HHWC medical doctors provide insight into depression

Oct 15 2011

A staggering 230 million antidepressant prescriptions are filled each year. Yet the face of depression does not always fit the mold: a successful career, loving spouse, wonderful children, seemingly good health and finances. From the outside life appears perfect, so why are Americans depressed?

Currently, 19 million Americans suffer from depression and this number continues to climb. During October, there are many reasons to focus on mental health: Mental Illness Awareness Week, National Depression Screening Day, and World Mental Health Day. Hotze Health & Wellness Center (HHWC) team of medical doctors would like to provide insight into a serious health problem plaguing America: depression.

"For depression, unfortunately, modern day medicine rarely looks any further than prescription drugs," said Steven F. Hotze, M.D., founder and CEO of HHWC. "Ironically, as Americans have become obsessed with a quick fix such as popping a pill, there has been not only an increase in the number of people suffering from depression but oftentimes an individual's list of symptoms has grown along with the drugs in their medicine cabinet as each drug tends to have its own side effects."

Lack of energy is a common side effect of depression, but if examined closely one might notice many symptoms of depression coincide with symptoms of low thyroid function: extreme fatigue, migraines, insomnia, depression, hair loss, constipation, joint pain, muscle aches and weight gain. Hypothyroidism is often overlooked as a diagnosis; it's estimated more than 13 million Americans are suffering from untreated hypothyroidism.

The following healthy lifestyle factors can aid in improving overall mental health:

• Take key vitamins to help boost mood
• Vitamin D - Check vitamin D levels to see if you need to supplement with a high quality vitamin.
• Fish Oil - Supplement with high quality omega-3 fats.
• Magnesium Citrate (Mg) - Aids in alleviating:
  • Depression - Serotonin which elevates mood is dependent on Mg.
  • Anxiety - Mg keeps adrenal stress hormones under control.
  • Fatigue - Mg deficient patients often experience fatigue because dozens of enzyme systems are under-functioning.
• Vitamin B-6 - Balances neurotransmitters.
• Clean up diet: Avoid high saturated fats and processed foods. Eat good types of fat high in Omega 3s (fish and dark green vegetables).
• Check for hormonal imbalance: Hormonal decline begins to occur as people age, or during certain stages of life, such as after childbirth, or during menopause. Maintain healthy levels of the body's naturally occurring hormones with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.
• Regular exercise: Improves mood, relieve stress, anxiety and reduce tension, anger and fatigue. Aim for 30 to 60 minutes per day.

Source: Hotze Health & Wellness Center