Video: Depression & The Anti-Inflammatory Diet

Dr. Weil is a strong believer of the anti-inflammatory diet and the benefits it provides. One such benefit is helping with depression as he explains how inflammation can negatively affect depression.

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Video Transcript: Depression & The Anti-Inflammatory Diet

One of the new pieces of information I came across in writing this book is called the cytokine hypothesis of depression. And this is documenting an increase in the activity of pro-inflammatory cytokines which are immune regulatory molecules correlating with depressive states.

If this is the case as it seems to be, then an anti-inflammatory diet and an anti-inflammatory lifestyle would be effective both as treatments and prevention for depression. And I find this a very convincing hypothesis and it just opens up a whole other range of possibilities for approaching depression than simply giving selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.
Anti-inflammatory diet and the anti-inflammatory diet pyramid, which are at DrWeil.com, give very detailed instructions for reducing inflammation by making appropriate dietary choices. Not difficult to do this is basically a version of a Mediterranean diet for which there is overwhelming evidence that this is the healthiest way to eat.