Alternative Cures for depression: what does the medical research say?

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Zinc Supplementation

Zinc is a critical mineral, and is used in over 200 functions in the body. Zinc is also an important mineral in the brain. Evidence suggests that zinc acts as a neurotransmitter as well as assists in the formation of different brain chemicals (neurotransmitters).

Studies show that zinc levels are lower in depressed individuals than in non-depressed people. In addition, patients who do not respond to drug treatment (treatment-resistant patients) have the lowest zinc levels. A small study on depression has shown that zinc supplementation can help depression. Those who took zinc supplementation, in addition to standard antidepressant therapy, improved more than those on medication alone.

Natural/ Bioidentical Estrogen for Women

Estrogen is one of the main female sex hormones which plays a key role in fertility but it also affects mood, and memory. Estrogen is known to increase serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline activity in the brain.

Treatment with estrogen supplementation has been shown to help treat major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, and minor depressive disorder. One study showed that 68% of women are 'cured' from depression (go into remission) when treated with natural/bioidentical estrogen. The therapy was effective irrespective of their initial diagnosis.

Omega 3 Supplementation

Omega 3 is a fatty acid that we have to get from our diets because our bodies can't make it. There is strong evidence that those that suffer from depression -unipolar, bipolar, and postpartum - have an omega 3 deficiency.

In an eight week study on major depressive disorder, high dose fish oil by itself was found to be as effective as one of the most common antidepressant medications. Fifty percent of those who took either the omega 3 or antidepressant medication had a fifty percent or more reduction in their depressive symptom scores. When the omega 3 and antidepressant meds were combined, the results were even better. Eighty percent of those who took the two medications together experienced reductions in depression.

Testosterone for Men

Testosterone is known as the 'male' hormone, the hormone that gives assertiveness, sex drive, and mental and physical energy. A testosterone deficiency leads to increased body fat, decreased muscle mass, lowered sex drive, as well as psychological changes such as depression, reduced assertiveness, poor memory, low self-esteem, and fatigue.

Testosterone treatment has been shown to improve or help resolve depression. A recent study showed this with a group of older men (greater than fifty years of age) who suffered from depression and had low testosterone levels. More than half (53%) of the men that were treated with testosterone went into remission. This is remarkable since they'd suffered from depression for on average of three and a half years each.

Thyroid Medication

Thyroid hormones are produced by the thyroid gland, which is a gland situated on the lower front of the neck and wraps around the wind pipe. The function of thyroid hormones is to help control metabolism as well as growth and development. The most well known symptoms of low thyroid function, or hypothyroidism, is weight gain, constipation and fatigue. However depression, poor memory and reduced concentration can also be related to low thyroid function.

A recent study showed that thyroid medications can help those with treatment resistant depression - even if these people have no indication of thyroid abnormalities on their laboratory tests. In this study ninety-four percent of those that suffered from treatment resistant depression benefited from the medication; twenty-nine percent experienced a reduction in depressive symptoms and were described as going into partial remission and still sixty-five percent experienced a full recovery. There are some studies that show that patients with bipolar depression also benefit from some forms of thyroid medication.

Getting Your Doctor to Use These Alternative Cures for Depression

Unfortunately, getting your doctor to prescribe the above alternative cures for depression may not be as easy as you think. Although some of the alternative cures for depression I have discussed above are medications that your doctor will be familiar with, like thyroid and estrogen, it's very possible that your doctor does not know that these medications can be used to treat depression. It's even more unlikely that he'll know that there's scientific evidence to back it up, and be unfamiliar with the specific form of the medication and the dose that should be used to treat depression.

The sad truth is that even if you get the right medication or supplement, but you don't take them at the right doses for depression, your mood may not improve. You see many of supplements and medications need to be taken at higher doses when treating depression. Unfortunately many medical and health practitioners just don't know what the right dose is. Another complicating matter is that there are different types of estrogen, testosterone, thyroid, omega 3 and zinc medications. For example, you can get estrogen that's natural/bioidentical or synthetic, and you can get them in pills, creams and patches. So which one do you take?

So How Can You Find the Help You Need?

Because I know how hard it can be for those suffering from depression to get the help that they need, (and hard for most doctors to find the time to keep up with the scientific literature) I decided to compile the research myself. As you know I have a personal interest in depression. So I wrote a book for a lay audience, and don't worry it's not too 'scientificy'. In fact it's set out in a simple easy to follow formula (with questionnaires included in it), so that you can find out what is the cause of your depression, and how to find the right treatment for you.

It does also have the evidence included in it (a list of more than 200 scientific references), and provides information on the right medications at the right doses so that you can take it to your doctor and get the help you need. If you're interested in taking a look what I cover in my book, or why I have a personal interest in depression, click on the following link, and find out all you need to know about alternative cures for depression www.breakingfreefromdepression.com/ebook.