Everyone gets depressed every now and again.  A friend or family member passing in death, a job loss or financial setback, or a prolonged illness can make even the strongest and most resilient person to feel upset and sad.If you want the real definition of clinical depression here is is?  How is this different from just feeling sad and blue?When is it the right time with clinical depression to go see a doctor?  There are a few things to consider about this subject.

The term Depression actually refers to an emotional disorder that is not caused by external elements such as a job loss or death in the family, but by a defect in the brain’s ability to regulate certain chemicals in the brain.Its sadness that comes from these chemicals not releasing in time or in the right amounts.  This means he or she is upset or gloomy even when they are at good events or are doing things that normally should make them happy.  It’s important to understand that clinical depression is caused by this physical defect or deformity because some people think that all they need to do is take a vacation or change some other circumstances in their life and their depression will go away.  Unfortunately this is a very simplistic approach to the problem.

Those with clinical depression usually have very little self-esteem as they are no longer concerned with or care about virtually anything, including themselves personally.  They may neglect their responsibilities around the house, at their job, and even when it comes to their own family and may even neglect their own hygiene and personal appearance.Frequent feelings of malaise and overwhelming feelings of not caring for anything in the world are very typical with clinical depression.  A person suffering from this condition just does not have much of an interest in anything and seems to be constantly thinking “what’s the point?”  This feeling often persists at all times and for years; it doesn’t let up even when faced with things they should have enjoyment in such as hobbies, friends, and even sexual activity.

Clinical Depression is often different from general sadness in that it is a very deep feeling of sadness, not just a pessimistic attitude or “blue” feeling.  It can even lead to suicidal thoughts and tendencies.  The depths of one’s feelings have a lot to do with whether or not you actually have a condition or are just going through a bad patch.

If anyone suspects that they have clinical depression, especially if they have noticed that they are neglecting their responsibilities, their family, and their own care, it’s time to see a doctor especially if this feeling has persisted for longer than a few weeks.  There are many treatment options today for those who suffer from this condition from medication to group therapy and self-help methods.  Many of these treatment methods are also covered by prescription plans as well.

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Take a look at Canada’s Food Guide then ask yourself the following questions in relation to a balanced diet:

– The milk you drank: How long was it in the refrigerator? 24 hours? 48? Longer? Milk is a highly perishable product that will deteriorate even while stored in the fridge.  What does this mean as a loss in nutritional value to you?  Was the milk certified organic?  Check out Fernanda’s thoughts on Milk.

– Did your meat contain any synthetic hormones which were supplied to the animal for the purpose of promoting accelerated weight gain?  Were the eggs you ate fertilized or unfertilized?  Were they laid by free running hens or were they laid by caged hens that were artificially stimulated by light for 24 hours a day while being forced to consume and digest special additives included in their feed?  How fresh was the fish you consumed? Do you know if it contained any traces of mercury or other pollutants?

– Did you eat your fruits and vegetables from a can, prepare them from a frozen state or were they fresh?  If fresh, was your produce exposed to pesticides?  Oil-based insecticides will not be washed off with just plain water (farmers would lose expensive insecticides in the fields from the first rain shower).  Some of these poisons can penetrate the skins of apples and oranges which will, in turn, permeate the fiber of the food.  Did you eat your vegetables in a restaurant?  The chances are greater that artificial colorings were originally added at the packaging plant to provide you with a brighter eye-appeal appearance to your vegetables.

– Was the bread you ate white or whole wheat?  Was it stone ground or steel ground?  Many whole wheat breads are referred to as whole wheat but they don’t contain the germ of the whole wheat seed.  Studies showed that these, like white breads, don’t contain enough nutritional value to sustain the life of rats.  If the bread you ate was soft and spongy, it probably contained calcium propionate, which, among other things, destroys your enzyme that assimilates the limited amount of calcium left in the flour. And the cereal you enjoyed this morning?  Did it contain the necessary life force of the wheat or rice grain, or did it come to you as highly refined and typically, a dead food?

– Did the protein you chose for breakfast contain all the essential amino acids?  Or did you have to grab a coffee, donut or candy at 11:00 am?  If you were exhausted at 6:00 pm the chances are very real that you didn’t get enough of the right protein, that your body needs, for breakfast.

The intricate weaving of the above variables has become the norm in our civilized North American urban lives.  Just as we breathe in polluted air, so we eat altered foods.   Most North Americans don’t know what a balanced diet means.  Salad, vegetables and meat will not insure that you receive a balanced diet.  We eat more candy than eggs.  We drink more pop than milk.  We consume more sugar than our total intake of fruits, vegetables and eggs.  More than 50% of the calories we eat come from sugar, fat and white flour.  We also over indulge in coffee, cigarettes and alcohol.  We eat non-nutritional snacks and then take drugstore remedies to counteract their effects.  T.V. commercials tell us what to buy and we run out and buy it.

We have become the product of Westernized, modern man, for we can read.  However, we don’t know how our glands or nerves function.  We don’t understand how our cells select nutrients or why they choose the ones that they do.  How can we know if we are eating a balanced diet?  Primitive groups of people with natural food sources don’t suffer from the aches, pains and degenerative diseases that plague us.  Is there something to learn?

We don’t have to suffer with sickness.  To achieve health and maintain it we must do everything to cooperate with the harmony of the life chain.  The concept is simple; whole nutrition begins with whole foods that are as natural as possible.  In our convenience-minded, fast-food society this is a very difficult task.  You must strive to fuel your body with unrefined carbohydrates, unaltered sources of fatty acids, complete protein and sources that include the necessary vitamin and mineral complexes. 

Supplementing your diet with food concentrates is needed for nutrition insurance today.  Those who say “Yes, I took a once-a-day vitamin, vitamin E and I get B12 shots regularly”, or “I’ve taken vitamin C for years” are supplementing incompletely.  A selected few vitamins will not make the difference.  Deficiencies of the unsupplied nutrients may produce abnormalities which can do more harm than the isolated vitamins can do good!

Science and nature have shown us what the body needs:  A biologically complete Protein with all the essential amino acids, companion Vitamins and Minerals, Carbohydrates and Fats.