It’s really important that we see depression as a disease, and not the fault of the person who is suffering from it. It turns out that one of the biggest causes of depression is an hormone imbalance, and what causes this? Our food. One of the first imbalances to address is the omega 3:6 ratio. Scientists have discovered that those suffering from depression have a low level of docosahexaenoic acid, which is an omega 3 fatty acid. If we ever find ourselves becoming a little moody and are not sure why, we should quickly rush to our local health shop and purchase an organic, cold-water source of omega 3.
In the UK, millions of people now suffer with depression, and in the USA, one in four middle-aged women take antidepressant drugs. The epidemic is spreading so quickly, that the World Health Organisation (WHO) suggests that depression is now the leading cause of disability in the world! If the main cause is diet, why on Earth isn’t everyone aware? With the drug companies in the USA raking in more than $12 billion of sales each year from doctors prescribing their antidepressant suppressants (and that is all they are – something to suppress symptoms rather than fix them), we can bet that they will do everything possible to keep the truth a secret. If we start to feel down, we should act quickly by trying to get our gut in good working order.
There seems to be a bigger link between metabolic syndrome and depression, than metabolic syndrome and obesity. And that’s saying something. By returning to whole and organic natural foods, you can eat your way out of metabolic syndrome and not only will your waistline drop dramatically, you most likely will become happier too. It’s all down to chemistry and biology. For example, people with depression have both lower levels of serotonin and poor serotonin functions, and this can be caused by both processed carbohydrates and processed foods. The very things that cause metabolic syndrome and obesity, also fuel depression. However, in large studies of people eating fish, it was clear that it had an inverse relationship with depression. Eggs, organic meats, nuts and free-range poultry, all can play an active role in beating depression.
