Depression is a name given to a set of symptoms consisting of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person’s thoughts, behavior, feelings and physical well-being.
But there are many different causes that can produce this depressive state. Here are just a few of the many causes (listed in no particular order) with links to references…
Omega-3 deficiencies, Vitamin D deficiencies, magnesium deficiencies, vitamin B deficiencies, etc.
Cholesterol deficiency and low-fat diet may cause depression.[reference and here]
Mercury toxicity and mercury dental fillings.
Hypothyroidism (as mentioned in Dr. Lo Podcast) can result in depression.
Dementia associated with Depression
Calcium Toxicity or Calcium deficiency
Concussion and brain trauma
In the book Digestive Health with Real Food (page 45), it writes …
“People with fructose malabsorption don’t have enough tryptophan, even though they eat enough of it, and therefore can’t produce enough serotonin to feel good … in their study, reducing dietary fructose resulted in a 65-percent improvement in depression score in only four weeks.”
Here is a video of a lecture that explains the biology of depression and the affects of stress.
The video says that depression may be a whole body disorder and that more Americans suffer from depression than coronary disease, cancer, and AIDS combined. It is the leading cause of disability in North America.
The biogenic amine theory of depression is the idea that there is a deficiency of certain neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, serotonin and dopamine.