Natural Anti-Depressant Alternatives

In this article, we are going to cover the use of natural alternatives to anti-depressants, alternatives that do not have the side effects inherent with anti-depressant use.

Anti-depressants are pharmaceutical drugs used in the treatment of mood disorders, which are commonly defined as psychiatric or psychological abnormalities of emotional state, not caused by an organic abnormality. But, if they're not organic—which means caused by bacteria, viruses, chemical changes in the nerves or glands, structural or other physical impairments or changes—what are they caused by?

Nutritional Causes of Depression and Other Mood Disorders

Society at large is familiar with the concept that poor diet leads to heart disease and many other physical ailments. Less well known is that poor diet can cause mood disorders, and that moods can indicate problems long before physical symptoms present themselves. Depression is frequently a mood disorder caused by poor nutrition.

Vitamin depletion from poor choices (eating too much of the wrong foods, or not enough of the right foods) can clearly result in various psychoses. As just one early example of nutrition affecting mood disorders, in the early part of the last century 100,000 people were released from Southern Institutions when it was found that they suffered only from pellagra, a dietary deficiency disease that causes skin lesions and insanity, and is completely cured by sufficient niacin—available in any daily multi-vitamin.

Awareness is growing that diets with large amounts of sugar and white flour (simple carbohydrate) content lead to depression, ADHD, aggression, and lack of energy. This means that extra vitamins are necessary in a daily diet, in addition to quality food, to bring about emotional and physical wellness.

How Much Nutrition is Needed?

Everybody knows you should have the Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamins. However, today's RDA is set at a level just barely high enough to prevent diseases such as pellagra, scurvy, and rickets. No food label says "you may need more vitamins based on your personal biochemistry." And, according to a 3-day study of 21,500 people, not one person ate food that achieved the recommended daily allowances.

Treating Depression with Nutrition

Many books are written about the treatment of mood disorders, including depression, with nutrition instead of anti-depressant drugs: Mood Cure Diet, by Julia Ross; Dr. Michael Lesser's Brain Chemistry Diet; Michael Murray's Natural Alternatives to Prozac; Dr. Michael Norden's Beyond Prozac; and Dr. Richard Brown's Stop Depression Now, to name a few. It is clear from the work of these authors that natural alternatives are effective and do not introduce the toxicity and undesirable side effects of pharmaceutical medications.

Tryptophan is an amino acid, and amino acids are building blocks of protein. Many diets are deficient in tryptophan, which leads to irritability, sleeplessness, and depression as well as other health problems. Diets which provide adequate tryptophan may be imbalanced by having too many other amino acids which out-compete tryptophan. Such an imbalance will manifest the same symptoms of irritability, sleeplessness and depression as a lack of tryptophan. This is a case where supplementing may have to be combined with dietary corrections in order to create the necessary balance.

We do lab testing to ensure the root cause of the depression, the biochemical imbalance leading to depression, is found. (To learn more about this, click Lab Testing Service ). Once found, an individual nutritional program is established by an Orthomolecular Medical Doctor to achieve optimum brain function by ensuring that the brain receives the naturally occurring nutritional substances it needs in the correct amounts.

Naturally means using vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other elements found in high quality foods rather than in drugs. Naturally also means orchestrating a diet that complements good brain function.

Our doctors recommend the specific amounts clients taper their anti-depressant medication, tailored for their existing brain chemistry. The step down is approximately 10% at a time. As the medication levels come down, we increase the natural alternative levels. This allows the client's neurology to adjust to each level, without the depression symptoms that would be felt if they abruptly ended their medication.

It is a real privilege to see clients make the transition from depressed, scared, numb and medicated to clear headed—and confident that they will remain that way.

Nothing on this Web-site is intended to be taken as medical advice, and always consult with your doctor before altering your medications.

NOTE: Adding nutritional supplements may alter the effect of medication. Any medication changes should be done only after proper evaluation and under medical supervision. Please call the intake number to schedule an appointment.

Please contact the Alternative to Meds Center for more information, at 800-359-9698, or look through our web site at www.alternativetomedscenter.com .

Contact the Alternative to Meds Center

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