Treating mental illness and other disorders means more than treating just the brain, according to a growing body of research and data.
Scientists have started to look for inflammation in people with mood and mental disorders, and have found an overwhelming correlation between inflammation markers and illnesses and people with mental illnesses (and I mean that in the broadest sense, not to offend anyone—it’s unfortunate that stigma around words may drive people away—post in the comments if you have better phrasing!).
-Mental patients admitted to the hospital often have infections like UTIs (although there’s some dispute that they may not have been able to clearly communicate the problem with their caregivers). A few days on antibiotics often improves mental symptoms, not just UTIs!
-People with depression and other mood disorders often have increased amounts of inflammation markers in the blood.
-A physical event will often trigger a mental one—head trauma, an illness, etc..
-In people with Down Syndrome, there is good evidence that inflammation hastens mental decline (which ends in Alzheimer’s). Many parents of kids with severe ADD/ADHD find that an anti-inflammatory diet helps their kids.
-In everyone, there’s a correlation between inflammation and Alzheimer’s.
-Healthy diets, which feature lots of antioxidants and are low on inflammation triggering (fried) foods, tend to put people in a good mood!
-Studies have found that anti-inflammatories like aspirin may help with mild mood disorder symptoms.
You can protect your mental health and mood by eating a healthy, anti-inflammatory diet. If you want a boost, you can add an antioxidant to your health routine! All the usual health stuff will help your immune system fight inflammation: de-stressing, sleeping, and taking immune supporting supplements like colloidal silver.
Share your thoughts (on inflammation, mental health, and terminology) in the comments:
