A Functional Medicine Approach to Depression
15 Jul, 2019
A typical patient who visits me for depression has already visited conventional doctors, who likely prescribed numerous drugs to address their condition.
These patients understandably feel frustrated because conventional medicine has failed to address their underlying symptoms and they aren’t feeling better. They’re tired of going from prescription to prescription with varying results and miserable side effects.
Like other health issues, I take a radically different approach to depression. I attempt to understand what creates it, because to call someone depressed says nothing about the underlying causes that create depression.
Emerging research, for instance, reveals a gut-brain connection. When it comes to the gut, most physicians and scientists miss what is right in front of us, because we are looking for solutions in the wrong place.
When you struggle with depression, here are some questions to ask yourself and then work with a Functional Medicine practitioner to solve:
Do you have low thyroid function?
Do you have a vitamin D deficiency?
Do you have a folic acid or B12 deficiency?
Do you have a deficiency of omega-3 fats?
Do you have food allergies or intolerances?
Food allergies create a metabolic disorder that can lead to a whole host of “mental” symptoms, including depression.
Gluten and dairy are major culprits. In fact, partially digested dairy and wheat particles (called caseomorphins and gliadomorphins) are found in the urine of severely depressed patients (as well as children with autism and ADHD). These odd proteins change brain function and can lead not only to depression but also psychosis and autism.
One study linked eating gluten (the protein found in wheat, barley, rye, spelt, kamut, and oats) to depression. Like gluten, casein, a protein found in dairy, also has negative effects that can lead to mood disorders and altered brain function.
Do you have inflammation?
To treat depression, we must learn how to get rid of the causes of inflammation and restore the normal immune balance through our food and nutrients, as well as our exercise, sleep, and stress management habits.
Are bugs in your gut affecting your brain or immune system?
Do you have hormonal imbalances?
Work with your Functional Medicine practitioner to determine and eliminate gut issues including leaky gut, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and other gut issues.
From these perspectives, you can understand how I treat depression. Oftentimes, doing detective work and trial-and-error take a little effort and time
These methods plus an amazing therapy called EFT gives me a 100 percent success rate for combatting depression naturally but only when my patient commits to the 26-week program. Contact me for more info
