Got the Winter Blues?
It's not uncommon to experience low-grade depression more during winter months. Reduced amounts of sunlight, stress from the holidays, decreased body temperature, and hormones are just some of the factors to affect your mood in the late fall and winter.
Recently, a study came out that said depressive medications do not work any better than a placebo.
But the good news is there are plenty of things you can do if you are having symptoms of depression.
First, you want to make sure you are exercising and eating an anti-inflamatory diet. Eat less processed foods, and cut out sugar. Do things like meditation or yoga, and do things you love. In addition, here are some supplements to support that process:
SAMe: The good thing about this remedy is that it has no known drug interactions, unlike the herbal remedy St. John's Wort. Also, it works within a few days, rather than the 6 weeks that it may take St. John's Wort to work. SAMe is also often used for the treatment of osteoarthritis. Start with 200mg, but ramp up to 400mg by the tenth day (200mg 2x/day). This can be expensive in health food stores, but Amazon is a good place to find it at a reasonable price.
5-HTP (Hyproxytryptophan): This amino acid increases the levels of serotonin in the brain. Start with 100mg 3x/day, and increase to 200mg 3 x/day. Take it with food, probably some complex carbohydrate, otherwise you make experience some nausea. This is a great product to have if you are also experiencing anxiety, and if you are having trouble sleeping.
Saffron: This is the best spice to help with depression. This is also a great thing to take if you have any digestive issues. Dosage is 15mg 2x/day.
Holy Basil: This is also a wonderful product to reduce stress an elevate mood. I recommend this mostly if your depression is coupled with anxiety. Holy Basil has been shown to reduce the levels of cortisol in the blood. I first discovered this when I was going through a particularly stressful time, and I couldn't sleep. It helped me immensely with this. Later, however, I also discovered that it can be used even just for mild stress levels and to elevate the mood. Try it for a week, and see how you feel. I bet you will notice a nice difference! I recommend New Chapter brand, and the best price is on Amazon.com.
Follow this link for more information: http://superfoodsgirl.blogspot.com/2011/12/got-winter-blues-here-are-my-best.html
and read more at this link to learn how to eat the anti-inflamatory way:
http://tinyurl.com/6nkb4uz
Recently, a study came out that said depressive medications do not work any better than a placebo.
But the good news is there are plenty of things you can do if you are having symptoms of depression.
First, you want to make sure you are exercising and eating an anti-inflamatory diet. Eat less processed foods, and cut out sugar. Do things like meditation or yoga, and do things you love. In addition, here are some supplements to support that process:
SAMe: The good thing about this remedy is that it has no known drug interactions, unlike the herbal remedy St. John's Wort. Also, it works within a few days, rather than the 6 weeks that it may take St. John's Wort to work. SAMe is also often used for the treatment of osteoarthritis. Start with 200mg, but ramp up to 400mg by the tenth day (200mg 2x/day). This can be expensive in health food stores, but Amazon is a good place to find it at a reasonable price.
5-HTP (Hyproxytryptophan): This amino acid increases the levels of serotonin in the brain. Start with 100mg 3x/day, and increase to 200mg 3 x/day. Take it with food, probably some complex carbohydrate, otherwise you make experience some nausea. This is a great product to have if you are also experiencing anxiety, and if you are having trouble sleeping.
Saffron: This is the best spice to help with depression. This is also a great thing to take if you have any digestive issues. Dosage is 15mg 2x/day.
Holy Basil: This is also a wonderful product to reduce stress an elevate mood. I recommend this mostly if your depression is coupled with anxiety. Holy Basil has been shown to reduce the levels of cortisol in the blood. I first discovered this when I was going through a particularly stressful time, and I couldn't sleep. It helped me immensely with this. Later, however, I also discovered that it can be used even just for mild stress levels and to elevate the mood. Try it for a week, and see how you feel. I bet you will notice a nice difference! I recommend New Chapter brand, and the best price is on Amazon.com.
Follow this link for more information: http://superfoodsgirl.blogspot.com/2011/12/got-winter-blues-here-are-my-best.html
and read more at this link to learn how to eat the anti-inflamatory way:
http://tinyurl.com/6nkb4uz
