I have suffered from depression, sleep deprivation and stress. After going to an Internal Medicine doctor, she ordered a battery of test. My blood work revealed a severe deficiency in Vitamin D. My level was 13. The normal range for Vitamin D is 30 - 100. My doctor prescribed 50,000 IU once a week for 3 months. I have seen a significant improvement after 3 months of treatment. I feel better emotionally and physically.
Ask the doctor to check blood for Vitamin D level. Many peoople are deficient and most elderly do not receive enough sunlight exposure. Sunlight and Vitamin D are critical for many hormonal and body functions, bone building and sleep regulation and also affects mood and production of serotonin - which deficiency of can lead to depression. Also in the northern hemisphere it is necessary to take a supplement.during the winter months because the angle of the sun's rays is inadequate for Vit D conversion by the body.
For the depression and the aged, some psychological factors should be considered:
1. Old habits die hard: nutritional and lifestyle changes are very hard to form into new habits after so many decades. I found that any orthomolecular therapy for older adults should follow the KISS (keep it short and simple) rule. The question should be: what are the easiest changes that this person can make dietarily that will result in a feeling of well-being? Self-motivation is key: as they connect making changes for health with felt results, they're be converts, self motivated and able to help themselves.
2. Dietary changes need not be overly complex: a good start is to walk them through something simple like the glycemic index and get them to understand and implement lower carb, nutritionally dense meals one at a time. Breakfast is the easiest to change: there are many more interesting ways to start the day than the carb-laden jams, breads and cereals. Just getting more protein and fat at breakfast also smoothes out the hyper/hypo glycemic highs and lows which are often attributed to depression and anxiety.
3. Supplements. A lot of older people–having taken pills for years–fear/hate the very idea of MORE pills. They often panic at the the sight of a handful of vitamin supplements just because they look like the dangerous pills they've been taking for years. They fear them for all the warnings surrounding them, and they dislike them for the discipline and new routines that taking daily medications entail. The best strategies here are to a) limit the supplements initially to 3-4, say vitamin C, B complex and something specific for depression like SAMe or Ginkgo; b) find liquid sublingual substitutes where possible and stir it into juice; c) teach them to "compound" pills into juice themselves. My father, who was on about 30 pills a day for cancer, made use of a hand blender, seven cups with lids and mango juice. At the beginning of the week, he laid out all his vitamins, divided them into the 7 cups, poured in the juice, blended them, put the lids on and put the mixtures in the freezer. Each night he pulled one out, and in the morning, gave the cup a shake and drank it. This regime made what would have been the nearly impossible task of taking over 200 pills a week, a simple matter of taking a daily cup of juice. Hardly an inconvenience (and he was getting a massive sophisticated cocktail of anti-cancer nutrients).
As for what particular supplements would be valuable, my short list would include:
B Vitamin Complex, particularly Vitamin B5
Acetyl-l-Carnitine
Inositol Hexanicotinate (zero flush Niacin)
SAMe
5-HTP
Fish Oils rich in DPA and EPA
Comments
CAROLINE
I have suffered from
Posted on: 01/13/2012 22:23
I have suffered from depression, sleep deprivation and stress. After going to an Internal Medicine doctor, she ordered a battery of test. My blood work revealed a severe deficiency in Vitamin D. My level was 13. The normal range for Vitamin D is 30 - 100. My doctor prescribed 50,000 IU once a week for 3 months. I have seen a significant improvement after 3 months of treatment. I feel better emotionally and physically.
Denisecares
Ask the doctor to check blood
Posted on: 09/14/2011 01:44
Ask the doctor to check blood for Vitamin D level. Many peoople are deficient and most elderly do not receive enough sunlight exposure. Sunlight and Vitamin D are critical for many hormonal and body functions, bone building and sleep regulation and also affects mood and production of serotonin - which deficiency of can lead to depression. Also in the northern hemisphere it is necessary to take a supplement.during the winter months because the angle of the sun's rays is inadequate for Vit D conversion by the body.
Gregorian
For the depression and the
Posted on: 01/15/2010 16:40
For the depression and the aged, some psychological factors should be considered:
1. Old habits die hard: nutritional and lifestyle changes are very hard to form into new habits after so many decades. I found that any orthomolecular therapy for older adults should follow the KISS (keep it short and simple) rule. The question should be: what are the easiest changes that this person can make dietarily that will result in a feeling of well-being? Self-motivation is key: as they connect making changes for health with felt results, they're be converts, self motivated and able to help themselves.
2. Dietary changes need not be overly complex: a good start is to walk them through something simple like the glycemic index and get them to understand and implement lower carb, nutritionally dense meals one at a time. Breakfast is the easiest to change: there are many more interesting ways to start the day than the carb-laden jams, breads and cereals. Just getting more protein and fat at breakfast also smoothes out the hyper/hypo glycemic highs and lows which are often attributed to depression and anxiety.
3. Supplements. A lot of older people–having taken pills for years–fear/hate the very idea of MORE pills. They often panic at the the sight of a handful of vitamin supplements just because they look like the dangerous pills they've been taking for years. They fear them for all the warnings surrounding them, and they dislike them for the discipline and new routines that taking daily medications entail. The best strategies here are to a) limit the supplements initially to 3-4, say vitamin C, B complex and something specific for depression like SAMe or Ginkgo; b) find liquid sublingual substitutes where possible and stir it into juice; c) teach them to "compound" pills into juice themselves. My father, who was on about 30 pills a day for cancer, made use of a hand blender, seven cups with lids and mango juice. At the beginning of the week, he laid out all his vitamins, divided them into the 7 cups, poured in the juice, blended them, put the lids on and put the mixtures in the freezer. Each night he pulled one out, and in the morning, gave the cup a shake and drank it. This regime made what would have been the nearly impossible task of taking over 200 pills a week, a simple matter of taking a daily cup of juice. Hardly an inconvenience (and he was getting a massive sophisticated cocktail of anti-cancer nutrients).
As for what particular supplements would be valuable, my short list would include:
B Vitamin Complex, particularly Vitamin B5
Acetyl-l-Carnitine
Inositol Hexanicotinate (zero flush Niacin)
SAMe
5-HTP
Fish Oils rich in DPA and EPA
Hope this helps