Week 3 Natural Depression Solutions: Assess Thyroid and Treat Neurotransmitter Imbalances
Thyroid - It is imperative to have your thyroid assessed when dealing with depression. Depression is a symptom of low thyroid, or hypothyroid. Your naturopathic doctor will want to do labwork but also check basal body temperature and iodine levels as well. In our office, we also use the Thyroflex test that will measure the reflex speed of the arm to help assess thyroid function.
Physical chemical imbalances - For many people there is a chemical imbalance contribulting to depsresion that can be treated naturally through various nutritional and herbal remedies. Vitamin B6 is a co-factor needed to produce serotonin. From a naturopathic perspective, working on digestion is key to helping with optimal absorption of these important nutrients for mood. 5-HTP or St. John’s wort can also be used to increase serotonin levels.
I hope you enjoyed this three part weekly series on natural solutions to help improve mood. We would be happy to discuss further with you individual natural solutions to help elevate mood and feel your ultimate best throughout the day in your next visit. I look forward to helping you along your journey of health one step at a time!
Sincerely,
Dr. Bunzenmeyer ND
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