From the Desk of Carolyn Dean MD ND
In my latest book, The Complete Guide to Mental Health you can read some of my tirades about the rampant prescribing of antidepressant medication with absolutely no consideration for the nutrient levels of patients with mental health challenges like depression.
We do not develop anxiety, panic attacks, or depression because we have a deficiency of Valium or Prozac. Our bodies do not require these substances for essential metabolic processes; however, we do require nutrients.
Despite there being numerous studies linking low levels of magnesium with symptoms of depression, medical doctors continue to ignore this scientific evidence.
For example,
- In a 1996 study of nearly 500 depressed people, Drs. Cox and Shealy found that many of the participants were magnesium deficient and advised clinicians that they should consider the distinct possibility of a therapeutic benefit from the use of magnesium therapy in chronic depression.¹ This was nearly 30 years ago!
- A 2009 study linked anxiety and depression with low magnesium intake.
- A 2016 study, “Dietary Magnesium Intake and the Incidence of Depression: A 20-Year Follow-up” further proved the connection between low magnesium and depression.
Unfortunately, magnesium researchers offer weak suggestions that maybe somebody, somewhere, sometime should look into magnesium being helpful in preventing and treating depression. They continue to refuse to make a definitive statement that could effectively save lives!
So, I have become the singular voice in educating people about magnesium deficiency being at the root of many mental health challenges. This means also being a voice of reason about the widespread use of antidepressants, and highlighting the risks involved with their extensive use.
What’s the downside of taking antidepressants? In general, they increase the risk of strokes, heart attacks, falls and even suicide along with the common side effects: nausea, indigestion, weight gain, agitation, and lower sex drive. Suicide?
What? Wait! That’s right, the very medications supposed to help people with depression were guilty of increasing the risk of suicide. In 2004, the FDA put a serious suicidal black box warning on antidepressants indicating that young people had an increased risk of suicidal thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Arguments arose that the warning would discourage people from getting the drug-based help they “needed”.
Let me give you some context – I read this report in a Medscape article² that was written by someone who has received speaker and consultation fees from 13 different drug companies – so take a good dose of sea-salted water when you read this article. The bottom line seems to be that if you take antidepressants, they can lead to suicide but if you don’t take them, researchers claim the same result. Wouldn’t this type of double bind lead a smart person to look for solutions other than drugs? Apparently not.
The black box warnings pertained to children, adolescents and young adults up to 24 years.
Magnesium supplementation has never resulted in suicidal thoughts or behavior.
Adolescent depression can accompany the normal youth rebellion against parents and society. Part of the rebellion often takes the form of not following parental guidelines for diet, sleep, and exercise.
Young people are growing their bodies and brains and need the best nutrition possible. Unfortunately, they eat too many ultraprocessed foods, fast foods, soda, and sugar. Such a diet can create severe nutrient deficiencies, especially the depletion of zinc, magnesium, and essential fatty acids. Reduced amounts of these nutrients are known to cause mood changes.
According to CDC National Center for Health Statistics, 1 in 13 US children in 2014 were taking psychiatric drugs. Psychology Today in 2021 had the incidence numbers in the US at 1 in 12 children on psychiatric drugs, including 1.2 percent of preschoolers and 12.9 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds. These statistics are chilling and necessitate a serious look at our children’s diets, stress levels, and need for supplemental nutrients.
If your teenager is showing signs and symptoms of depression, please sneak some picometer magnesium into their water bottle before turning to potentially life threatening, black box warning medications!
And definitely read my latest book, The Complete Guide to Mental Health for more information about adolescent depression and suggestions for helping your adolescent learn to cope and to thrive.
Carolyn Dean MD ND
The Doctor of the Future.
¹Cox RH, Shealy CN, Cady RK, Veehoff D, Burnetti Awell M, Houston R, “Significant magnesium deficiency in depression.” J Neurol Orthop Med
