Première partie

by Maurice Nicole, MH, nd

Depression is a huge epidemic and a thriving pharmaceutical market.

There is a disease that is the biggest epidemic in human history. More than one in two people is or will be affected by it in their lifetime. And if you haven’t yet fallen victim to it, your chances of escaping it are slim. The worst part is that the factors that are responsible for it are also the cause of almost all diseases. Whether it is cardiovascular disease, arthritis, high cholesterol, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, lupus, allergies, hypersensitivity, cystitis, prostatitis, cancer or symptoms not diagnosed, the causes of depression and all of these illnesses are the same¹.

Anxiety and depression are the two major mood disorders (dominant affective disposition). These are two plagues of modern civilization and its very high stress levels that affect us all in one way or another to varying degrees. A recent statistical study carried out in the United States established that anxiety is the second mental health problem after alcoholism and drug addiction. They are more or less inseparable and represent two sides of the same disease, like the two poles of a magnet.

Dr. Abram Hoffer², a famous Canadian psychiatrist, classifies cases of anxiety and depression into two categories:

1st category: depressed people who develop secondary anxiety as a result of their depression;

2nd category: the very anxious and tense who become depressed in reaction to their anxiety.

The scale of the epidemic is gigantic. For example, Prozac, which was launched on the market in 1988, already reached sales of $ 1993 billion (US) in 1,2 and even exceeds $ 2 billion (US) today. In 1994, it ranked second in the pharmaceutical industry ranking, after Zantac, in terms of its turnover.

The depression market is booming, and its spectacular success is just the tip of the iceberg as studies show that over 66% of cases of depression go undiagnosed! It is today one of the major public health problems in the United States.

According to Dun and Bradstreet, the number of people treated with antidepressants increased by 19% between 1993 and 1994, while the National Institutes of Mental Health states that 17,4 million people in the United States are being treated for depression …

Where will it all end?

From symptoms to causes

Anxiety is defined as a feeling of psychic discomfort characterized by the fear of imminent danger, real or imagined, the intensity of which varies from mild to extreme. Unlike fear, which is a rational reaction to real danger, the cause of anxiety is often obscure, irrational, or unrealistic.

In every man, there is a dose of anxiety, but when it exceeds a certain threshold of intensity, which can go as far as a panic attack, or when it persists too long, it becomes pathological and can cause numerous symptoms, such as:

– heart palpitations;

– feeling of imminent danger;

– difficulty concentrating;

– muscle tension and pain;

– diarrhea and frequent urination;

– chest pain;

– dry mouth;

— transpiration excessive;

– anorexia or bulimia;

– insomnia and difficulty in relaxing;

– irritability;

– shortness of breath and hyperventilation;

– incapacity;

– phobias.

Depression, on the other hand, comes in two different forms designated by the terms unipolar and bipolar; the unipolar depressed suffers only from depression, while the depressed bipolar, commonly referred to as manic depression, suffers from mania only or alternating mania and depression. Unipolar depression is much more common.

In the DSM-III, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the American Psychiatric Association defines depression based on the following eight criteria:

1- loss of appetite with weight gain or increased appetite with weight gain;

2- insomnia or hypersomnia;

3- psychomotor excitement or inhibition;

4- loss of interest or pleasure in customary activities, or decrease in libido;

5- decrease in energy and fatigue;

6- feelings of incapacity, worthlessness and guilt;

7- increased difficulty in thinking and concentrating;

8- suicidal thoughts.

The presence of five of these eight symptoms confirms the diagnosis of depression, provided that they have persisted for more than a month. Reactive depression and seasonal depression must also be distinguished from depression itself. Reactive depression is the result of life difficulties and often no medical treatment is required, while seasonal depression is due to decreased exposure to daylight during the winter season.

In addition to hereditary genetic predispositions and stress, the causes of anxiety and depression are numerous.

1- Nutritional deficiencies

Clinical experience has shown Dr Abram Hoffer that the majority of anxious and depressed patients suffer from a variety of nutritional problems, ranging from allergies to nutritional addictions; he observed that nutritional and orthomolecular treatments were sufficient in an astonishing number of cases to make the symptoms associated with anxiety and depression disappear.

Almost Any Nutritional Deficiency Can Induce Symptoms Of Depression⁴ (see table 1).

Experiments have shown that it is possible to induce anxiety and panic attacks by administering lactate by blood infusion; it has also been demonstrated that people who are anxious and prone to panic attacks have an abnormally high blood lactate and lactate-pyruvate level; this is the main biochemical difference that has been observed in these patients.

According to Dr Melvin Werlach⁵, there are at least seven nutritional factors responsible for this increase in blood lactate:

– the alcohol;

– caffeine;

– sugar;

-deficiencies in B complex vitamins: niacin, pyridoxine and thiamine;

-deficiencies in calcium and magnesium;

-food allergies.

Simply eliminating alcohol, coffee, sugar and food allergens can often make all symptoms of depression go away completely.

2- Medicines

Depression is often a side effect of using certain common medications, such as birth control pills, cortisone, beta blockers, and other blood pressure lowering drugs, as well as caffeine and nicotine.

3- Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia has been clearly associated with the following symptoms:

– dizziness, headache;

– blurred vision;

– reduction of mental acuity;

– emotional instability, confusion;

– abnormal behavior.

The prevalence of hypoglycemia, determined by the Glucose Tolerance Test^6,7,8, is higher in psychiatric patients.

4- Aspartame (Nutrasweet)

Aspartame is widely used as a sugar substitute. It is composed of aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol.

Richard Wurtman has shown that administration of aspartame at levels comparable to those of human consumption can significantly affect mood and behavior^{9,10, 11}.

5- Hormonal factors

Several hormones have an influence on mood, but especially thyroid and adrenal hormones. Depression is often the first or one of the first manifestations of thyroid hypofunction, and the slightest drop in thyroid hormone level is likely to cause symptoms of depression.

Adrenal dysfunction is also closely linked to depression. Increased cortisol secretion is a factor often associated with unipolar depression and the following symptoms: mania, nervousness, insomnia and schizophrenia; in addition, cortisol reduces the conversion of tryptophan to serotonin, a neurotransmitter whose deficiency is responsible for depression^{12 to 16}. Finally, hyposadrenalism can also affect mood by contributing to hypoglycemia.

6- Allergies

Although the idea is still poorly accepted by official medicine, the clinical evidence supported by a few double-blind studies indicate that food and environmental allergies can produce psychic disorders known as cerebral allergies.¹⁷.

7- Pollutants

Several contaminants can cause symptoms of a psychological nature, including mood disorders; heavy metals and organic solvents used in the manufacture of paints, furniture, boats, etc., are particularly incriminated^{18 to 23}.

8- Infectious foci

Infectious foci in the sinuses, teeth or intestine can be the source of psycho-neuro-endocrine disorders; for example, colonies of Proteus or Candida albicans are often found in the intestine, producing neurotropic endotoxins capable of disrupting mood.

The allopathic solution and its dangers

Extensive studies of the biochemical mechanism of mood over the past few years have shown that anxiety and depression are not just psychological problems, but have a physiological and biochemical basis. Current consensus medical theory asserts that mood disorders are caused by an imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain. Anxiety is linked to a double deficiency in gamma-aminobulyric acid (GABA) and serotonin as well as an excess of norepinephrine; depression, for its part, is linked to a serotonin deficiency. The aim of the medical approach is to normalize the activity level or the level of these neurotransmitters; the solution adopted is pharmaceutical and consists in using anxiolytics and antidepressants.

Benzodiazepines are the main drugs prescribed for anxiety and insomnia. The list is long, but here are the main ones found on the market: diazepam (Valium), chlordiazepoxide (Librium), parzepam (Centrax), clonazepam (Clonopin), temazepam (Restoril), clorazepate (Tranxene), triazolam ( Halcion), lorazepam (Ativan), flurazepam (Dalmane), halazepam (Paxipam), oxaxepam (Sérax), alprazolam (Xantrax).

The list of possible side effects is just as long:

– addiction and withdrawal problems, memory impairment or amnesia, feeling unwell upon awakening, dizziness, loss of coordination, headache, blurred vision, diarrhea or nervousness, abnormal behavior, depression, irritability, drowsiness, allergic reactions, nausea , indigestion, lethargy, aggressiveness, hallucinations, suicidal ideation²⁴.

Antidepressants, on the other hand, fall into five broad categories:

1- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs):

– fluoxetine (Prozac)

— paroxétine (Paxil)

— sertraline (Zoloft)

2- Tricyclics:

— imipramine (Janimine, Tofranil)

— amitriptyline (Elavil, Endep)

— nortriptyline (Pamelor, Aventyl)

– desipramine (Norpramin, Pertrofane)

– amoxapine (Asendin)

3- Tetracyclics:

— maprotiline (Ludiomil)

4- Mono-amine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs):

— isocarboxadide (Marplan)

– prénelzine (Nardil)

— Tranycypromine (Parnate)

5- Others:

— bupropion (Wellbutrin)

– trazadone (Desyrel)

Antidepressants cause a multitude of side effects²⁵; MAOIs cause the most serious problems, but all have the potential to cause them. To be convinced, one only has to consult the Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties (CPS).

“Antidepressants have many harmful effects. First, most can make depression worse, causing suicidal ideation. They can also cause a disorder called tardive dyskinesia, resulting in sudden tics and spasms of voluntary muscles. They can also give rise to late-onset dementia, which is akin to senility. These side effects occur due to the loss of nutrients (such as vitamins and minerals) caused by the metabolism of antidepressants. When the nutrient deficiency reaches a certain level, the resulting side effects start to be felt. Since these nutrients are essential for the metabolism and detoxification of drugs, their by-products can also cause harmful side effects. For example, during clinical trials with Prozac, 27 deaths have been reported, which does not prevent the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) from approving this drug and making it one of the most quickly approved.

Under the Access to Information Act, consumer groups gathered the facts. As of September 1993, Prozac was linked to more than 1885 suicide attempts and 1734 deaths. In addition, there are over 28 reports of adverse reactions¹ ».

“One of the side effects of antidepressants is a problem called serotonin syndrome. The patient feels drunk or dizzy. He experiences involuntary jerky muscle spasms. He feels restless and becomes sweaty. His blood pressure and heart rate can change dramatically. He may have uncontrollable facial and eye movements, his temperature may change drastically, he may have an arrhythmia, shake, sweat, feel manic and mad, chattering teeth, suffer from insomnia, headaches, pain, peripheral vasodilation and even seizures, in addition to a host of other symptoms²⁶. ”

Over a hundred side effects are associated with Prozac: convulsions, hallucinations, coma, paralysis, deafness, infections and other breathing difficulties, nausea, vomiting, loss of libido, anxiety, etc .; other antidepressants have equally worrying drawbacks!

Perhaps the worst is yet to come! Prozac has only been tested in 32 people and clinical trials only lasted six weeks. Well-documented studies document the generous contributions made by the manufacturer to members of the FDA advisory committee that may explain the speed at which the approval process was rushed.

Results: 28 cases of adverse side reactions, over 000 deaths and 1 suicide attempts in children and adolescents aged between 700 and 83 years. ^1,27,28,29

TABLE I