New “antidepressant food score” rates foods based on their ability to treat symptoms of depression

( Natural News ) When the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) Prozac first hit the market in 1988, around 2.5 million people were prescribed the drug. By 2002, that number had increased to 33 million. In the subsequent years, many other SSRIs have been produced and prescribed prolifically, with doctors handing them out like candy to anyone who is struggling with a bout of depression, no matter how mild. Nonetheless, the shocking reality is that all those pills have made no dent at all in the suicide rate in the United States. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that between 2000 and 2016, the age-adjusted suicide rate in the U.S. increased by a staggering 30 percent. Suicide remains the 10th leading cause of death in our country. While there is no doubt that there are people with serious mental health issues who do require medication, it is also true that for many – if not most – there are other treatment options that may be even more effective, including cognitive behavioral therapy. Experts also advise increasing physical activity, getting enough sleep and eating the right foods as important ways to boost the body’s depression-fighting abilities. Just exactly which foods are best for combating depression has not always been very clear, but a recent study published in the World Journal of Psychiatry has categorized the foods – both plant and animal – which score highest in their ability to fight the blues. Plant foods score highest in the fight against depression For their study, researchers Laura LaChance and Drew Ramsey developed an antidepressant food score after examining studies going all the way back to the 1940s, which were focused on the link between specific nutrients and a reduction in depressive symptoms. Psychology Today reported on […]

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