Depression, being invisible and often shameful is not something that we often seek help with or seek to understand. It is not something that we talk about. Having been familiar with the darker side I have great empathy and understanding for this.  Having watched many of my family and loved ones struggle with depression right before my eyes and not having the knowledge or communication skills necessary to help them it is my hope that through this work I can help just one person that is a member of someone else’s family.  With almost 10 percent, yes 10 percent of Americans (don’t have any other statistics) on antidepressants this is becoming an elephant in every room.

Depression is a complicated issue. There are genetic and situational components that are not completely within our control at times and there are biochemical factors that ARE within our control. There are many nutritional factors effecting our biochemistry but I will focus in this article on the three that are the most connected to digestion. Digestion can be a stress, raising our cortisol levels and preventing us from thinking clearly and depleting our other hormones. Low stomach acid can lead to malabsorption of amino acids, leaving us without the building blocks necessary for the production of neurotransmitters. Low stomach acid can also leave us low on zinc which can lead to depression.

Digestive Stress

When I think of stress I usually think of the grind, parenting, cleaning toilets, money, relationships and more things in the external world. I rarely think of physical activities and digestive stress as “stress” however these are some of the most common stressors that we encounter in our environment. Just as our bodies respond to chronic ongoing worldly stress through raising our cortisol levels we also raise our cortisol levels just the same to respond to digestive stress. Cheetos and coffee cause digestive stress. Our bodies raise cortisol as a result. I am in no way saying not to eat these things here but it is good to know what is going on.

Cortisol has the ability to interfere with our neurotransmitters, preventing their communication with each other and making their quantities lower.  Have you ever been sitting in a test or exam and suddenly had your brain erase?  Have you done any public speaking and experienced getting really stupid and scared at the same time?  Our hormones don’t really know whether we are running from a tiger or dealing with a stressful situation at work.  Our bodies simply know that we don’t need our higher brain function when there is some kind of emergency going on so our IQ is of a way lower priority than saving our butts. Over time cortisol can actually cause damage to the prefrontal cortex, leading us to walk into rooms and ask “why am I here” or drive to work and ask “how did I get here?” I’m here to tell you we can reduce our senior’s moments by reducing our stress including our digestive stress.

Raised cortisol levels over time will lead to reduced pregnenalone, the precursor to DHEA (the anti-aging hormone) and reproductive hormones leading to more pronounced and compounded symptoms of fatigue and lethargy.  Someone may be diagnosed with depression but these hormone cascades may not have been looked into.

Malabsorption of Amino Acids

Proteins rely on our stomach acid to break them down into their constituent parts, amino acids. As we age our stomach acid does decline naturally and it also declines as an adaptive response to a diet high in acidic liquids such as soda and empty calorie foods that leave us without the nutrients necessary to create stomach acid well. Different foods are digested differently in our mouths and stomachs. The proteins after chewing, need our stomach acid and pancreatic enzymes to be healthy in order to be broken down to amino acids well. Amino acids are used in our bodies for enzyme production, cellular energy, red blood cell production, neurotransmitter and hormone production as well as many many other functions. Muscle building is only one small but important function of these amino acids.

Two amino acids particularly important for healthy mood are tyrosine and tryptophan. Tyrosine is an important precursor for dopamine. Dopamine plays an important part in our moods, broadcasting joyfulness and reward even including sexual enjoyment.  Dopamine also affects cognition and motor control.  ADHD, Parkinson’s Disease, Schitzophrenia and of course depression have been linked to altered levels of dopamine in the body.  Without tyrosine we just can’t make dopamine.   Period.  There are many animal-based sources of tyrosine. The highest sources of tyrosine on a vegan or plant-based diet are spirulina, mustard greens, pumpkin leaf, nori and soy.  I do not really do soy much, at least unfermented and I don’t seem to eat pumpkin leaf very often (do you?) but spirulina and some of the mustards like arugula are a daily part of my diet.  I also snack on raw nori (not the sheets, the actual crinkly dried straight seaweed) but have been told I’m crazy.  If these foods seem wacky to you fortunately sesame, spinach, avocado and oranges also contain this amino acid.

Tyrosine is a non-essential amino acid which just means that we still need it but we can also make it from phenylalanine, which is an “essential” amino acid. If you are really trying to change your mood it might be better to go for both. If you can digest and absorb them that would be optimal!  Pineapple, apples, parsley, spinach and tomatoes are good sources of phenylalanine but for something even better look to nettle and the phytoplanktons.

Low levels of tyrosine can also be harmful to the thyroid as tyrosine is required to make thyroid hormones. Often thyroid conditions, other conditions of the brain and hormones and depression are mistaken for one another.  They are in fact intricately entwined through these amino acids.

Malabsorption of Zinc

Zinc is one of those vicious cycle minerals. It is important for the production of stomach acid and it cannot be absorbed without adequate stomach acid.  Low levels of zinc can lead to feelings of helplessness along with a mixed bag of emotions such as fear, anxiety, frustration and anger.  These feelings can be associated with high levels of copper in the body which can actually be caused by zinc deficiency too.  If a zinc deficiency is connected with low stomach acid it can continue to get worse and worse until the vicious cycle is broken.

Some good plant based sources of zinc include chia, sesame, sprouted chick peas and lentils, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, pecans, pumpkin seeds, garlic, CHLORELLA and chocolate.

Consider this: Antidepressants can inhibit zinc absorption.

What to Do

Eat good food, the foods listed above among any other sources of tyrosine, phenylalanine and zinc, as a part of a diverse plant based diet and make sure we digest and absorb these foods as well as we can.

We will not eat crap.  We will pay attention to and care for our digestion so we can absorb what we eat.  If you are on anti-depressants please do not jump off of them as a result of reading this article but work with your physician and a team including a functional nutrition practitioner to reach your goals.  Remember the point about antidepressants depleting zinc, this is important.

This article represents only some of the pieces of the puzzle regarding this topic.  Good foods and nutrition can improve all of our lives and are a start.  Want to know more?  Let’s talk.