Disclaimer: This post is not a recommendation or endorsement for any particular type of mental health treatment. The only way to be sure you get effective treatment is to discuss your options with your personal doctor — and none of the complementary approaches described below should ever be used to replace what your doctor has prescribed or recommended. We have written this post for informational purposes only, and its goal is simply to inform our readers about the science behind some complementary treatment strategies, and what we know about how they might work.

Introduction To Depression And How It Is Treated

Drug Treatments

Many of the most common treatments for a person diagnosed with clinical depression (major depressive disorder, or MDD) involve the use of prescription medications (such as SSRIs) to alleviate or manage the symptoms.

While these medications can be highly effective in many cases, it is also unfortunately the case that many of these pharmaceutical drugs can potentially cause a number of unwanted side-effects in people who take them.

For this reason, some people are reluctant to rely on pharmaceutical treatments, and prefer to try non-chemical treatments instead.

However, before we begin we want to stress that this post is not an endorsement for- or against any particular mode of treatment! Nor are the strategies outlined in this post intended to be used as a replacement for conventional medical care in any way.

When to See a Doctor

If you are ever diagnosed with a mental health condition of any kind, the only way to decide what the best treatment for your specific case might be is to discuss it with your doctor. Only a fully-qualified medical professional fully understands all the different advantages and drawbacks associated with the many different possible modes of treatment — and they will work with you to come up with the safest and most effective approach for your individual needs.

With that in mind, in the rest of this post we’ll discuss some of the many non-drug-based treatments for depression and other mood disorders, and what science currently says about them.

Conventional Psychological Treatments for Depression

Before we get into some of the “alternative” or “complementary” strategies for potentially improving mood, it’s important to be aware of what some of the more

The post Depression Treatment: Conventional & Psychological Options appeared first on SelfHacked.

Disclaimer: This post is not a recommendation or endorsement for any particular type of mental health treatment, either for anxiety disorders or otherwise. The only way to be sure you get effective treatment is to discuss your options with your personal doctor – and none of the complementary approaches described below should ever be used to replace what your doctor has prescribed or recommended. We have written this post for informational purposes only, and its goal is simply to inform our readers about the science behind some complementary approaches to alleviating anxiety, and what we currently know about how they might work.

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety disorders are a group of psychiatric disorders including social anxiety, generalized anxiety, panic disorder, PTSD, OCD, and phobias [R].

Common anxiety symptoms include inner turmoil, nervous behavior, and excessive rumination [R].

Flawed processing of threat is theorized to be the common underlying factor in contributing to anxiety disorders [R].

While it is certainly helpful to experience fear and vigilance in response to an actual threat, someone with anxiety will interpret non-threatening signals as threatening, thus maintaining an unnecessarily high state of worry and arousal [R].

Underlying this exaggerated fear response is a network of brain structures that function improperly in response to stimuli. The amygdala, which controls fight-or-flight threat response, is often overactive [R].

On the contrary, the prefrontal cortex, which inhibits the fear-generation of the amygdala, is underactive [R].

Impaired activity of the hippocampus, striatum, anterior cingulate cortex, and insula can also be involved in anxiety [R].

These neural “malfunctions” can be accompanied by disturbances in neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, GABA), neurotrophic factors (nerve growth factor, BDNF), the HPA axis, immune function, heart rate variability, and cognitive function [R].

Now that we know what we’re up against, here are some tools you can use to overcome anxiety.

Anxiety: Why Take A “Complementary” Approach?

While there are many pharmaceutical drugs that have been developed which can treat anxiety relatively safely and effectively, it is unfortunately also the case that these can often have negative side-effects in some people [R].

For these reasons,

The post 10 Strategies for Dealing with Anxiety (incl. Meditation, Yoga) appeared first on SelfHacked.

Read on to learn about the potential health risks of lipopolysaccharides and which factors may help reduce them.

Potential Health Risks of High LPS Levels

The conditions we discuss here are commonly associated with high LPS levels, but this single symptom is not enough for a diagnosis.

Because they have been studied in cohort studies, we cannot conclude for certain that high LPS levels caused these conditions.

Work with your doctor to discover what underlying condition might be causing your high LPS levels and to develop an appropriate plan to improve your health.

1) Fatigue

Fatigue is reliably caused in humans by the administration of LPS, as part of LPS-induced “sickness behavior” [R].

LPS increased fatigue and inflammation (TNF-a, IL-6) in a small trial with 11 healthy participants. Pre-treatment with citalopram (SSRI) prevented the increase in fatigue [R].

In studies of 168 patients, LPS levels were greater in those with chronic fatigue syndrome and were associated with symptom severity, including fatigue, concentration problems, and failing memory [R, R].

2) Poor Memory

In a small trial on 20 healthy men, intravenous LPS impaired verbal and nonverbal memory and increased anxiety and depression. Inflammatory cytokine secretion was associated with a decrease in memory performance [R].

Administration of LPS increased anxiety, depression, cortisol, and blood norepinephrine in another trial on 34 men. Low-dose LPS impaired long-term memory, while high-dose LPS increased reaction time. The authors stated that inflammation may increase short-term alertness, although this is speculative on their part [R].

3) Anxiety and Low Empathy

In a clinical trial on 115 healthy people, LPS decreased participants’ ability to accurately understand the emotional state of a person by looking at their eyes [R].

In a small trial on 18 men, LPS administration worsened mood and increased anxiety. LPS also increased the activation of the right inferior orbitofrontal cortex in response to emotional visual stimuli. This brain region is associated with fear and anger recognition, so increased activity may have increased negative emotions towards the stimuli [R].

4) Depression and Social Disconnection

LPS administration consistently increased depression in numerous studies [

The post 14 Factors that May Reduce Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) appeared first on SelfHacked.

What is LDL-Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that’s a key component of cells. It’s also used by the body to make steroid hormones (testosterone, estrogens, cortisol, aldosterone etc.), bile, and vitamin D [R].

Cholesterol that’s found in the blood is bound into particles called lipoproteins. You can think of lipoproteins as the vehicles and cholesterol as the passenger. These lipoproteins differ in density (vehicle size):

• LDL-cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is known as the “bad” cholesterol
• HDL-cholesterol or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol is known as the “good” cholesterol
• VLDL-cholesterol or very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol is also a “bad” cholesterol

LDL-C forms in the blood when very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) loses some fat (triglycerides) and becomes denser. It’s removed by the liver [R].

LDL- cholesterol is considered the “bad cholesterol” because it deposits in blood vessels. Cholesterol can penetrate arterial walls where it combines with oxygen (oxidizes). This is a key step in the development of hardening of the arteries and heart disease [R, R].

LDL-C Components

LDL carries the most cholesterol of all lipoproteins. It is the major cholesterol carrier in the body. LDL contains [R]:

• Cholesterol
• Fats (triglycerides and other fats)
• Protein (Apoprotein B-100)

Functions of LDL

• Transfers fat and cholesterol around the body for cells to use [R].
• Binds certain toxins, making them unable to trigger harmful immune responses. LDL binds toxins produced by bacteria (Staphylococcus) and the toxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) [R, R].
• Helps repair damaged blood vessels. When arteries become damaged, LDL binds to the artery wall to aid the healing process. This helps the artery in the short-term but can be harmful long-term [R].

Oxidized LDL

When LDL gets inside the damaged artery wall to help the healing process, it undergoes a change and becomes oxidized. Oxidized LDL is toxic to artery wall cells. To remove oxidized LDL, inflammatory cells migrate to the artery wall [R].

Cholesterol, other fats, and more inflammatory cells can accumulate to form a fatty plaque in the artery. The plaque may

The post LDL-Cholesterol: High, Low, Normal Levels appeared first on SelfHacked.

Supplements That May Have Mood-Related Effects

There are a number of supplements and dietary compounds that may have potentially-beneficial effects on mood.

However, keep in mind that the science behind these is still mostly preliminary, and none of these supplements have been officially approved for treating mood issues or any other psychological conditions.

In other words, there is still insufficient evidence for the efficacy of these supplements in treating mood disorders: therefore, none of these compounds should be used to replace any ongoing medical treatments that your doctor has recommended.

It’s also always a good idea to consult with your doctor before trying out any new supplements or other dietary changes, as there’s always the possibility that these compounds could have adverse interactions with other ongoing medications, pre-existing medical conditions, etc. Therefore, we don’t recommend “experimenting” with supplements on your own without at least discussing them with your doctor first!

With all that in mind, here’s what some of the latest science says about several supplements that might have potential mood-related effects.

1) Inositol

Individuals with depression have often been reported to have low levels of inositol in the brain (frontal and prefrontal cortex) [R, R].

Inositol has been concluded to be “likely effective” for depression, according to a meta-analysis of DB-RCTs [R].

Myo-inositol (0.6 or 2 grams) was reported to reduce depressive symptoms in a study (DB-RCT) of 71 women with premenstrual depression [R].

Some evidence suggests that myo-inositol may act by decreasing serotonin transporter activity, thus increasing available serotonin [R].

2) St. John’s Wort

St John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is one of the most-studied herbs with supposed “antidepressant-like” effects, and is even widely prescribed for depression in Europe. The recommended dose is 900-1800 mg/day.

According to multiple meta-analyses (of DB-RCTs), St. John’s Wort was reported to have anti-depressive effects similar to SSRIs, with very few side effects [R, R].

St John’s Wort has also been reported to potentially prevent or delay depression relapses in 426 patients (DB-RCT) [R].

St. John’s wort is believed to act in part by increasing serotonin receptors and dopamine signaling [R, R]. It also may inhibit serotonin reuptake and glutamate release [R, R]. However, these mechanisms are still only based on relatively early studies, and more research will be needed to figure out the exact biological mechanisms underneath this herb’s effects in the body and

The post 35 Supplements That May Boost Mood appeared first on SelfHacked.

Disclaimer: This post is not a recommendation or endorsement for any particular type of mental health treatment, either for anxiety disorders or otherwise. The only way to be sure you get effective treatment is to discuss your options with your personal doctor – and none of the complementary approaches described below should ever be used to replace what your doctor has prescribed or recommended. We have written this post for informational purposes only, and its goal is simply to inform our readers about the science behind some complementary approaches to alleviating anxiety, and what we currently know about how they might work.

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety disorders are a group of psychiatric disorders including social anxiety, generalized anxiety, panic disorder, PTSD, OCD, and phobias [R].

Common anxiety symptoms include inner turmoil, nervous behavior, and excessive rumination [R].

Flawed processing of threat is theorized to be the common underlying factor in contributing to anxiety disorders [R].

While it is certainly helpful to experience fear and vigilance in response to an actual threat, someone with anxiety will interpret non-threatening signals as threatening, thus maintaining an unnecessarily high state of worry and arousal [R].

Underlying this exaggerated fear response is a network of brain structures that function improperly in response to stimuli. The amygdala, which controls fight-or-flight threat response, is often overactive [R].

On the contrary, the prefrontal cortex, which inhibits the fear-generation of the amygdala, is underactive [R].

Impaired activity of the hippocampus, striatum, anterior cingulate cortex, and insula can also be involved in anxiety [R].

These neural “malfunctions” can be accompanied by disturbances in neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, GABA), neurotrophic factors (nerve growth factor, BDNF), the HPA axis, immune function, heart rate variability, and cognitive function [R].

Now that we know what we’re up against, here are some tools you can use to overcome anxiety.

Anxiety: Why Take A Complementary Approach?

While there are many pharmaceutical drugs that have been developed which can treat anxiety relatively safely and effectively, it is unfortunately also the case that these can often have negative side-effects in some people [R

The post 19 Natural Remedies for Anxiety: Supplements, Herbs, etc. appeared first on SelfHacked.

Disclaimer: This post is not a recommendation or endorsement for any particular type of mental health treatment. The only way to be sure you get effective treatment is to discuss your options with your personal doctor — and none of the complementary approaches described below should ever be used to replace what your doctor has prescribed or recommended. We have written this post for informational purposes only, and its goal is simply to inform our readers about the science behind some complementary treatment strategies, and what we know about how they might work.

Can You Boost Your Mood Naturally?

Overview

In addition to consulting with trained mental health professionals to get specific forms of therapy, there is some evidence suggesting that a number of lifestyle and other behavioral adjustments may be helpful in keeping mood issues at bay, and may even boost mood in otherwise-healthy users.

In this post, we’ll review some of the many “non-pharmaceutical” approaches to mental health treatment — such as psychotherapy — as well as discuss what the science currently says about a number of psychological factors that may also have effects on a person’s mood.

We’ll also review a number of supplements and other compounds with at least some suggestive evidence of having effects on mood, although these findings are still early and are generally not yet strong enough to draw solid conclusions from.

Precautions

However, these lifestyle-based approaches should not be used to replace conventional treatment — especially for people who have been officially diagnosed with a specific psychiatric condition! These are complementary approaches only, meaning that while they may help support and enhance the effectiveness of conventional treatments, they are probably not sufficient just on their own.

When to See a Doctor

As always, be sure to discuss any significant lifestyle, dietary, or other changes with your doctor first before embarking on any of the “complementary” strategies discussed throughout this post! In other words, you can consider trying the strategies listed below if you and your doctor determine that they could be appropriate for you.

With that in mind, in the rest of this post we’ll discuss some of the many non-drug-based treatments for depression and other mood disorders, and what science currently says about them.

Although most of these

The post 16 Natural Mood Enhancers (Lifestyle Changes & More) appeared first on SelfHacked.

Disclaimer: This post is not a recommendation or endorsement for adrafinil. This drug has not been approved by the FDA for any specific medical uses, and relatively little is known for sure about its effects or safety in humans. We have written this post for informational purposes only, and our goal is solely to inform people about the science behind adrafinil’s mechanisms and potential effects.

What Is Adrafinil?

Adrafinil is a synthetic drug that is often touted to promote long-lasting mental arousal. Adrafinil is a non-amphetamine psychostimulant which reduces drowsiness but does not increase heart rate or anxiety [R].

It is often experimented with as a “nootropic” or supposedly “cognitive-enhancing” drug. However, this use is not medically approved, and the science behind its potential effects on cognition is still in a very early stage, with highly mixed (and often conflicting) results.

As a “prodrug” (an inactive compound that is converted into the active drug inside the body) for the prescription stimulant modafinil, adrafinil becomes active by converting to modafinil in the body. Adrafinil’s effects and mechanisms are therefore most likely identical to those of modafinil, although the relative lack of research on adrafinil specifically means that some significant differences are still a possibility [R].

Adrafinil was originally designed to treat narcolepsy and attention disorders in the elderly. It was sold in France under the name Olmifon, but was discontinued in 2011. Adrafinil was discontinued because it was less potent than modafinil, and required higher doses to achieve a similar effect [R].

Adrafinil is unscheduled in the United States, Canada, and the UK, where it is considered a “dietary supplement” rather than a prescription drug. This means it is neither FDA-approved nor controlled, and does not require a prescription to purchase or possess. In contrast, adrafinil does require a prescription in other countries, such as Australia, Germany, and New Zealand.

However, don’t be misled by the fact that it’s “technically legal” in some places. As a prodrug of modafinil – which is a controlled substance with known potential for abuse – it shares essentially the

The post What Do We Know About Adrafinil? Potential Uses and Side-Effects appeared first on SelfHacked.

Ways to Lower LDL-Cholesterol

The following substances, diets, and strategies have produced beneficial effects on LDL in multiple clinical trials, but they should never be used in place of something your doctor prescribes. If you are concerned about your LDL levels, work with your doctor to develop an appropriate management plan, which may or may not include some of the options discussed below.

Likely Effective

1) Weight Loss

Losing 5 to 10% body weight reduces LDL in overweight individuals [R, R, R, R, R].

In a study of 35 young women, weight loss lowered the creation of new cholesterol [R].

2) Low Cholesterol Diet and Low Saturated Fat Diet

With low-cholesterol diets, the liver rapidly clears both LDL and VLDL, so LDL levels in the blood remain low [R].

In a study of 155 adults, replacing saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats for eight weeks reduced LDL by 10% [R].

Reducing saturated fat intake lowered LDL in children in a meta-analysis [R].

The American Heart Association Step 2 diet reduces LDL by up to 20%. This diet is high in fish, vegetables, fruits, and low-fat dairy, and low in salt and alcohol [R, R, R].

In a study of 8,433 people, a “healthy” diet was associated with lower LDL. This diet included a high intake of whole grains, fruit, dairy, vegetables, and unsaturated oil, and a low intake of fast food, sugary beverages, poultry, processed meat, and flavored rice [R].

Two foods that have been individually found “likely effective” to reduce cholesterol are barley and oats. In many studies over multiple decades, barley, its oil, and its fiber have each reduced cholesterol in people eating it every day. Likewise, including oats into the diet of people with elevated LDL cholesterol tends to reduce LDL cholesterol. Researchers generally attribute these effects to the beta-glucans in both barley and oats [R, R, R, R, R, R].

3) Ketogenic Diet

Consuming a ketogenic diet lowered LDL and reduced small, dense (unhealthy) LDL particles in studies (including 1

The post 28 Natural Strategies to Lower LDL Cholesterol Levels appeared first on SelfHacked.

Read on to learn how lipopolysaccharides cause inflammation and how you can test for them.

What Are LPS?

Definition

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are one of the main causes of systemic, low-grade inflammation. In fact, intravenous LPS is often used in research experiments to cause inflammation [R].

Exposure to LPS causes both rodents and people to display “sickness behavior,” including depression, impaired cognitive function, and social withdrawal [R].

LPS are also considered a key link between Western diets, inflammation, and obesity and metabolic disorders [R].

LPS are normally present in the blood at very low levels. In certain infections, LPS levels increase substantially, causing sepsis. LPS can also enter the blood during leaky gut or with certain types of fat [R].

Where Are They Found?

LPS are found on the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. Gram-negative bacteria, such as E. coli and Salmonella, are a type of bacteria that often cause health problems and resist antibiotics (many probiotics, on the other hand, are gram-positive bacteria).

Gram-negative bacteria colonize the respiratory, urinary, and GI tracts, including the mouth and gut. The largest concentrations are found in the gut.

Structure

LPS are large molecules that are composed of three distinct sections [R]:

• O-antigen or O-specific chain (chain of many simple sugars, capable of being recognized by the immune system)
• Core oligosaccharide (a small chain of simple sugars)
• Lipid A (two glucosamine molecules bound to many fatty acids)

The fat component of LPS, called lipid A, is responsible for the toxic and inflammatory properties of LPS.

Lipid A is anchored to the cell membrane, while the rest of the LPS projects from the cell surface into the surrounding environment. However, once the bacteria dies, and the cell membrane falls apart, the lipid A is exposed and can cause damage [R].

How They Disrupt the Immune System

LPS are potent stimulators of the immune system. If LPS remain in the gut, they don’t activate the immune system and cause harm. The ability of LPS to promote inflammation depends on their ability to enter the blood [R].

Besides infection, the two main ways LPS can enter the blood from the gut are

The post What Are Lipopolysaccharides (LPS)? appeared first on SelfHacked.

What is Maca?

Maca (Lepidium meyenii) is a cruciferous vegetable native to the Andes mountains of Peru. It looks like a radish or turnip and is consumed both as a dietary staple and as a medicinal herb. The main edible part of maca is the root.

Also known as Peruvian ginseng, maca has been used by traditional cultures living in Peru for thousands of years as an aphrodisiac and to support life in the harsh mountain climate. Inca warriors consumed maca for strength in battle [R].

There are 13 maca variations, named for the color of their roots. In some cases, different colors of maca can produce different biological effects [R].

The most commonly studied colors are yellow, black, and red.

Maca Constituents

Maca contains 10% water, 59% carbohydrates, 10 to 14% protein, 8.5% dietary fiber, and 2.2% fat [R, R].

A 7 g (1 tablespoon) serving of maca root powder contains 20 calories, 4 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, and 0 g fat.

Maca is rich in calcium, potassium, iron, and iodine. It also contains copper, manganese, zinc, vitamin C, riboflavin (vitamin B2), and thiamine (vitamin B1) [R].

Maca contains 20 different fatty acids (including linolenic, palmitic, and oleic acids), and 19 amino acids.

Red and black maca have high levels of choline [R].

Red maca is high in GABA [R].

The main active compound in maca is the alkaloid macaridine. It has not been found in any other plant [R].

Maca also contains macamides, which are fatty acids unique to maca.

Glucosinolates are active components of maca and contribute a bitter flavor. Fresh maca has 10 times the glucosinolates of other cruciferous vegetables. Red maca has the most glucosinolates, followed by black and yellow [R, R].

Maca also contains dietary polyphenols which vary depending on the color of the root [R].

Maca also contains a compound (MTCA), which inhibits monoamine oxidase (MAO – an enzyme that breaks down certain transmitters) and has shown the ability to mutate DNA in cell studies [R].

Mechanisms of Action

• Maca contains macamides, which are fatty acids that affect the endocannabinoid system [R

The post 17 Maca Root Benefits + Side Effects & Safety appeared first on SelfHacked.