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?”
Like what you’re reading? Get my free newsletter, recipes, eBooks, product recommendations, and more!
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)
Want to learn more about gut health?
Download This Free eBook
Your gut microbiome is connected with your overall health. Find out how to maintain and restore a healthy gut.
"*" indicates required fields
I hate spam, too. Your email is safe with me. By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy.
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.
Better supplementation. Fewer supplements.
Close the nutrient gap to feel and perform your best.
A daily stack of supplements designed to meet your most critical needs.
I totally agree that diet is very important in treating depression. And the best example in this case is the Mediterranean diet. Eating primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts, replacing butter with healthy fats, such as olive oil, using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods, limiting red meat to no more than a few times a month, eating fish and poultry at least twice a week help you to be more physically active and also have a healthy life. I suggest you to look at the destroy depression system http://understandingdepressionandanxiety.com/destroy-depression/ which is a plan that teaches you the Mediterranean way of life and how to eat your way to a happy, healthy life.
I contribute to the dialogue here from two points of view: one is as a lifelong sufferer of major depression, and the other is from the perspective of a practicing psychotherapist.
Firstly, in my personal health, I have found that I have had a general inflammatory condition for about 15 years since a bout of pneumonia; this progressed within the last 4 years to an MS type of illness (depression, parasthesia, loss of balance, double vision etc.) – my research led me to conclude that this was caused by a very small and recently discovered bateria Chlamydia Pneumoniae, and 8 months after starting antibiotic treatment my symptoms and disability and depression are almost copletely resolved (check out http://www.cpnhelp.org)
As a practicing psychotherapist, I notice distinct grouping of people who are treated for depression (in particular). One group have a horrific trauma history which corresponds to their depressive symptoms, and the other group have a depression far exceeding the severity of adversity in life. I am in the latter group.
Thank you. Your post gives me hope. Had sudden onset adult anxiety that started a year ago. My wife and I are just now starting to see the connection to inflamation and chronic infection. A sinus infection preceeded my bout….
I have hope for the first time in a year.
Hi Chris,
I really liked the article and judging by the 242 comments and 22k+ Facebook shares (at this point), it struck a chord with a ton of other people!
You mentioned chronic infections like Toxoplasma Gondii as being a cause of inflammation which can affect someone’s mental state. About 6 months ago, I found out that my IgG antibody levels to T. Gondii are very, very high. I have done a lot of research of chronic toxoplasmosis, but will spare you most of the details as the main point is that I can’t seem to find anything (drug, herbal medicine) that is known to work against the “latent”/chronic, cyst stage (bradyzoites) of the parasite in humans.
Have you come across any treatments that I could look into further? My best leads at this point are artemisinin and ginger, but the research behind both of those seems to be surprisingly undeveloped at this point.
Thanks!
Hi Chris,
I worked this one out the hard way. I was exposed to mold in a rental house for 3 months and then hammered by fertiliser dust when i stayed at a motel, towards the end of that time – they were unloading it from the dock nearby. I was floored. A month later my hair started falling out. It took me a long time and a lot of stress to realise it was inflammation causing the fall. Now I am in a healthy environment but my immune system is still weak, 5 months later. I also have a multinodular thyroid and tend to hyperthyroid if I eat seaweed or other iodine rich foods, or herbs, or certain supplements. I’m sure this is linked to the inflammation and the hair fall too, but the hair fall never happened until the exposure to mold and fertiliser. I got on top of the condition around 6 weeks ago after going onto certain things – natural progesterone cream (raises cortisol/ lowers estrogen’s inflammatory action?); magnesium and serotonin boosting herbs – st john’s wort. Every time i take something that loowers my cortisol however it starts again. Recently I took pine bark extract – apparently exacerbates hyperthyroid, I found out. The proanthrocyanadins are the porblem. The hair started again. I’ve also been working in a job where i feel qute stressed lately. I started getting depressed just before the hair fall started again. Now I’m trying hard to manage my inflammation by managing my anxiety with passion flower, passifying my thyroid, and getting happy. The problem is that I seem to need to raise my cortisol all the time to do this. My palms are literally orange and I believe that it’s a sign of high cortisol. With me I’m guessing that managing my thyroid is one of the key things I need to do, as well as my anxiety. I eat healthfully. Do you know of any anti-inflammatories that don’t upset the thyroid and don’t lower cortisol? I’d like my cortisol to drop of its own accord, when it no longer needs to be raised. I’m down to magnesium and fish oil, but the symptoms continue. Also, do you think that neurotransmitters themselves have an inflammatory/anti-inflammatory role? I felt a lot better wih less symptoms on 5-htp and then st john’s until recently. Is it both ways?
I’d try gluten free, dropping goitrogenic foods you are able to and cooking foods like kale or cabbage for eight minutes as one person suggested with draining the water.
Hi, Chris, My 17 year old daughter has Crohn’s and has struggled with anxiety/depression for almost a decade (since she was put on a huge dose of prednisone for 9 months to put her Crohn’s in remission).. She missed all last year of school and is also not going to school this year (all due to anx/dep). Any advice? we are broken-hearted. We live fairly close to Berkeley. Should we bring her in? Help, please :'(
Prednisone will definitely mess you up but it’s an anti-inflammatory drug and I was given 60 mg for 2 days in a row for asthma and for about 2.5 weeks I felt SO GOOD. No depression, had plenty of energy, my stomach wasn’t hurting and I slept really good. I’ve had depression for 15 years or so and that 2.5 weeks was the best feeling of my entire life. I wonder if it was the prednisone. (but taking it over a long period of time will def mess you up)
Amen to this one. Those drugs are DEADLY. Wish I would’ve known this BEFORE trusting a doctor that a pill was the solution. I am far, far sicker now than I was prior to taking the prescribed drugs. And that is almost always the outcome.
I am in my fourth year of severe, barbaric and inhumane withdrawal from psych meds that I was given for “work-related stress”. It has ruined my life and health and that of thousands and thousands of others. We’re all online together in little underground communities (since no one believes us that the drugs destroyed us, including the medical “professionals”) trying to get off this stuff and reclaim health, but it can take years and years of suffering to get there, especially if you come off the drugs improperly or too quickly
There’s help getting off (DO NOT STOP THE DRUGS COLD–they MUST be tapered sloooooowly)
http://www.paxilprogress.org
http://www.survivingantidepressants.org
http://www.benzobuddies.org
http://www.benzo.org.uk
There’s also tons of facebook groups filled with support and people getting off these meds as well if you search for them.
Very true. The financial gain and greed for recognition in the medical community by psychiatrists and big pharma has caused a nation of people to suffer catastrophic mental illness from antidepressants. I am one such casualty.
I was never so sick as I am right now trying to come off the effexor nightmare. I was a long term ingesting subscriber to paxil (aka the devil) and tried numerous times with the help of med professionals to come off these toxins. I never wanted to die more than when I was taking full doses of these poisons.
A big FY goes out to the medical community for not believing the crime that has been and continued to be committed against those of us who lived to tell the truth.
Oh Effexor that one was by far the worst for me to come down from. My head felt like there were electrodes going of in it. I had to stay home from work. Sorry you are suffering through that one. It took me a few weeks to detox. Best of luck.
I was on Effexor for 10 odd yrs about 10 yrs ago. I came off them cold turkey( stopped them without weaning off them) without side effects. I was heavily depressed in thoughts and actions. I sort quite a few ‘helpers’ over this time and did a few courses to help well they worked or rather 1 in particular did. I am a Christian , and no Christians are not immuned to depression , that was the only thing that held firm so I searched for answers and got them.
I’d tried to come off the pills before this and always had horrible withdrawals.
My experience showed me that what is today is always attributed to the past. I had no reason to be depressed I had a wonderful husband great kids we were well off a good life so why? My ‘search for life’ exposed my problems that started way back when I was little and continued through my growing years. I addressed these issues and moved forward what release a few months later I did the course again dealt with a few more issues and bingo took the plunge went off the pills and didn’t look back till now.
I had a stroke at 53 and struggled for a bit before I was put back on Effexor because I wasn’t in control of my emotions.
If the cause is inflammation I could understand it as a good bleed on the brain must cause swelling plus I have other mRkers there that may lead to MS so I will now look into that cause I hate taking pills.
A bit off topic but my experience
Depression is a common and serious issue in majority of the people. It badly affects mental health of a person. Self-treatment, concealing and medication are the treatment for Depression. I have chosen medication to treat my Depression. I have been on Trainqulene for 3 months and it relived my anxiety. For proper information you can read Trainqulene review here http://bit.ly/1C1Ifn0
I am curious what your thoughts are on other mental health issues like ADD and Anxiety as it relates to inflammation.
If you are suffering from depression, I highly suggest getting the destroy depression system.
Written by a former sufferer of depression, it teaches a simple 7-step process to eliminate depression from your life once and for all.
I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1990 and definitely suffered from depression. Prescribed Prozac in 1996 and took it for 15 years until weaned off one month after venous angioplasty for chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) in March, 2014. Incredible symptom improvement and no longer deprived of oxygen in the brain means no more depression for me!
Dr Mercola on the internet has an article of a diet plan used to overcome MS in about nine months if you are interested. mercola.com
Hi Chris, Excellent article! I am delighted to have found your website. I actually teach a year long on-line certification course, (starting again in a couple of weeks), sponsored by The Alliance for Addiction Solutions, which teaches clinicians and anyone else, how to apply these principles to mental health and addiction recovery. It’s exciting to watch more and more clinicians getting trained in this approach, and seeing so many people get well after being sick for so long. I personally had been depressed from day one and it turned out to be a combination of trauma and developmental deficits (I am a psychotherapist along with being a mental health nutritionist), along with deficiencies in both the Omega 3 fatty acids and GLA, (inflammation was part of this); dopamine deficiency, helped by L-Tyrosine; premenstrual hypoglycemia; severe gluten intolerance (I had actually been diagnosed with Celiac disease when I was 2, but the diagnosis got lost!), and IgG reactions to corn and eggs. At its worst, any corn at all would make me acutely suicidal. My depression has now been in complete remission for almost 20 years. I had to explore a lot of layers, but it really is possible to get and stay emotionally well.
I have been suffering from depression, pmdd, and a long list of symptoms relating to inflammation. I recently stopped eating gluten and foods that cause inflammation by eating the autoimmune Palio diet and all of my symptoms slowly started disappearing. I feel like the gluten and leaky gut were my biggest problem. I have since started eating poorly again and the symptoms have all returned. It is hard to change your eating habits after so many years if eating wrong but if eating clean and healthy means not putting chemicals in my body then it is we’ll worth it!!
Makes perfect sense. I have gluten intolerance and it caused inflammation for me for years. Went GF when my hands and feet swelled up.
Dear Chris,
I find this article very interesting indeed. As a patient who has suffered with major depression for over 15 years, this topic is near and dear to my heart. In spite of years of therapy, spiritual practices, and what I consider emotional healing, depression is still a daily struggle and I do not function at all without the SSRI. This concerns me, and I’d love to get to the root of the problem, but it’s tricky because I need to be able to function and don’t have much room for experimentation! I initially found your website by searching, “long term effects of SSRI use.” Thank you so much for your research on this topic.
What I find most interesting is the connection made between inflammation and depression. From early childhood, I experienced extreme allergies–both anaphylactic and skin allergies–from grass, dyes, certain foods, most antibiotics, to asthma. I also struggled with strange stomach symptoms from the age of about 14. In my 20’s, I began to take an SSRI, and saw a decrease in reaction to some of those allergies. I have never made the connection before, but now it seems pretty clear. I now believe that stress (family dysfunction) and poor nutrition (lots of sugar and processed food) did and does play a large role in my allergies, asthma, digestion and depression. I hope to follow your guidelines for reducing inflammation to tackle these issues. Thanks again for what you do!
I’ve been aware of the link between stress and depression for quite a while although I don’t think stress is the absolute cause of depression.
In my experience depression is brought on by the inability to rectify the stressful situation – being powerless. Realizing the strength in my personal choices helps to prevent the stress turning into depression. Making small decisions I have power over and carrying them out.
STRESS is a waste basket reason for something. It’s a catch all name for – we really don’t know the real reason.
They have tried to attach depression to cortisol levels and even that has fizzled.
I agree that being unable to control or change a stressful situation or event can lead to depression. My adult son (he doesn’t live with me) has schizophrenia and suffers from very low moods and melancoly. I try very hard to find solutions or help for him but most of the time he refuses to try them. This drains me emotionally and for the last few years I have been depressed at times. However, I dislike my depression so much that I actively try to be in the company of good and kind people, be with nature or animals and read as many uplifting books and websites as I can. My husband is my rock and listens to my problems and anxieties without complaint. My GP cannot prescribe anti-depressents for me because I have suffered from hypo-mania in the past and this can be a side effect of the anti-depressants. I would be grateful for anyone elses tips on beating depression. Many thanks.
As I think already mentioned, lots of vigorous exercise and sunshine help a lot-and keep the sugars/carbs low too!
when i get depressed with pain i do a jigsaw and it takes my mind off the pain because i am concentrating on something and not the pain
Lithium orotate is available at health food stores and can work wonders, according to John Gray (the Venus/Mars books) and others. Rhodiola tincture and flower essence remedies are great, too. All of these are safe and effective
Dear Sue,
I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder 20 years ago and have been in and out of hospital over the years. Recently, I did an 8-week mindfulness course which changed my outlook on and experience of life in many positive ways. In particular I feel a lot more grateful for the good things in my life, more centered and non-judgmental and therefore no longer so attached to and stressed about wanting and/or expecting certain outcomes to my actions… what also helped me immensely is that I adopted two little kittens last summer who are adorable and like pure therapy, and finally, doing volunteer work, or something “good” on a regular basis is also extremely helpful for maintaining positive mood and feelings of self worth. Hope this can be of some help.
While healthy eating is absolutely critical, don’t overlook the mind-body connection that can be optimized through chiropractic care. In the same way the flow of water is impacted by parking a car on the hose, the healing instructions from your brain can be disrupted by a misalignment in the spine. Your experienced local chiropractor should be an integral part of your health optimization team.
I’ve tried Betaine HCL (I’ve used 100% Betaine HCL with no fillers as well) and this makes gets me really inflamed. I retain a lot of water and its makes me feel really depressed.
I’d be really interested if anyone else has experienced this when using Betaine HCL?
Do you really need it ? The way to tell if you need HCL Betaine is take it with a meal. If you feel heart burn then you don’t need it. Some people produce enough acid. Other people don’t. I produce enough stomach acid.
I don’t get the heart burn sensation. I use Swedish bitters instead which really work for me.
I had severe depression from 1980 – 2008. In 2008 I threw out all the drugs they had me on. I improved a lot but what really made a difference was when I went on the Virgin Diet in 2012 and gave up the 8 common allergens and then tested them each individually by adding them back. I also had myositis that was cured by giving up gluten and dairy. I have been gluten free and dairy free for 2 years and feel great at age 65. Now I want to go completely Paleo (I still eat rice) and lose my excess weight. I KNOW for sure that a Paleo diet cures depression and inflammation and I will never go back to the SAD diet.
Chris, so well articulated, thank you. I really feel someone needs to do a documentary solely related to mental health and the role diet, epigenetics, and orthomolecular medicine has to play in this all. Andrew Saul sort of took this role on in Food Matters with his (and Dr. Hoffer’s research on niacin).
As a sufferer of depression, panic, and anxiety for at least 20 years, I decided to change my diet to gluten free, wean off SSRIs (which weren’t working anyway), and star juicing and eating healthier. I have MTHFR (the worst kind) along with other SNPs that don’t allow my methylation cycles to work. I tried so many natural vitamins/amino acids/supplements with no consistent relief of symptoms.
Until just very recently. I started a regimen of Lithium Orotate and feel as though a huge cloud has been lifted. The constant feel of fight or flight has now dissipated. I’ve read LO does a great job of fighting glutamate toxicity and wondering where cytokines and inflammation relate to glutamine and other excitotoxins?
Thanks so much for all the great info you provide!
Chris help!!!
I have severe chronic depression, chronic pain, anger. I’m really tired living has become very difficult, I’m on 2 antidepressants, 2 mood stabilizers, 1 being lithium, sleeping pill so on. I’ve seen a few integrated Dr. and see no difference, I feel myself spiraling again, I have no energy or motivation anymore! If I could I would come and see you Chris but I’m all tapped out from seeing Dr., buying supplements, and having a lot of tests.
I feel very stuck! Maybe this is it!