Nutrition and Mind-Body Integration for Effective Treatment of Depression
(Contd.)

The stress-nutrition connection

One of the most common biochemical findings in depression is a high cortisol level. 
Cortisol, of course, does many nasty things, including rewiring the brain, breaking down lean mass, and interfering with learning and memory. 

One important goal of all effective holistic approaches to depression ought to be to lower cortisol. To do that, you lower not only emotional stress but also balance blood sugar, alleviate chronic inflammation in the body, and adopt cortisol-lowering techniques like yoga and meditation. 

When you feel depressed, one of the best tests you can undergo is an adrenal stress test - not just the kind that measures through blood in one-shot fashion, but the saliva test that shows how the body is responding - or has maladapted - over a 24-hour period. Your depression is biochemically linked to your stress level over the course of your hectic lives. 

Some of the latest scientific research suggests that many people lack the peptide in their brains to enable them to handle cortisol. Also, high cortisol may inversely affect the thyroid function, so that your patients literally lower their own metabolism the more stressed-out they become. 

Because DHEA is the master hormone of the body, DHEA has sometimes been found helpful. But so are approaches that have been medically proven to naturally raise DHEA and lower cortisol - like yoga and meditation. 

Related Topic: Stress Management on Holisticonline.com

Next Topic: Balance blood sugar

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