Fwd: Safe Alternatives to Antidepressant Drugs?

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Wed, 28 Jan 2004 23:09:21 -0800

Safe Alternatives to Antidepressant Drugs?

Wendy Bolt

 

 

SAFE ALTERNATIVES TO ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGS?

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IN NUTRIENT THERAPY JANUARY 30 - FEBRUARY 1

 

 

Concerns about the safety of antidepressant medications are reaching an all time

high. On December 18, 2003, Eli Lilly, maker of Prozac, sent two announcements

to every physician in Great Britain. One stated that Prozac is no longer

recommended for children; the other stated that Prozac is no longer authorized

for use by women suffering from premenstrual dysphoric disorder. (Prozac is sold

for this purpose in the US as Sarafem.)

 

Because their side effects include increased risk of suicide, similar drugs

Paxil, Effexor and Zoloft were banned earlier in 2003 for use by UK children,

with adult usage now under review. This prompted the FDA to issue warnings about

Paxil for use by US children. With one in eight Americans now using

antidepressants, US mental health professionals and their patients are starting

to look hard for alternative solutions.

 

Fortunately, just in time to offer safe yet surprisingly effective alternatives

to these controversial drugs...and especially for all those suffering yet

another winter depression...the author of the best-selling The Diet Cure, Julia

Ross, has put out a new book, The Mood Cure, available in January in a paperback

edition.

 

Ross will lead a comprehensive professional training, one of the first of its

kind, on the use of nutrient therapy for mood problems. Located at the Sheraton

Universal Hotel in Universal City, California, the training will be held from

January 30 to February 1, 2004. Further information on the training can be found

at www.alternativementalhealth.com or by calling the sponsoring organization,

Safe Harbor, at (323) 257-7338.

 

Author Ross' alternative approach is based on 25 years of clinical experience.

In the early '80's when she began directing counseling programs in the San

Francisco Bay Area, Ross discovered that even the most intensive counseling

techniques were often no match for clients' depression and anxiety. Unlike most

other psychotherapists, who have also come to acknowledge the limitations of

conventional counseling approaches, Ross did not turn to pharmaceuticals for

help. Instead, she began hiring nutritionists and exploring research on how the

brain uses specific ingredients in protein-containing foods to produce its own

potent natural antidepressant neurotransmitters, notably serotonin. By 1988,

Ross and her staff at the Recovery Systems Clinic in Mill Valley, California had

begun to recommend a high protein diet and amino acid supplements targeted to

the specific brain cells that produce serotonin, as well as the three other

primary mood-enhancing neurotransmitters: endorphins,

catecholamines and GABA. Most importantly, they found that the amino acid 5HTP

(5 hydroxy tryptophan) quickly decreased winter, and year-round, depression and

other symptoms of serotonin deficiency. The effects of inexpensive and readily

available 5HTP could typically be felt within 24 hours, just as the research

studies had indicated. A study by Eli Lilly, published in 2001, showed that 5HTP

increased serotonin activity more than four times more effectively than Prozac

did. Head to head clinical studies have found 5HTP at least as effective as

SSRIs, without the side effects.

In The Mood Cure, Ross points out that research on the positive mood impact of

omega-3 fats and other key nutrients like the antidepressant B vitamin, folic

acid, has made for even more effective nutritional brain repair. In a review of

100 of her clinic's clients, published in the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry in

2001, 98% experienced a dramatic improvement in mood within seven days.

 

Losing the Blues and the Weight in the New Year

 

Not only does Ross' book offer methods to improve mood, Ross claims that the

same methods can also stop carb cravings and eliminate weight gain. Since most

antidepressants are now known to contribute to weight gain, this is doubly good

news for those with both mood-boosting and weight loss on their New Year's

resolutions lists. According to Ross, also an expert in eating disorders, the

use of amino acids and other nutrient supplements can make " good-mood foods "

like protein and vegetables more appealing than " bad-mood foods " like ice cream

and pasta. It turns out that these key nutrients--by turning up our comforting

neurotransmitters--turn off our cravings for comfort foods. According to Ross,

" When a well-nourished brain begins transmitting a new sense of well-being, we

simply don't need the lift we used to get from carbs. "

 

For further information on Julia Ross' work, go to www.moodcure.com.

 

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