How inflammation feeds depression
The Swiss alchemist and physician Paracelsus is credited with saying, “Poison is in everything and no thing is without poison” which he embellished by explaining “The dose makes the poison”. In other words if you take enough of anything it can become a poison and that is true even if in smaller doses that thing is even essential for life. It is a principle that applies most obviously to things like food but it also applies to processes. For instance, a new study has found that too much inflammation is linked to depression.
Among people suffering clinical depression two blood markers of depression, CRP and IL-6, were elevated by up to 50 per cent.
In small doses inflammation is absolutely necessary immune system process. When an area of your body is injured or infected then inflammation walls off the affected area and is a vital part of healing. However, long term inflammation throughout the body has been linked to diseases like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. On top of that excessive inflammation is known to be one of the factors that drive ageing as we know it. Now a new study has found that chronic inflammation is also linked to depression.
For the study the researchers reviewed 200 existing papers on depression and inflammation. The accumulated data showed that among people suffering clinical depression two blood markers of depression, CRP and IL-6, were elevated by up to 50 per cent.
We know that chronic inflammation is most common in people who have experienced stress in their lives including things like lower socio-economic status and experiencing neglect as children.
The analysis also found that depression caused by inflammation is resistant to traditional therapy but can be treated with things like yoga, meditation, exercise, and even NSAIDs.
Based on all of this, if we add natural anti-inflammatories like fish oil and turmeric to the list of yoga, meditation, and exercise we might have a useful preventative intervention for people at risk if developing depression.
