Depression is a mental health problem which is does not gets the attention it deserves to get. As per the states for the United States more than 17 million adults suffer from depression. Nonetheless, the actual number for the total patients should be much higher than these numbers mainly because a lot of people cannot diagnose it.

Here are some disorders related to depression which comes with factors like feeling sad, irritated mood, feeling empty, changes in their cognitive function, etc. 

• Disorder due to another medical condition
• Major depressive disorder
• Persistent depressive disorder
• Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder
• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder

Disorders related with depression can be treated with the help of different medicine and counseling. Apart from these two remedies there are other factors which can be helpful here like changing your lifestyle, diet, and taking vital supplements. These factors can also help in avoiding relapsing.

There are different studies which concludes that there are some herbs, vitamins, and minerals which can help in reducing symptoms related to depression and its disorders.

Before we get into the brief you should always remember that supplements and herbs do not fall under the same category as medicines when it comes to FDA monitoring.

Apart from this, there is a need for more studies to completely back that these herbal remedies for depression are completely beneficial against depression and does not come with any side effects.

Before you add any type of herb or supplement, it is always smart to do some research and talk to your doctor to make sure you are completely safe to have them in your diet.

Nonetheless, here are some herbal remedies for depression which you can have in your diet to fight depression:

Herbal Remedies For Depression

Saffron

Saffron is a spice which comes in a bright color and comes with many antioxidants like crocetin and carotenoids crocin. Apart from all of this, saffron has also shown some antidepressant properties. There are different studies which concludes saffron can help in increasing your serotonin levels in your brain. The main mechanism of how saffron works is still unknown. When you take a saffron as a supplement, then it was seen that it helps in reducing symptoms related with depression.

Rhodiola

Rhodiola is an herb which is also known as Rhodiola rosea has a link with different types of health benefits. The health benefits of Rhodiola includes reducing symptoms of depression and can help in enhancing your stress response. This is beneficial for our body as it helps in adapting in a better way for any stress condition. Rhodiola herb may have an antidepressant impact on your body, and this is done by enhancing the communication between nerve cell and tends to reduce excess activity of HPA axis.

If you are not familiar with HPA axis, then it is a complex system which controls our stress response. There is different research which concludes that excess activity of HPA axis is linked with major depression.

There are some studies as well which show that taking Rhodiola in supplement form will help with your depression by impacting the neurotransmitter receptors and molecular networks. This impacting will help in getting a great mood.

A study conducted on 60 people who were suffering from depression were given 340 mg Rhodiola everyday for 3 months and it concluded depressive symptoms were reduced. The effectiveness of Rhodiola as a treatment is a bit on the lower side when compared to antidepressants like Sertraline.

Supplements for depression

Vitamin D

It is a no brainer that vitamin D is a great nutrient for our body and has different types of benefits as well. However, there are a lot of people on this globe who do lack this vitamin D even though it comes with many benefits. Apart from this, it is also said that having extremely low level of vitamin D tends to lead to more depressive symptoms.

Vitamin D can help in fighting against your depression through different mechanisms like changing your mood, reducing inflammation, and giving your neurocognitive dysfunction some protection.

There was another study done in 2019 in which the participants were given vitamin D supplements which resulted in giving benefits to people who had major depression.

a study done in 2020 concluded people who were suffering from depression did had deficiency in vitamin D. Therefore, they were given Vitamin D supplements along with the usual treatment for their depression.

Omega-3 fatty acids

Omega- 3 fats are important fats required by our body which means you should have them in your diet. Nonetheless, there are some studies which conclude that omega-3 supplements can be beneficial in treating depression.

There was a study done in 2020 which consisted of more than 600 women who were given omega-3 fatty acid supplements and at the end of the study it was concluded that these supplements help in reducing depressive symptoms especially during pregnancy.

there was another study done on omega-3 fatty acids which concluded that any supplement which were high in EPA do show great level of effectiveness against depression. If you are not fond of taking supplements, then you can try adding some seafoods in your diet as they are great source of omega- 3 fatty acids.

There was another study done on omega- 3 fatty acids which also concluded that it is a great supplement which you can have for treating symptoms related to depression.

B vitamins

Vitamin B is another vitamin which is important for out body mainly because of the impact it tends to have on our neurological function and mood. When it comes to Vitamin B, then it comes with different components like folate, B12, and B6. These components are important for our body because it helps in controlling the levels of serotonin, dopamine, and Gamma-aminobutyric acid or GABA.

There are many studies which shows that people who lack vitamin B12 and folate tend to be at a higher risk of getting depressed. In the same manner we can also say that if you confuse the correct amount of these vitamins, then it will help in reducing the chances of getting depressed.

Consuming folate in supplement form will help in reducing the symptoms faced during the treatment for your depression especially in case of people who have nutation which can have an impact on their folate metabolism.

Nonetheless, in case of vitamin B12 supplements, then it is seen that they are beneficial in reducing depressive symptoms in people who face MDD while they are on antidepressant medicines.

NAC

NAC is an aberrative of N-acetyl cysteine which can be considered as a pioneer to amino acids L-cysteine and glutathione. Focusing more on glutathione because it is a very important antioxidant for our body as it helps in controlling inflammation and provides that protection to our cells from oxidative damage.

When you add NAC in your diet, then it will give you a lot of health benefits and one of them is increasing the level of glutathione in your body.

There are some studies which shows that people who are depressed tend to have high level of C-reactive protein, Interleukin-6, etc. which are inflammatory cytokines. When you consume NAC, then it will help in reducing these type of inflammation and also helps in reducing symptoms of depression.

Apart from all of this NAC is also beneficial in enhancing neurotransmitter dysregulation which is great for people who are suffering from psychiatric disorders.

There are different neurotransmitters of dysregulation like dopamine and glutamate are linked to have different disorders related with your mood.

Final Word

Depression is a health problem which is faced by a lot of people all over the world. When it comes to treating depression, then it can be done with the help of different medicines and therapies. However, there are tons of people who do like to go with methods which are on the safer side, and this is where diets and supplements come into the picture. Completely depending on supplements as a treatment for your depression might not be the best decision, therefore pair them with good medicine and therapy to make sure you are getting the best treatment.