Health in Motion Rehabilitation
Volume 7
GOOD HEALTH NEWS NATURAL WAYS OF TREATING DEPRESSION Health in Motion director Natan Gendelman talks about natural ways of treating depression. The earliest records of the nut pistachio in English are roughly around the year 1400 A.D. The word pistachio comes from a root word in Persian: ‘pista’. Characteristically green and having a semiopening of the shell, in Iran it is called the ‘smiling pistachio’ and in China the ‘happy nut’. Pistachios are full of nutrition. Just like walnuts, almonds and cashews, they form great sources of protein, fats and minerals. They are rich sources of many phytochemical substances, including carotenes, vitamin E, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6 and folates. Natural, raw, organic fruits and vegetables contain numerous vitamins and minerals. Production of serotonin, the ‘happy hormone’ that improves our mood, emotions, memory, self-esteem, pain tolerance, sleep habits, appetite and digestion, is closely linked to vitamin B-6. If our diet consists of mainly
precooked, deep-fried foods with little nutritional value but addictive in taste, we run a great risk of serotonin deficiency and digestive problems.The digestive system is like the body’s battery. In fact, recent studies have shown that depression is associated with gastrointestinal inflammations. Serotonin increases when we are exposed to natural sunlight. If even plants need sunshine to synthesize nutrients, why are people trying to avoid sunshine? People in this day and age are stuck either at the office or at home. We have become so scared of sunlight that we cover ourselves with sunscreen, preventing our body from synthesizing vitamins and nutrients under sunlight. Ever since the invention of commercial sunscreen in 1936, skin cancer rates have only steadily risen. Moreover, young people are stuck with computers and video games these days. Sitting in front of a screen all day long decreases socializing with real humans. The University of Arizona published a study that links social skills and depression closely. The difficulty in making friends might originate from an obsession with digital devices. The main advice I can give is: ‘get outdoors’ and ‘you are what you eat’. If you are still wary of natural treatments, remember that even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have cautioned in
main clinical antidepressants to cause suicide and violence back in March 2004.
IN THIS ISSUE PG 1 Natural Ways of Treating Depression PG 2 Shampoo Woes PG 3 Let the Sun In! PG 4 Here’s What People Have to Say About LIFE PG 5 Our Brand New VitaPlus Program
Good Health News
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