What do you think of Sam-e for mood disorders?

Melinda

Hi Melinda,

While the mechanisms of SAMe’s antidepressant effects has not been fully determined, there is some biological rationale. SAMe is the primary methyl donor in the central nervous system and a number of neurotransmitters and biogenic amines, fatty acids, phospholipids, and other chemicals must accept methyl groups from SAMe for activation. Therefore, it is thought that the observed antidepressant effect is due to SAMe’s influence on neurotransmitter metabolism, membrane fluidity, and receptor activity. Both serum and cerebrospinal fluid levels of SAMe are reported to be low in depressed patients, although reports were not consistent.

However, even though controlled clinical trials for depression have been largely positive, apparently the majority of trials have significant methodological flaws limiting their clinical usefulness. Also note that a large number of those trials (if not the majority) used intravenous or intramuscular injections.

If you’ve tried other natural products without much success, SAMe is worth a try. If you’re taking any other medications (especially other anti-depressants or drugs for diabetes), make sure you are under the care of a Naturopathic Doctor before self-prescribing SAMe.

Stay healthy!

Dr. Know

Is it OK/Safe/recommended to take digestive enzymes and probiotics together?

Kathryn

Hi Kathryn,

Yes, as long as the probiotics are acid and bile resistant (such as the DDS line from Inno-Vite are), then there are no concerns when taking digestive enzymes. These strains are able to survive everything our digestive tract can throw at them and still survive and and colonize our digestive tract.

Hope this helps. Stay healthy!

Dr. Know

Read your article “Licensed to Krill” If it becomes too popular are we advocating a “license to kill” the baleen whales which I understand – krill is their only food. Even if there is an abundance of krill at present – there was also an abundance of cod when the white man fist came to N America – so many all you had to do was lower a basket and haul it up full At least if we use Salmon we can grow them in farms if we have to not that I agree with farms in the sea but it can be done on land if Omega is that important to sustain human life – yes I do take Omega 3 from wild Alaskan salmon until we fish them all out.

Cheers

John W.

Hi John,

Yes, it is true that the Antarctic ecosystem is very dependant upon krill as a primary food source and for this reason there are very stringent controls to ensure ecological- and environmental-friendly harvest of krill.

The management and control of the krill population is led by the 25-state member Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which is the official and reliable international organization responsible for krill fishery management.  No shortage of Antarctic krill has ever been forecast by CCAMLR.

Facts:

• Many studies have been undertaken and they show that the biomass of Antarctic krill, one of the world’s most abundant biomass, may amount to 500 million tonnes. This standing stock is subject to annual natural reproduction providing renewable krill for predation, natural mortality and human exploitation.
• The precautionary catch limit set by the CCAMLR was 6.6 million tonnes for 2008 and is reviewed annually. It was increased from 4.9 million tonnes in 2005/06 based on the results of recent surveys.
• The annual natural reproduction of Antarctic krill is at least several hundred million tonnes constantly renewing the standing stock and granting sufficient krill for all marine mammals and fish, birds and human exploitation.

• Less than 120,000 tonnes (less than 2% of the precautionary catch limit) is actually harvested, which means that the catch limit is unlikely to be reached in the foreseeable future.
• The precautionary catch limits on the krill fishery are under constant review by the Scientific Committee of CCAMLR which uses an ecosystem approach to management.

• Antarctic baleen whales are estimated to consume 85 million tonnes per year.
• Again, less than 120,000 tonnes of the annually set total catch limit of 6.6 million tonnes are harvested by fisheries.

Also, keep in mind that the bulk of the annual catch is used by the feed industry (e.g. fish farms). So you can see, even if the popularity and demand for krill oil (for human nutrition) increased dramatically by 50-fold, we’d just be approaching the precautionary catch-limit.

Hope this helps clarify your concerns. Stay healthy!

Dr. Know

Thanks for posting this advice, Dr. Lee. You are very knowledgeable on the topic of depression. Also, thanks for mentioning music therapy as a safe, non-threatening mode of treatment. There are many ways you can use music actively or passively to address depression and anxiety. And all treatments are individualized. Looking forward to reading more of your posts.

Kat F.

Hello Dorothy and all of our wonderful readers.

As we head into the new year I am reminded of how grateful I feel to each and every one of you for picking up the True Blue Spirit magazine and sharing your comments with us.

I can’t begin to count how many people have thanked me for the articles or how many have said how much they have helped them in one way or another. At times I have doubts that what I am doing is really making a difference and if it weren’t for your comments and the animals gently nudging me to keep expanding and sharing I probably wouldn’t be doing what I am today. So a huge thank you to you all for who you are and what you share.

The animals around us all thank you too!

Many blessings for yet another fabulous year ahead,

Stephanie

Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I have a hard time keeping a secret. This especially applies when it comes to tools for developing your spirituality and intuition, and that is what the stories in True Blue Spirit magazine are all about.

Over a year ago we decided to create a magazine about spirituality and natural health. The focus of the magazine?  Pursuit of intuitive living.

So you might ask, “What exactly is the pursuit of intuitive living?”

Intuition is something we are born with; it is an innate ability that we often never tap into and we at True Blue Spirit magazine want to change that. When we learn to develop our intuition we will have the capability of “knowing” without logic or reason. Over the years we have been taught to develop our analytical mind rather than our intuitive abilities. Yet our intuition, our “gut instinct” is so much more powerful as it taps into not just our brain but the entire universe of possibilities.

True Blue Spirit, our spirituality and natural health magazine is all about sharing articles that may help you along the voyage into your intuitive. Read the stories and let your “gut instinct” tell you which path you should take; as thankfully we are all very different so our paths lead in many directions.

After you have read our magazine, we would love to hear which direction you have taken.

Keep well ~ Dorothy Jeanne