Turmeric, Inflammation and Depression (plus a recipe)

Depression is the result of chronic inflammation. It’s creating an inflammatory response in our body that's affecting our nervous system. Just like inflammation can cause us to feel pain in our joints, muscles or digestive system, it can also affect our brain and ultimately influence our mood.

What Causes Inflammation?
In an earlier post, I spoke about how the stories we make up largely influence our mood and the way we feel. Our thoughts alone can create an inflammatory response in the body. Combine these stories with other pro-inflammatory factors such as our environment, physical or emotional trauma, poor diet or eating habits, lack of exercise, weak or compromised gut health, lack of or poor sleep and nutrient deficiencies and inflammation gets exacerbated.

This leaves your body out of balance and you feel unwell and unlike your regular self.

Turmeric's Positive Influence on Depression
For countless years, turmeric has been used in both Ayurveda and tradition Chinese medicine. This pungent spice boasts incredible anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. Studies show that people with depression have higher levels of inflammation and free radical damage. Turmeric, specifically the curcumin in turmeric, helps counteract this.

There have been recent studies in the Western world measuring the effects of using turmeric in depression with positive results. One of the reasons for its effectiveness is that curcumin helps modulate the release of serotonin and dopamine. It also inhibits the release of certain enzymes that can break down these neurotransmitters. 

Paying attention to subtle ways to support your mental health through food and nourishment can make a difference and influence how you feel and show up in your day. Whether it be in soups, stews, curries or teas, turmeric can be easy to incorporate in your day to day.  I’m sharing an example with you with this simple recipe below. 

Keep in mind when working with turmeric that black pepper, specifically the piperine compound in black pepper, is the key supporting ingredient. It dramatically increases the absorbability of turmeric.

Turmeric Spice Latte
serves 1

1 cup hot water or nut milk

1 Tbsp Spiced Pumpkin Puree (recipe below)

honey (optional) 

How to:

• Mix nut milk and pumpkin puree together, adjusting to taste with honey
• Enjoy

Spiced Pumpkin Puree
makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree

2 Tbsp freshly grated ginger

2 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp coconut oil or grassfed butter

1/2 Tbsp turmeric, ground (or 1 to 2 1-inch knobs of fresh turmeric, finely chopped) 

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp cloves, ground

1/2 tsp nutmeg, ground

1/2 tsp allspice, ground

generous grinding of black pepper

pinch of salt

How to:

• Add all ingredients to a high-powered blender. Mix on high for about 1-2 minutes until smooth consistency. 
• Alternatively, you can make this in a small saucepan on the stove. In this case, I’d use ground turmeric. 
• Store cooled puree in an airtight container in the fridge. Will keep for about 5 days.

Now I'd love to hear from you. Share with me in the comments below, one of your favourite ways to enjoy turmeric.


Sources:

Kulkarni, S.K.,  Dhir, A. An Overview of Curcumin in Neurological Disorders. Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2010 Mar-Apr

Lopresti, AL, Maes, M, Maker, GL, et al. Curcumin for the treatment of major depression: a randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled study. J Affect Disord. 2014

What's at the Root of Depression and Anxiety?

Depression and anxiety come from the stories we make up.  

Our brains love a story. And in each story someone always has to be right, meaning someone else has to be wrong.

The funny thing about our brain is it doesn’t care whether or not the story we're telling ourselves is true. Our brain will use, with light-speed efficiency, the neural pathway that’s well paved.

So if your well-worn thought pattern is 'I'm not smart enough, trying hard enough' or even 'people are always X' your mind will quickly go there. Even though it's not true. It's simply a familiar well-worn thought.

Then we feel stuck. And exhausted.  

Stuckness comes when we keep the same story on repeat and ruminate. Staying in this stuckness robs you of your joy, energy and wellness.   


Learning to Sit With Your Story
Any story you're stuck on is accompanied by a feeling. One of the hardest things I’ve ever done (yet one of the most helpful) was learning to sit with my own emotions and feelings. Even the uncomfortable ones.

Rather than try to resist it or distract myself from it, simply sit with the discomfort. And let whatever needs to come up, come up so it can be released and that grip you have on it slowly starts to loosen.  


When You'd Rather Run Than Sit With Your Story
You're not alone if this you. As a culture we’re so used to distracting ourselves to simply avoid feeling. We use food, TV, internet, social media, alcohol, sex, shopping, drugs, bullying, etc. The best marketing strategies are designed to distract you from sitting with your story. 'Buy this product, take this vacation, drive this car, live in this neighbourhood and life will be good.'

As a result, with all the distracting and resisting we end up stockpiling those uncomfortable feelings.

Depression and anxiety are the first physical symptoms of stockpiled hurt.

And that stockpiling takes a toll on us physically. Our bodies deplete nutrients at a rapid rate under stress* and over time we start to display symptoms of physical imbalance and dis-ease.

*By stress I mean not simply the obvious stress that comes with working on a tight deadline for example, but the subtle chronic stress that comes with stockpiled hurt.

Once I recognized that the worst of any feeling I was trying to avoid was really just the sensation of a clenching of my jaw, a lump in my throat, or a twinge in my stomach, sitting with my feelings became less scary.

That once huge rush of anxiety or that strong pull to run, resist or distract felt less urgent.

Now helping people stay curious rather than distracted with their story is what I do. We look at the nutritional piece but also this piece I'm talking about here. Because it is equally as important.

I promise it isn't painful. It's enlightening and energizing when you start to see that you are so much more than some old story stuck on repeat.  

Are you willing to be curious about your old and familiar story?

As your holistic nutritionist and wellness coach, holding space for you to be curious about your story is what I love doing. Book a free 30-minute discovery call with me here.