Everyone feels sad at times. But for some, the sadness can linger and interfere with day-to-day activities. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, more than 20 million Americans over the age of 18 suffer from clinical depression each year.

“Depression is extremely common,” says Paul Ratte, ND, a naturopathic practitioner at Northwestern Health Sciences University’s Woodwinds Natural Care Center in Woodbury, Minn. “There are a whole range of people who are mildly to severely depressed, the question is: How much of their day is inhibited by it?”

Clinical depression is more than just feeling sad. It is a serious illness that involves feelings of hopelessness, anxiousness, trouble sleeping, loss of appetite, and other physical symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, and digestive disorders.

Depression, caused by depleted serotonin levels in the brain, is commonly treated with antidepressants. According to Ratte, there are many benefits to increasing serotonin levels naturally instead of taking antidepressants. He adds, “When you use selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors [antidepressants], you are not treating the cause of the depression – you are just taking a drug, not fixing the problem.”

To treat depression naturally, Ratte, along with Yongping Jiang, PhD, LAc, MMed, an associate professor and chair of the herbal medicine department at Northwestern; and Dale Healey, DC, dean of the School of Massage Therapy, suggests these tips to increase serotonin levels and reduce the symptoms of depression:

• Reduce stress. One of the major components for depression is stress, according to Ratte. He adds, “We live in a pressure cooker. We are in constant “fight or flight” from the time we wake up until the time we go to bed. We can’t sleep because we can’t turn the brain off, and if we can’t sleep, we can’t function.” He suggests responding to stress with mindfulness, a practice where the brain is still active but focused.
  
  According to Ratte, being mindful means focusing on the moment, not on what a person didn’t do yesterday or what needs to be done tomorrow. He also suggests incorporating at least one form of physical activity into a person’s day, such as taking a brisk walk.
  
• Maximize brain chemistry. Good fats are very important in the creation of new brain cells so serotonin can be produced and the brain can function properly, according to Ratte. In order to get the good fats, he suggests that patients consume omega-6 fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acids in a ratio of 5-to-2. Omega-6 fatty acids are found in pork, dairy, and beef. “Americans get a ton of omega-6 fatty acids but not enough omega-3 fatty acids,” says Ratte. “The key is to increase omega-3 fatty acids and decrease omega-6 fatty acids to balance the ratio.” Sources of omega-3 fatty acids are flax seed or flax seed oil; cod liver oil; and coldwater fish such as salmon, mackerel, herring, sardines, and trout.
  
• Provide your body with enough raw materials to make serotonin. Amino acids, which come from protein, are the body’s building blocks. Amino acids build bones, muscles, skin, antibodies, enzymes, neurotransmitters, serotonin, and much more. “We get enough protein, but we are eating out of balance,” says Ratte. “We need to be eating less protein at night and more complex carbohydrates so the body can properly make serotonin.” Ratte suggests eating granola, stone ground bread, sweet potatoes, potatoes with the skin, starchy vegetables, popcorn, whole fruit, or other complex carbohydrates in the evening. “Eat a piece of fruit before you go to bed,” he says. “It will help you sleep and help your depression.” In addition to food, Ratte suggests taking a B-6 supplement to increase serotonin levels in the brain.
  
• Balance disharmony in the body. According to Chinese medicine, depression is caused by the disharmony of the yin and yang, says Dr. Jiang. He suggests weekly acupuncture treatments from a Chinese medicine practitioner to restore balance in the body. “Acupuncture and herbal medicine are effective ways to treat depression because they treat the individual pattern of the person and their symptoms,” says Dr. Jiang.
  
• Get a massage. “Of the many positive effects that massage is known to have, perhaps its effect on depression is most widely accepted,” says Healey. “Just the anticipation of a good massage is likely to alleviate depressive symptoms.  While this effect of massage is intuitively clear to most, the depression alleviating effect of massage has been born out through the research as well.”

Source: Natural News Service (October 2006), Northwestern Health Sciences University