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Natural Remedies For Depression

Here's what Dr. Andrew Weil recommends for treating depression symptoms.

What can I do to help treat depression?

• Follow a well-balanced diet -- and include a multi vitamin/mineral supplement to ensure you are meeting your nutritional needs of all the essential nutrients. Also, avoid caffeine -- it can worsen depression symptoms.

• Exercise -- Numerous studies have shown that exercise is a very effective method for decreasing depression as it helps to improve your mood and boosts self-confidence.

• Relaxation techniques -- Meditation, breathing exercises, and yoga can help. (Read Meditation for Optimum Health: How to Use Mindfulness and Breathing to Heal Your Body and Refresh Your Mind)

• Seek professional help – Find a mental health counselor who can help you get to the root of your depression and facilitate recovery.

• Anti-depressant medications – Speak to your physician to determine if you are a candidate for anti-depressant medication.

Nutritional Supplements and a Healthy Mind

The following are nutrients, botanicals and other compounds that the Polaris CustomPak Program recommends for this specific health condition. These ingredients are included in our product recommendations as part of the Vitamin Advisor Questionnaire.

• B vitamins - The B vitamins, especially folic acid and vitamin B6, help support the clearing of the stress hormones by the liver. Folic acid can increase the effectiveness of antidepressant drugs. I recommend taking a daily B-100, B-complex supplement containing 400 mcg of folic acid.

• St. John's Wort - St. John's Wort is an herbal remedy that has been used in Europe as a treatment for mild depression. It should not be taken with antidepressant medications, especially SSRI's like Prozac or Celexa, anti-retroviral medications or birth control pills.

• Fish oil - Recent preliminary studies suggest that omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil may be helpful in helping to maintain a healthy mind. We think that reasonable doses of fish oil supplements might be useful with mild temporary depression. Fish oil is an excellent source of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), the most common fatty acid in nerve and brain tissue.

• Folic acid - Recent studies have been confirming the link between this important B vitamin and a healthy mind.

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Andrew Weil, MD, is a Harvard Medical School graduate who also holds an AB degree in biology (botany) from Harvard University. He is a clinical professor of internal medicine as well as the founder and director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona's Health Sciences Center in Tucson. Dr. Weil is an internationally recognized expert on medicinal herbs, mind-body interactions, and Integrative Medicine. He's written many best-sellers on those subjects.

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