Nutrition, Neuronal Protection and Depression Neuronal protection (protection against cognitive decline) requires glutathione peroxidase (a crucial enzyme which requires selenium, cysteine, carotenoids, zinc, and vitamin E) is an important aspect of the treatment of mood disorders both because they tend to be recurrent over one’s life, and because they are associated with neuronal loss in specific parts […]
Nutrition and Depression: Nutrition, Methylation, and Depression, Part 2
Nutrition, Methylation, and Depression Nutritional support for the methylation cycle is another area in which nutrition plays a critical role. The methylation cycle is essential for mental and physical health. It is critical to the metabolism of catecholamines in the synapse via an enzyme (COMT) as well as the synthesis of ‘depression-relevant’ compounds such as melatonin, myelin […]
Nutrition and Depression: State of the Science and Treatment, Part 1
Efficacy and Use of Medications in the Treatment of Depression It is becoming widely recognized that the current treatment of mood disorders (such as depression), while offering better outcomes than several decades ago, leave much room for improvement. The remission rate at the end of the first phase of the well-publicized STAR-D study (1) was […]