Depression and deficiency of nutrients in the body

Tests can be carried out by your doctor or practitioner to find out exactly what nutrients are low in your body. Often these are blood tests ranging for the above supplements to tests on your thyroid checking the TSH (Thyroid stimulating hormone) FT3 (free triiodothyroine), FT4 (Free serum Thyroxine) and thyroid antibodies. If your TSH is within range though you may not need to test the other three as the other three.

Similarly levels of Oestrogen and Testosterone affect our hormones and also our moods so checking these can be of benefit. If the hormones in your body are not functioning properly you will be feeling below par and add this to stress and worry over life issues and it’s no wonder that some people have continual anxiety leading to depression.

Deeper issues are tests for C-reactive protein which increases if there is inflammation in the body. Also hair and saliva analysis will show if someone has a sensitivity to wheat/yeast/gluten/lactose and sugar. These come up a lot on sensitivity tests and need to be cleared out of the system. They cause inflammation, candida and are the forerunner of many other illnesses.  Another important test is a MTHFR DNA analysis as Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is an important enzyme in the synthesis of melatonin, coenzyme Q10, serotonin and dopamine all of which affect our mood, predisposition and depressive states. Add to this a check up to see if your blood sugar levels are stable because if they are not and you are not eating properly there will be periods of time when you are feeling ‘down’ with no seeming explanation when it may be simply that you are not eating properly 5 times a day to control and stabilise your glucose levels. Bad habits such as these, in the long run can lead to depression.

So depression can also have very real physical causes and these need to be checked with blood tests and/or other tests performed by a doctor or natural practitioner. Once this occurs and the physical issues are controlled then addressing the psychological, emotional and energetic symptoms will be much easier to overcome. Depression is not just ‘in your head’ and never let anyone tell you so.