They say that if you exercise, you may ward off signs of Depression, but why? Recent studies by Dr. Charles Raison at the University of Madison-Wisconsin may have the answer.
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When I was floxed, I used an infrared sauna at the hope that it would help me detoxify my body. As I later learned, the fluoroquinolones were likely not still present in my body months later even if I still had symptoms.
Another theory by one of my doctors (I had 13 lol) suggested that fluorine ions may still be present in the brain, which of course, you can’t sweat out.
If that’s the case, why did I feel so much better when I left the sauna each week?
Infrared saunas have less to do with detoxification and more to do with heat shock proteins. These proteins create a positive anti-inflammatory effect in the body that Dr. Raison suggests may also help treat people with Depression. So maybe that sauna session didn’t make me feel physically better, but it made me feel better mentally?
Nope. I actually did have less neuropathic issues and less tendon pain when I used a sauna. Dr. Rhonda Patrick claims that these heat shock proteins have the ability to decrease CRP in a recent study from this year. From her Facebook page:
A new study found that using the sauna was associated with a decrease in a biomarker of inflammation (CRP) in a dose-dependent manner. The more frequent the sauna use…the more robust the effect of lowering inflammation. This study was published early this year from with one of the world’s leading sauna researchers, Dr. Jari Laukkanen.
He has also shown dose-dependent effects with sauna use on cardiovascular disease, all-cause mortality, and Alzheimer’s disease. Using the sauna 2-3 times per week (20 minutes at 174º F) was associated with: 27% lower cardiovascular disease risk, 24% lower all-cause mortality, and a 20% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease compared to men that only used the sauna one time per week. Using the sauna 4-7 times per week (20 minutes at 174º F) was associated with: 50% lower cardiovascular disease risk, 40% lower all-cause mortality, and a 66% lower risk of dementia and a 65% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease compared to men that used the sauna once a week.
Study on sauna and inflammatory biomarkers:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29209938
Dr. Raison, as well as others, have found that inflammatory mediators such as IL-6 and C-Reactive protein (CRP) are higher in depressed individuals independent of other health factors like obesity and can independently predict the subsequent development of depression over a decade or more.Moreover, the fact that chronic inflammation might not only be predictive but also induce depression is suggested by studies where injection with pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IFN-alpha have been shown to cause depressive symptoms in people. In fact, at high IFN-alpha doses, fully 50% of patients without depression will meet criteria for major depressive disorder within three months. Read Dr. Raison’s review on some of this phenomena.
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Never thought that inflammation and depression were linked that way.
Great intel!
You can definitely become depressed if you have brain inflammation. I was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis – inflammation of the brain, and I experienced severe psychosis and depression. I had to be hospitalized and treated with intra-venous steroids, probably will have to go through this process again. IV steroids suppress the immune system.
Yeah a friend of mine uses steroids to control her malfunctioning immune system. That is horrifying. Encephalitis is no joke. Is this something that comes back with flare-ups? Is it viral? What do you/they know? Jeez...
Hashimoto's encephalopathy is usually a chronic condition. I was treated with five days with intravenous steroids, than for about 1.5 months I was on oral prednisone. I am now off conventional medication, but I have improvements through diet. I followed a modified AIP (autoimmune protocol) diet and I consume a lot of probiotic foods - homemade goat kefir, goat yougurt, fermented vegetables/fruits/tofu. I also started taking a probiotic yeast supplement - saccharomyces boulardii. I found all of this helpful, I have experienced some new desires - such as desire to play my violin again or finding men attractive again. That is a big improvement for me because severe depression means no desire, no interest in life.
Wow that's incredible. I've tried variations of the paleo diet too, and it's been really incredible for my mental health. Why this specific yeast supplement? The brain gut connection is so important. It's nuts
This specific yeast just came up in my Google search when I looked for “probiotic yeast”. I found some studies that it can help people with gastrointestinal disorders and from my experience anything that helps with gi issues is also correlated with reduction in depression.