Why Antidepressants Don’t Work for Treating Depression

[Guest guest]

http://drhyman.com/why-antidepressants-dont-work-for-treating-depression-497/

Why Antidepressants Don’t Work for Treating

Depression

HERE’S SOME DEPRESSING RECENT

medical news: Antidepressants don’t work. What’s even more

depressing is that the pharmaceutical industry and Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) have deliberately deceived us into

believing that they DO work. As a physician, this is frightening

to me. Depression is among the most common problems seen in

primary-care medicine and soon will be the second leading cause

of disability in this country.

The study I’m talking about was published in The New

England Journal of Medicine. It found that drug companies

selectively publish studies on antidepressants. They have

published nearly all the studies that show benefit — but almost

none of the studies that show these drugs are ineffective. (1)

That warps our view of antidepressants, leading us to think

that they do work. And it has fueled the tremendous growth in

the use of psychiatric medications, which are now the second

leading class of drugs sold, after cholesterol-lowering drugs.

The problem is even worse than it sounds, because the positive

studies hardly showed benefit in the first place. For example,

40 percent of people taking a placebo (sugar pill) got better,

while only 60 percent taking the actual drug had improvement in

their symptoms. Looking at it another way, 80 percent of people

get better with just a placebo.

That leaves us with a big problem — millions of depressed

people with no effective treatments being offered by most

conventional practitioners. However, there are treatments

available. Functional medicine provides a unique and effective

way to treat depression and other psychological problems. Today

I will review seven steps you can take to work through your

depression without drugs. But before we get to that, let’s take

a closer look at depression.

What’s in a Name?

“Depression” is simply a label we give to people who have a

depressed mood most of the time, have lost interest or pleasure

in most activities, are fatigued, can’t sleep,

have no interest in sex, feel hopeless and helpless, can’t think

clearly, or can’t make decisions.

But that label tells us NOTHING about the cause of those

symptoms. In fact, there are dozens of causes of depression —

each one needing a different approach to treatment. Depression

is not one-size-fits-all, but it is very common.

Women have a 10 to 25 percent risk and men a five to 12 percent

risk of developing severe major depression in their lifetime.

(2) One in ten Americans takes an antidepressant. The use of

these drugs has tripled in the last decade, according to a

report by the federal government. In 2006, spending on

antidepressants soared by 130 percent.

But just because antidepressants are popular doesn’t mean

they’re helpful. Unfortunately, as we now see from this report

in The New England Journal of Medicine, they don’t

work and have significant side effects. Most patients taking

antidepressants either don’t respond or have only partial

response. In fact, success is considered just a 50 percent

improvement in half of depressive symptoms. And this minimal

result is achieved in less than half the patients taking

antidepressants.

Food allergies cause inflammation, and studies now show

inflammation in the brains of depressed people.

That’s a pretty dismal record. It’s only made worse by the fact

that 86 percent of people taking antidepressants have one or

more side effects, including sexual dysfunction, fatigue,

insomnia, loss of mental abilities, nausea, and weight gain.

No wonder half the people who try antidepressants quit after

four months.

Now I want to talk to you about the reasons why doctors and

patients have been deceived by the “antidepressant hoax.”

Despite what we have been brainwashed to believe, depression is

not a Prozac deficiency!

How We have Been Deceived by the Antidepressant Hoax

Drug companies are not forced to publish all the results of

their studies. They only publish those they want to. The team of

researchers that reported their findings in The New England

Journal of Medicine took a critical look at all the

studies done on antidepressants, both published and unpublished.

They dug up some serious dirt …

The unpublished studies were not easy to find. The researchers

had to search the FDA databases, call researchers, and hunt down

hidden data under the Freedom of Information Act. What they

found was stunning.

After looking at 74 studies involving 12 drugs and over 12,000

people, they discovered that 37 of 38 trials with positive

results were published, while only 14 of 36 negative studies

were published. Those that showed negative results were, in the

words of the researchers, “published in a way that conveyed a

positive outcome.”

That means the results were twisted to imply the drugs worked

when they didn’t.

This isn’t just a problem with antidepressants. It’s a problem

with scientific research. Some drug companies even pay or

threaten scientists to not publish negative results on their

drugs. So much for “evidence-based” medicine! I recently had

dinner with a step-uncle who runs a company that designs

research for drug companies. He designs the study, hires the

researcher from an esteemed institution, directs the study,

writes up the study and the scientist just signs his or her name

after reviewing it.

Most of the time, we only have the evidence that the drug

companies want us to have. Both doctors and patients are

deceived into putting billions of dollars into drug companies’

pockets, while leaving millions with the same health problems

but less money.

The scientific trust is broken. What can we do? Unfortunately,

there is no easy answer. But I do think functional medicine, on

which my approach of UltraWellness is based, provides a more

intelligent way of understanding the research. Rather than using

drugs to suppress symptoms, Functional Medicine helps us find

the true causes of problems, including depression.

I see this in so many of the patients I have treated over the

years. Just as the same things that make us sick also make us

fat, the same things that make us sick also make us depressed.

Fix the causes of sickness — and the depression takes care of

itself.

Taking antidepressants is not the answer to our looming

mental health epidemic. The real cure lies in rebalancing the

underlying systems in your body, at the root of all healthy

and illness.

Consider a few cases from my practice …

A 23-year-old had been anxious and depressed most of her life

and spent her childhood and adolescence on various cocktails of

antidepressants. Turns out, she suffered from food

allergies that made her depressed.

Food allergies cause inflammation,

and studies now show inflammation in the brains of depressed

people. In fact, researchers are studying powerful

anti-inflammatory drugs used in autoimmune disease such as

Enbrel for the treatment of depression.

After she eliminated her IgG or delayed food allergies, her

depression went away, she got off her medication — and she lost

30 pounds as a side effect!

Here’s another story … A 37-year-old executive woman struggled

for more than a decade with treatment-resistant depression

(meaning that drugs didn’t work), fatigue, and a 40-pound weight

gain. We found she had very high levels of mercury. Getting the

mercury out of her body left her happy, thin, and full of

energy.

Or consider the 49-year-old man with severe lifelong depression

who had been on a cocktail of antidepressants and psychiatric

medication for years but still lived under a dark cloud every

day, without relief. We found he had severe deficiencies of

vitamin B12, B6, and folate. After we gave him back those

essential brain nutrients, he called me to thank me. Last year

was the first year he could remember feeling happy and free of

depression.

These are just a few of the dozens of things that can cause

depression.

The roots of depression are found in the 7 keys to UltraWelless

and the 7 fundamental underlying imbalances that trigger the

body to malfunction. Taking antidepressants is not the answer to

our looming mental health epidemic. The real cure lies in

rebalancing the underlying systems in your body that are at the

root of all healthy and illness.

Here are a few things you can do to start treating your

depression today.

7 Steps to Treat Depression without Drugs

Try an anti-inflammatory elimination diet

that gets rid of common food allergens. As I mentioned above,

food allergies and the resultant inflammation have been

connected with depression and other mood disorders.

Check for hypothyroidism. This unrecognized

epidemic is a leading cause of depression. Make sure to have

thorough thyroid exam if you are depressed.

Take vitamin D. Deficiency in this

essential vitamin can lead to depression. Supplement with at

least 2,000 to 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day.

Take omega-3 fats. Your brain is made of up

this fat, and deficiency can lead to a host of problems.

Supplement with 1,000 to 2,000 mg of purified fish oil a day.

Take adequate B12 (1,000 micrograms, or

mcg, a day), B6 (25 mg) and folic

acid (800 mcg). These vitamins are critical for

metabolizing homocysteine, which can play a factor in

depression.

Get checked for mercury. Heavy metal

toxicity has been correlated with depression and other mood

and neurological problems.

Exercise vigorously five times a week for 30

minutes. This increases levels of BDNF, a natural

antidepressant in your brain.

Overcoming depression is an important step toward lifelong

vibrant health. These are just of few of the easiest and most

effective things you can do to treat depression. But there are

even more, which you can address by simply working through the 7 Keys to

UltraWellness.

Now I’d like to hear from you…

Have you been diagnosed with depression?

How have antidepressants worked for you?

Do you plan to try any of the approaches mentioned here?

Please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

References

(1) EH et al. 2007. Selective publication of

antidepressant trials and its influence on apparent efficacy.

New England Journal of Medicine. 358: 252-260.

(2) Eaton WW, Kalaydjian A, Scharfstein DO, Mezuk B, Ding Y.

2007. Prevalence and incidence of depressive disorder: the

Baltimore ECA follow-up, 1981-2004. Acta Psychiatr Scand.

116(3):182-188.

[Guest guest]

http://drhyman.com/why-antidepressants-dont-work-for-treating-depression-497/

Why Antidepressants Don’t Work for Treating

Depression

HERE’S SOME DEPRESSING RECENT

medical news: Antidepressants don’t work. What’s even more

depressing is that the pharmaceutical industry and Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) have deliberately deceived us into

believing that they DO work. As a physician, this is frightening

to me. Depression is among the most common problems seen in

primary-care medicine and soon will be the second leading cause

of disability in this country.

The study I’m talking about was published in The New

England Journal of Medicine. It found that drug companies

selectively publish studies on antidepressants. They have

published nearly all the studies that show benefit — but almost

none of the studies that show these drugs are ineffective. (1)

That warps our view of antidepressants, leading us to think

that they do work. And it has fueled the tremendous growth in

the use of psychiatric medications, which are now the second

leading class of drugs sold, after cholesterol-lowering drugs.

The problem is even worse than it sounds, because the positive

studies hardly showed benefit in the first place. For example,

40 percent of people taking a placebo (sugar pill) got better,

while only 60 percent taking the actual drug had improvement in

their symptoms. Looking at it another way, 80 percent of people

get better with just a placebo.

That leaves us with a big problem — millions of depressed

people with no effective treatments being offered by most

conventional practitioners. However, there are treatments

available. Functional medicine provides a unique and effective

way to treat depression and other psychological problems. Today

I will review seven steps you can take to work through your

depression without drugs. But before we get to that, let’s take

a closer look at depression.

What’s in a Name?

“Depression” is simply a label we give to people who have a

depressed mood most of the time, have lost interest or pleasure

in most activities, are fatigued, can’t sleep,

have no interest in sex, feel hopeless and helpless, can’t think

clearly, or can’t make decisions.

But that label tells us NOTHING about the cause of those

symptoms. In fact, there are dozens of causes of depression —

each one needing a different approach to treatment. Depression

is not one-size-fits-all, but it is very common.

Women have a 10 to 25 percent risk and men a five to 12 percent

risk of developing severe major depression in their lifetime.

(2) One in ten Americans takes an antidepressant. The use of

these drugs has tripled in the last decade, according to a

report by the federal government. In 2006, spending on

antidepressants soared by 130 percent.

But just because antidepressants are popular doesn’t mean

they’re helpful. Unfortunately, as we now see from this report

in The New England Journal of Medicine, they don’t

work and have significant side effects. Most patients taking

antidepressants either don’t respond or have only partial

response. In fact, success is considered just a 50 percent

improvement in half of depressive symptoms. And this minimal

result is achieved in less than half the patients taking

antidepressants.

Food allergies cause inflammation, and studies now show

inflammation in the brains of depressed people.

That’s a pretty dismal record. It’s only made worse by the fact

that 86 percent of people taking antidepressants have one or

more side effects, including sexual dysfunction, fatigue,

insomnia, loss of mental abilities, nausea, and weight gain.

No wonder half the people who try antidepressants quit after

four months.

Now I want to talk to you about the reasons why doctors and

patients have been deceived by the “antidepressant hoax.”

Despite what we have been brainwashed to believe, depression is

not a Prozac deficiency!

How We have Been Deceived by the Antidepressant Hoax

Drug companies are not forced to publish all the results of

their studies. They only publish those they want to. The team of

researchers that reported their findings in The New England

Journal of Medicine took a critical look at all the

studies done on antidepressants, both published and unpublished.

They dug up some serious dirt …

The unpublished studies were not easy to find. The researchers

had to search the FDA databases, call researchers, and hunt down

hidden data under the Freedom of Information Act. What they

found was stunning.

After looking at 74 studies involving 12 drugs and over 12,000

people, they discovered that 37 of 38 trials with positive

results were published, while only 14 of 36 negative studies

were published. Those that showed negative results were, in the

words of the researchers, “published in a way that conveyed a

positive outcome.”

That means the results were twisted to imply the drugs worked

when they didn’t.

This isn’t just a problem with antidepressants. It’s a problem

with scientific research. Some drug companies even pay or

threaten scientists to not publish negative results on their

drugs. So much for “evidence-based” medicine! I recently had

dinner with a step-uncle who runs a company that designs

research for drug companies. He designs the study, hires the

researcher from an esteemed institution, directs the study,

writes up the study and the scientist just signs his or her name

after reviewing it.

Most of the time, we only have the evidence that the drug

companies want us to have. Both doctors and patients are

deceived into putting billions of dollars into drug companies’

pockets, while leaving millions with the same health problems

but less money.

The scientific trust is broken. What can we do? Unfortunately,

there is no easy answer. But I do think functional medicine, on

which my approach of UltraWellness is based, provides a more

intelligent way of understanding the research. Rather than using

drugs to suppress symptoms, Functional Medicine helps us find

the true causes of problems, including depression.

I see this in so many of the patients I have treated over the

years. Just as the same things that make us sick also make us

fat, the same things that make us sick also make us depressed.

Fix the causes of sickness — and the depression takes care of

itself.

Taking antidepressants is not the answer to our looming

mental health epidemic. The real cure lies in rebalancing the

underlying systems in your body, at the root of all healthy

and illness.

Consider a few cases from my practice …

A 23-year-old had been anxious and depressed most of her life

and spent her childhood and adolescence on various cocktails of

antidepressants. Turns out, she suffered from food

allergies that made her depressed.

Food allergies cause inflammation,

and studies now show inflammation in the brains of depressed

people. In fact, researchers are studying powerful

anti-inflammatory drugs used in autoimmune disease such as

Enbrel for the treatment of depression.

After she eliminated her IgG or delayed food allergies, her

depression went away, she got off her medication — and she lost

30 pounds as a side effect!

Here’s another story … A 37-year-old executive woman struggled

for more than a decade with treatment-resistant depression

(meaning that drugs didn’t work), fatigue, and a 40-pound weight

gain. We found she had very high levels of mercury. Getting the

mercury out of her body left her happy, thin, and full of

energy.

Or consider the 49-year-old man with severe lifelong depression

who had been on a cocktail of antidepressants and psychiatric

medication for years but still lived under a dark cloud every

day, without relief. We found he had severe deficiencies of

vitamin B12, B6, and folate. After we gave him back those

essential brain nutrients, he called me to thank me. Last year

was the first year he could remember feeling happy and free of

depression.

These are just a few of the dozens of things that can cause

depression.

The roots of depression are found in the 7 keys to UltraWelless

and the 7 fundamental underlying imbalances that trigger the

body to malfunction. Taking antidepressants is not the answer to

our looming mental health epidemic. The real cure lies in

rebalancing the underlying systems in your body that are at the

root of all healthy and illness.

Here are a few things you can do to start treating your

depression today.

7 Steps to Treat Depression without Drugs

Try an anti-inflammatory elimination diet

that gets rid of common food allergens. As I mentioned above,

food allergies and the resultant inflammation have been

connected with depression and other mood disorders.

Check for hypothyroidism. This unrecognized

epidemic is a leading cause of depression. Make sure to have

thorough thyroid exam if you are depressed.

Take vitamin D. Deficiency in this

essential vitamin can lead to depression. Supplement with at

least 2,000 to 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day.

Take omega-3 fats. Your brain is made of up

this fat, and deficiency can lead to a host of problems.

Supplement with 1,000 to 2,000 mg of purified fish oil a day.

Take adequate B12 (1,000 micrograms, or

mcg, a day), B6 (25 mg) and folic

acid (800 mcg). These vitamins are critical for

metabolizing homocysteine, which can play a factor in

depression.

Get checked for mercury. Heavy metal

toxicity has been correlated with depression and other mood

and neurological problems.

Exercise vigorously five times a week for 30

minutes. This increases levels of BDNF, a natural

antidepressant in your brain.

Overcoming depression is an important step toward lifelong

vibrant health. These are just of few of the easiest and most

effective things you can do to treat depression. But there are

even more, which you can address by simply working through the 7 Keys to

UltraWellness.

Now I’d like to hear from you…

Have you been diagnosed with depression?

How have antidepressants worked for you?

Do you plan to try any of the approaches mentioned here?

Please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

References

(1) EH et al. 2007. Selective publication of

antidepressant trials and its influence on apparent efficacy.

New England Journal of Medicine. 358: 252-260.

(2) Eaton WW, Kalaydjian A, Scharfstein DO, Mezuk B, Ding Y.

2007. Prevalence and incidence of depressive disorder: the

Baltimore ECA follow-up, 1981-2004. Acta Psychiatr Scand.

116(3):182-188.

[Guest guest]

http://drhyman.com/why-antidepressants-dont-work-for-treating-depression-497/

Why Antidepressants Don’t Work for Treating

Depression

HERE’S SOME DEPRESSING RECENT

medical news: Antidepressants don’t work. What’s even more

depressing is that the pharmaceutical industry and Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) have deliberately deceived us into

believing that they DO work. As a physician, this is frightening

to me. Depression is among the most common problems seen in

primary-care medicine and soon will be the second leading cause

of disability in this country.

The study I’m talking about was published in The New

England Journal of Medicine. It found that drug companies

selectively publish studies on antidepressants. They have

published nearly all the studies that show benefit — but almost

none of the studies that show these drugs are ineffective. (1)

That warps our view of antidepressants, leading us to think

that they do work. And it has fueled the tremendous growth in

the use of psychiatric medications, which are now the second

leading class of drugs sold, after cholesterol-lowering drugs.

The problem is even worse than it sounds, because the positive

studies hardly showed benefit in the first place. For example,

40 percent of people taking a placebo (sugar pill) got better,

while only 60 percent taking the actual drug had improvement in

their symptoms. Looking at it another way, 80 percent of people

get better with just a placebo.

That leaves us with a big problem — millions of depressed

people with no effective treatments being offered by most

conventional practitioners. However, there are treatments

available. Functional medicine provides a unique and effective

way to treat depression and other psychological problems. Today

I will review seven steps you can take to work through your

depression without drugs. But before we get to that, let’s take

a closer look at depression.

What’s in a Name?

“Depression” is simply a label we give to people who have a

depressed mood most of the time, have lost interest or pleasure

in most activities, are fatigued, can’t sleep,

have no interest in sex, feel hopeless and helpless, can’t think

clearly, or can’t make decisions.

But that label tells us NOTHING about the cause of those

symptoms. In fact, there are dozens of causes of depression —

each one needing a different approach to treatment. Depression

is not one-size-fits-all, but it is very common.

Women have a 10 to 25 percent risk and men a five to 12 percent

risk of developing severe major depression in their lifetime.

(2) One in ten Americans takes an antidepressant. The use of

these drugs has tripled in the last decade, according to a

report by the federal government. In 2006, spending on

antidepressants soared by 130 percent.

But just because antidepressants are popular doesn’t mean

they’re helpful. Unfortunately, as we now see from this report

in The New England Journal of Medicine, they don’t

work and have significant side effects. Most patients taking

antidepressants either don’t respond or have only partial

response. In fact, success is considered just a 50 percent

improvement in half of depressive symptoms. And this minimal

result is achieved in less than half the patients taking

antidepressants.

Food allergies cause inflammation, and studies now show

inflammation in the brains of depressed people.

That’s a pretty dismal record. It’s only made worse by the fact

that 86 percent of people taking antidepressants have one or

more side effects, including sexual dysfunction, fatigue,

insomnia, loss of mental abilities, nausea, and weight gain.

No wonder half the people who try antidepressants quit after

four months.

Now I want to talk to you about the reasons why doctors and

patients have been deceived by the “antidepressant hoax.”

Despite what we have been brainwashed to believe, depression is

not a Prozac deficiency!

How We have Been Deceived by the Antidepressant Hoax

Drug companies are not forced to publish all the results of

their studies. They only publish those they want to. The team of

researchers that reported their findings in The New England

Journal of Medicine took a critical look at all the

studies done on antidepressants, both published and unpublished.

They dug up some serious dirt …

The unpublished studies were not easy to find. The researchers

had to search the FDA databases, call researchers, and hunt down

hidden data under the Freedom of Information Act. What they

found was stunning.

After looking at 74 studies involving 12 drugs and over 12,000

people, they discovered that 37 of 38 trials with positive

results were published, while only 14 of 36 negative studies

were published. Those that showed negative results were, in the

words of the researchers, “published in a way that conveyed a

positive outcome.”

That means the results were twisted to imply the drugs worked

when they didn’t.

This isn’t just a problem with antidepressants. It’s a problem

with scientific research. Some drug companies even pay or

threaten scientists to not publish negative results on their

drugs. So much for “evidence-based” medicine! I recently had

dinner with a step-uncle who runs a company that designs

research for drug companies. He designs the study, hires the

researcher from an esteemed institution, directs the study,

writes up the study and the scientist just signs his or her name

after reviewing it.

Most of the time, we only have the evidence that the drug

companies want us to have. Both doctors and patients are

deceived into putting billions of dollars into drug companies’

pockets, while leaving millions with the same health problems

but less money.

The scientific trust is broken. What can we do? Unfortunately,

there is no easy answer. But I do think functional medicine, on

which my approach of UltraWellness is based, provides a more

intelligent way of understanding the research. Rather than using

drugs to suppress symptoms, Functional Medicine helps us find

the true causes of problems, including depression.

I see this in so many of the patients I have treated over the

years. Just as the same things that make us sick also make us

fat, the same things that make us sick also make us depressed.

Fix the causes of sickness — and the depression takes care of

itself.

Taking antidepressants is not the answer to our looming

mental health epidemic. The real cure lies in rebalancing the

underlying systems in your body, at the root of all healthy

and illness.

Consider a few cases from my practice …

A 23-year-old had been anxious and depressed most of her life

and spent her childhood and adolescence on various cocktails of

antidepressants. Turns out, she suffered from food

allergies that made her depressed.

Food allergies cause inflammation,

and studies now show inflammation in the brains of depressed

people. In fact, researchers are studying powerful

anti-inflammatory drugs used in autoimmune disease such as

Enbrel for the treatment of depression.

After she eliminated her IgG or delayed food allergies, her

depression went away, she got off her medication — and she lost

30 pounds as a side effect!

Here’s another story … A 37-year-old executive woman struggled

for more than a decade with treatment-resistant depression

(meaning that drugs didn’t work), fatigue, and a 40-pound weight

gain. We found she had very high levels of mercury. Getting the

mercury out of her body left her happy, thin, and full of

energy.

Or consider the 49-year-old man with severe lifelong depression

who had been on a cocktail of antidepressants and psychiatric

medication for years but still lived under a dark cloud every

day, without relief. We found he had severe deficiencies of

vitamin B12, B6, and folate. After we gave him back those

essential brain nutrients, he called me to thank me. Last year

was the first year he could remember feeling happy and free of

depression.

These are just a few of the dozens of things that can cause

depression.

The roots of depression are found in the 7 keys to UltraWelless

and the 7 fundamental underlying imbalances that trigger the

body to malfunction. Taking antidepressants is not the answer to

our looming mental health epidemic. The real cure lies in

rebalancing the underlying systems in your body that are at the

root of all healthy and illness.

Here are a few things you can do to start treating your

depression today.

7 Steps to Treat Depression without Drugs

Try an anti-inflammatory elimination diet

that gets rid of common food allergens. As I mentioned above,

food allergies and the resultant inflammation have been

connected with depression and other mood disorders.

Check for hypothyroidism. This unrecognized

epidemic is a leading cause of depression. Make sure to have

thorough thyroid exam if you are depressed.

Take vitamin D. Deficiency in this

essential vitamin can lead to depression. Supplement with at

least 2,000 to 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day.

Take omega-3 fats. Your brain is made of up

this fat, and deficiency can lead to a host of problems.

Supplement with 1,000 to 2,000 mg of purified fish oil a day.

Take adequate B12 (1,000 micrograms, or

mcg, a day), B6 (25 mg) and folic

acid (800 mcg). These vitamins are critical for

metabolizing homocysteine, which can play a factor in

depression.

Get checked for mercury. Heavy metal

toxicity has been correlated with depression and other mood

and neurological problems.

Exercise vigorously five times a week for 30

minutes. This increases levels of BDNF, a natural

antidepressant in your brain.

Overcoming depression is an important step toward lifelong

vibrant health. These are just of few of the easiest and most

effective things you can do to treat depression. But there are

even more, which you can address by simply working through the 7 Keys to

UltraWellness.

Now I’d like to hear from you…

Have you been diagnosed with depression?

How have antidepressants worked for you?

Do you plan to try any of the approaches mentioned here?

Please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

References

(1) EH et al. 2007. Selective publication of

antidepressant trials and its influence on apparent efficacy.

New England Journal of Medicine. 358: 252-260.

(2) Eaton WW, Kalaydjian A, Scharfstein DO, Mezuk B, Ding Y.

2007. Prevalence and incidence of depressive disorder: the

Baltimore ECA follow-up, 1981-2004. Acta Psychiatr Scand.

116(3):182-188.

[Guest guest]

http://drhyman.com/why-antidepressants-dont-work-for-treating-depression-497/

Why Antidepressants Don’t Work for Treating

Depression

HERE’S SOME DEPRESSING RECENT

medical news: Antidepressants don’t work. What’s even more

depressing is that the pharmaceutical industry and Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) have deliberately deceived us into

believing that they DO work. As a physician, this is frightening

to me. Depression is among the most common problems seen in

primary-care medicine and soon will be the second leading cause

of disability in this country.

The study I’m talking about was published in The New

England Journal of Medicine. It found that drug companies

selectively publish studies on antidepressants. They have

published nearly all the studies that show benefit — but almost

none of the studies that show these drugs are ineffective. (1)

That warps our view of antidepressants, leading us to think

that they do work. And it has fueled the tremendous growth in

the use of psychiatric medications, which are now the second

leading class of drugs sold, after cholesterol-lowering drugs.

The problem is even worse than it sounds, because the positive

studies hardly showed benefit in the first place. For example,

40 percent of people taking a placebo (sugar pill) got better,

while only 60 percent taking the actual drug had improvement in

their symptoms. Looking at it another way, 80 percent of people

get better with just a placebo.

That leaves us with a big problem — millions of depressed

people with no effective treatments being offered by most

conventional practitioners. However, there are treatments

available. Functional medicine provides a unique and effective

way to treat depression and other psychological problems. Today

I will review seven steps you can take to work through your

depression without drugs. But before we get to that, let’s take

a closer look at depression.

What’s in a Name?

“Depression” is simply a label we give to people who have a

depressed mood most of the time, have lost interest or pleasure

in most activities, are fatigued, can’t sleep,

have no interest in sex, feel hopeless and helpless, can’t think

clearly, or can’t make decisions.

But that label tells us NOTHING about the cause of those

symptoms. In fact, there are dozens of causes of depression —

each one needing a different approach to treatment. Depression

is not one-size-fits-all, but it is very common.

Women have a 10 to 25 percent risk and men a five to 12 percent

risk of developing severe major depression in their lifetime.

(2) One in ten Americans takes an antidepressant. The use of

these drugs has tripled in the last decade, according to a

report by the federal government. In 2006, spending on

antidepressants soared by 130 percent.

But just because antidepressants are popular doesn’t mean

they’re helpful. Unfortunately, as we now see from this report

in The New England Journal of Medicine, they don’t

work and have significant side effects. Most patients taking

antidepressants either don’t respond or have only partial

response. In fact, success is considered just a 50 percent

improvement in half of depressive symptoms. And this minimal

result is achieved in less than half the patients taking

antidepressants.

Food allergies cause inflammation, and studies now show

inflammation in the brains of depressed people.

That’s a pretty dismal record. It’s only made worse by the fact

that 86 percent of people taking antidepressants have one or

more side effects, including sexual dysfunction, fatigue,

insomnia, loss of mental abilities, nausea, and weight gain.

No wonder half the people who try antidepressants quit after

four months.

Now I want to talk to you about the reasons why doctors and

patients have been deceived by the “antidepressant hoax.”

Despite what we have been brainwashed to believe, depression is

not a Prozac deficiency!

How We have Been Deceived by the Antidepressant Hoax

Drug companies are not forced to publish all the results of

their studies. They only publish those they want to. The team of

researchers that reported their findings in The New England

Journal of Medicine took a critical look at all the

studies done on antidepressants, both published and unpublished.

They dug up some serious dirt …

The unpublished studies were not easy to find. The researchers

had to search the FDA databases, call researchers, and hunt down

hidden data under the Freedom of Information Act. What they

found was stunning.

After looking at 74 studies involving 12 drugs and over 12,000

people, they discovered that 37 of 38 trials with positive

results were published, while only 14 of 36 negative studies

were published. Those that showed negative results were, in the

words of the researchers, “published in a way that conveyed a

positive outcome.”

That means the results were twisted to imply the drugs worked

when they didn’t.

This isn’t just a problem with antidepressants. It’s a problem

with scientific research. Some drug companies even pay or

threaten scientists to not publish negative results on their

drugs. So much for “evidence-based” medicine! I recently had

dinner with a step-uncle who runs a company that designs

research for drug companies. He designs the study, hires the

researcher from an esteemed institution, directs the study,

writes up the study and the scientist just signs his or her name

after reviewing it.

Most of the time, we only have the evidence that the drug

companies want us to have. Both doctors and patients are

deceived into putting billions of dollars into drug companies’

pockets, while leaving millions with the same health problems

but less money.

The scientific trust is broken. What can we do? Unfortunately,

there is no easy answer. But I do think functional medicine, on

which my approach of UltraWellness is based, provides a more

intelligent way of understanding the research. Rather than using

drugs to suppress symptoms, Functional Medicine helps us find

the true causes of problems, including depression.

I see this in so many of the patients I have treated over the

years. Just as the same things that make us sick also make us

fat, the same things that make us sick also make us depressed.

Fix the causes of sickness — and the depression takes care of

itself.

Taking antidepressants is not the answer to our looming

mental health epidemic. The real cure lies in rebalancing the

underlying systems in your body, at the root of all healthy

and illness.

Consider a few cases from my practice …

A 23-year-old had been anxious and depressed most of her life

and spent her childhood and adolescence on various cocktails of

antidepressants. Turns out, she suffered from food

allergies that made her depressed.

Food allergies cause inflammation,

and studies now show inflammation in the brains of depressed

people. In fact, researchers are studying powerful

anti-inflammatory drugs used in autoimmune disease such as

Enbrel for the treatment of depression.

After she eliminated her IgG or delayed food allergies, her

depression went away, she got off her medication — and she lost

30 pounds as a side effect!

Here’s another story … A 37-year-old executive woman struggled

for more than a decade with treatment-resistant depression

(meaning that drugs didn’t work), fatigue, and a 40-pound weight

gain. We found she had very high levels of mercury. Getting the

mercury out of her body left her happy, thin, and full of

energy.

Or consider the 49-year-old man with severe lifelong depression

who had been on a cocktail of antidepressants and psychiatric

medication for years but still lived under a dark cloud every

day, without relief. We found he had severe deficiencies of

vitamin B12, B6, and folate. After we gave him back those

essential brain nutrients, he called me to thank me. Last year

was the first year he could remember feeling happy and free of

depression.

These are just a few of the dozens of things that can cause

depression.

The roots of depression are found in the 7 keys to UltraWelless

and the 7 fundamental underlying imbalances that trigger the

body to malfunction. Taking antidepressants is not the answer to

our looming mental health epidemic. The real cure lies in

rebalancing the underlying systems in your body that are at the

root of all healthy and illness.

Here are a few things you can do to start treating your

depression today.

7 Steps to Treat Depression without Drugs

Try an anti-inflammatory elimination diet

that gets rid of common food allergens. As I mentioned above,

food allergies and the resultant inflammation have been

connected with depression and other mood disorders.

Check for hypothyroidism. This unrecognized

epidemic is a leading cause of depression. Make sure to have

thorough thyroid exam if you are depressed.

Take vitamin D. Deficiency in this

essential vitamin can lead to depression. Supplement with at

least 2,000 to 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day.

Take omega-3 fats. Your brain is made of up

this fat, and deficiency can lead to a host of problems.

Supplement with 1,000 to 2,000 mg of purified fish oil a day.

Take adequate B12 (1,000 micrograms, or

mcg, a day), B6 (25 mg) and folic

acid (800 mcg). These vitamins are critical for

metabolizing homocysteine, which can play a factor in

depression.

Get checked for mercury. Heavy metal

toxicity has been correlated with depression and other mood

and neurological problems.

Exercise vigorously five times a week for 30

minutes. This increases levels of BDNF, a natural

antidepressant in your brain.

Overcoming depression is an important step toward lifelong

vibrant health. These are just of few of the easiest and most

effective things you can do to treat depression. But there are

even more, which you can address by simply working through the 7 Keys to

UltraWellness.

Now I’d like to hear from you…

Have you been diagnosed with depression?

How have antidepressants worked for you?

Do you plan to try any of the approaches mentioned here?

Please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

References

(1) EH et al. 2007. Selective publication of

antidepressant trials and its influence on apparent efficacy.

New England Journal of Medicine. 358: 252-260.

(2) Eaton WW, Kalaydjian A, Scharfstein DO, Mezuk B, Ding Y.

2007. Prevalence and incidence of depressive disorder: the

Baltimore ECA follow-up, 1981-2004. Acta Psychiatr Scand.

116(3):182-188.