashion. For example, autoimmune diseases are known to relapse and remit, and vitamin D levels fluctuate throughout the year (which could in part explain seasonal affective disorder).
That said, as I mentioned in the article, depression is multifactorial and inflammation is not the only contributing factor (though it may be the primary one).
I wonder if histamine and/or methylation issues could also be a cyclical contributing factor? My husband has OCD tendencies (under-methylation) and they really rear their ugly head in the spring and fall (when his seasonal allergies are at their worst = high environmental histamine), thus following a very predictable and cyclical pattern as well. At first I thought it was due to the seasonal change in the amount of daylight and changing vitamin D status… supplementation didn’t change much however. Any thoughts?
Mental illness, including depression is so complex. For myself, life events are a definite trigger – and these can be small events. Life events can also be an up-lifter for me. I am almost always lifted up and fine when around people I like. Sounds simple, right? Hang out with people I like. But, I could never seem to manage that. So – it’s complicated.
Debbie, you’re not alone. Beneficial things are simple, but not always EASY to carry out.
Cyclical nature may also possibly relate to changes in the microbiome occurring for different reasons and the resulting effect on inflammation.
Having dealt with sever obsessive anxiety since 9.. Tracing back to my mom ,grandpa, great grandma and seeing it in one of my sons already (8l ) I would love to just know what the cause is instead of running around in circles wasting time and money trying to heal it. I’m 35 now so I have known no other life. Seeing the strong genetics I can’t help but think genetics play a role in this?
Sara,
My spouse was diagnosed as having obsessive compulsive disorder long before we met. Although I’ve never witnessed any compulsivity or rituals, he definitely suffers from the obsessive side of it. Our son also has these same tendencies. Both are anxious, highly reactive, and worriers. Tendencies seem to be worse in the Spring and Fall (when allergies are also an issue). While my husband has learned to cope with his OCD quite well, it breaks my heart to see my son not enjoying life as a child should due to anxieties over things he has no control. I have given him low dose 5htp in the past and it worked well (and had the added benefit of greatly reducing his migraines) but can cause upset stomach. More recently I’ve discovered the link of OCD with methylation issues (histamine intolerance). Chris has touched on this subject on this site. Read up on this, as well as the MTHFR mutation and how it affects methylation. Since learning of this, I’ve given my son inositol with great results, but the b vitamins are touchy–certain ones can make OCD worse–depending on whether you are an over- or under-methylator. Read, read, read! Hopefully I’ve offered you something new to research. I hope it leads to some relief for you and your son!
IMHO, gut Flora and the condition the gut is in, makes a huge difference in many.
Science is now researching, and gotten some good preliminary results, showing that at least one good flora, L. Rhamnosus [?] has direct effect of remedying depression and anxiety.
Other Flora do other tasks–that’s why we NEED them so much, and in a broad array.
Not all fermented foods have the same cultures.
I look for those listing Rhamnosus–and it indeed seems to help several people I work with.
When the gut is out-of-balance, inflammation happens–and it’s all downhill from there.
Check for streptococcus infections in the gut, read up on PANDAS – huge link with OCD