mendelsd

Ensure they are getting adequate folate, noting that normal blood levels may not indicate functional sufficiency [1][2]:

"Folate deficiencies may lead to an increased risk of depression and poorer antidepressant treatment outcomes..."

"...deficiencies may be caused by improper absorption and utilization, often due to genetic polymorphisms."

"Supplementation with the active form of folate, (methylfolate), which is more readily absorbed, may be effective in the prevention and treatment of both depression and dementia."

"...(methylfolate) indicated efficacy as adjunctive therapy or monotherapy in reducing depressive symptoms in patients with normal and low folate levels..."

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19909688

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17900207

>> Yes, technically cryptocurrencies "solve" the same problem

>> It's almost like cryptocurrency zealots don't know shit

This is a straw man. The article does not advocate for cryptocurrencies at all.

Weirdly, you haven't addressed the ideas expressed in the article in any substantive way.

I suspect most researchers fear that mining this particular vein would be career suicide. Prof Werner seems likely, based on his bio, to have made a lot of money in the financial industry - he can probably afford not to give a damn.

Most people are unaware of the true mechanism of money creation, therefore don't understand how the current mechanism and its (lack of) constraints affect society, therefore don't see the potential for societal improvement through systemic change around money creation and allocation.

Prof Richard Werner is worth listening to on this topic. [1]

I'd also recommend Steve Baker's heroic speech in UK parliament. [2]

[1] https://youtu.be/9bQkfN_pe44

[2] https://youtu.be/bXOkmD8Eozs

This is a UK article, and I'm going to post a UK-centric, male-centric comment (as a UK-based man), but I suspect my comment applies to both genders, and to many health systems around the world.

I don't doubt exercise is extremely valuable, and that everyone should be following the advice in TFA. However, I am starting to think that lifestyle recommendations are a way for a public health system to wash its hands of its responsibility to actually, proactively care for people. As in: “Well, we're sure you can make changes on your own to improve your health, so just go and do your bit while we quietly neglect to do ours".

Yes, you should exercise, and eat right, and not drink too much, and sleep right, and not stress too much. You should do as much as you reasonably can in all these areas. But if you're looking to "defy depression, disease and early death", you'd also better learn a bit about the way your health system operates, and the common issues it is inclined (presumably for cost reasons) to ignore.

I've written in past comments about thyroid conditions, which are a big deal, and can easily go undiagnosed for a long time (due, basically, to cost-driven neglect). I'm becoming aware of more issues:

1) Testosterone: I’m a middle-aged man and I’ve been complaining to my GP for months about feeling weak while exercising, and about sleep disruption. I’ve been doing my own reading, and have just discovered that hypogonadism (inadequate testosterone levels) is incredibly common amongst middle-aged men:

“Hypogonadism affects ap­proximately 40% of men aged 45 or older, although less than 5% of these men are actually diagnosed and treated for the condition” [1]. Even discounting the fact that the author of this article declares that he consults for pharma companies, that’s a staggering statistic. So why given my symptoms do I have to ask my GP to check my testosterone levels, rather than him having ordered the test months ago?

2) Prolactin: it seems a very significant fraction of the population (e.g. 6-25% of the U. S. population) have pituitary tumours, forty percent of which produce prolactin [2], which is a sex hormone. There’s evidence that people whose prolactin levels are in the upper normal of the physiological reference range, suffer from insulin resistance [3] and have significantly increased risk of mortality [4]. Oh, and prolactin stimulates the immune system and high levels are associated with autoimmune diseases [5]. I had a test done for prolactin levels recently (I requested some tests to check for hypopituitarism), and levels came back quite high but in the normal physiological range (see above, of course). GP response: “no problem, levels are normal”. Which is true, in that I appear to be suffering from quite normal disease that the health system intends to do nothing about.

Bottom line: Do your homework, folks. View your health service as a resource, a gateway to services. When it comes to chronic conditions and diseases of old age, you (or nobody) are the principal investigator.

[1] http://www.bcmj.org/articles/testosterone-deficiency-practic...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prolactinoma#Epidemiology

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28384295

[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22843444

[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16411065

Here's a salient study regarding RSI:

"Two hundred ninety-seven patients medically certified with a work-related upper extremity industrial illness underwent a systematic search for concurrent medical diseases. <snip>. One hundred nine separate atraumatic illnesses (mainly hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus, and various arthropathies) capable of causing arm pain or CTS were diagnosed in a third of all patients." [1]

Email me if you like for more info about hypothyroidism (also see my previous comments, I may be becoming the resident thyroid crank). "Brain fog" and anxiety would be consistent symptoms. The condition affects several percent of the population. Getting a diagnosis can be tricky for certain manifestations of the condition (e.g. in the UK for certain blood test results doctors won't typically treat the condition unless patients request it).

Here's another study that may be relevant: "Our data show a significant association between shift work and autoimmune hypothyroidism" [2], i.e. the environmental stress placed on the body by shift work could perhaps trigger this disease. I mention this because you mentioned a demanding family life. If that involves a young baby that could approximate shift work.

[1] http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullart...

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17291404

Well, there's a common condition called subclinical hypothyroidism which may be asymptomatic and harmless, or it may indicate thyroid disease and be accompanied by various non-specific symptoms. It's defined by slightly elevated TSH but normal T4 test results. Anybody with that condition would not be helped by what you are proposing.

In general, it seems to me that you will get some false negatives when using a less sensitive test result to qualify a more sensitive test result.

The primary healthcare providers that referred your friends to psychiatrists may well have checked thyroid levels but, as I've pointed out elsewhere in this thread, tests do not always lead to appropriate detection and diagnosis.

Yes indeed, thank you.

"Currently, measurement of the serum TSH concentration is the most reliable indicator of thyroid status at the tissue level. Studies of mild (subclinical) thyroid hormone excess or deficiency (abnormal TSH/normal range FT4 and FT3) find abnormalities in markers of thyroid hormone action in a variety of tissues (heart, brain, bone, liver and kidney). These abnormalities typically reverse when treatment to normalize serum TSH is initiated" [1]

The reference has loads more detail...

[1] https://www.aacc.org/-/media/Practice-Guidelines/Thyroid-Dis...

I made major dietary changes before I went on meds. My overall health improved a lot, but mental health improvements were insufficient.

I'd hope that was the case everywhere, but there's still a big grey area. The British Thyroid Association says:

"There is no evidence to support the benefit of routine early treatment with thyroxine in non-pregnant patients with a serum TSH above the reference range but <10mU/L. Physicians may wish to consider the suitability of a therapeutic trial of thyroxine on an individual patient basis" [1]

So what might happen to you if your TSH is, say 3.5, for at least a decade (hey hey, I know the answer to this one...)? Well, you're at risk of elevated cortisol with resulting mental illness, to which my previously posted links will attest. Doctors, if they're not especially attentive, will just prescribe the usual anti-depressants (perhaps a low dosage as an anxiolytic) which are band-aids and don't get to the root of the problem.

Note that I never mentioned non-standard tests - "keep testing" means "keep getting the standard tests". The problem is that interpretation of the standard tests varies - some test results may or may not indicate disease, and this is not always carefully followed up on. There are of course many more people in this grey area than there are people with overt disease. I'd say if you're in the grey area and you have chronic mental health symptoms the risk/reward ratio is overwhelmingly in favour of treatment with thyroid hormone (carefully monitored of course).

[1] http://www.british-thyroid-association.org/info-for-patients...

Decades-long anxiety sufferer here, basically cured with thyroid hormone replacement...

Thyroid underactivity is a very common condition (thyroid hormone is the third-most prescribed medication in the UK), and some of you anxiety sufferers out there may have a thyroid problem (either under- or over-activity).

The most common problem is an underactive thyroid, which 90% of the time is caused by auto-immunity.

Detection is complicated by an ongoing controversy over reference ranges [1][2]. I recommend you seek the advice of the most careful practitioners. If you suspect a problem but your doctor won't treat, keep testing. The results will fluctuate, and even more so if you have a problem.

Beware TSH measurements consistently above 2.0. That may put you at risk of chronically elevated cortisol [3], which has been shown to cause anxiety in mice [4].

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16148345

[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16148346

[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3520819/

[4] http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2006/04/stress-mood.a...

Here's some Chinese traditional instrumental music that has a good combination of interest and subtlety - it's low-key and sort of emotionally oblique: http://www.sinicave.com/pd_an_music.cfm

(I can't vouch for that vendor, having never used them.)

> Why is half of the world sociopaths?

That's probably a rhetorical question, but I'll bite. Game theory applied to evolutionary biology provides a compelling qualitative answer to this question. You can read about it in Richard Dawkins' "Selfish Gene".

Basically, if social interaction is regarded as an Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma, with options to cooperate or defect at each turn, one might say that a society cannot prosper if everyone always defects, but also that a society made up exclusively of cooperators provides an advantage to genetic mutations that give rise to defector behavior. Societies will therefore tend to have a some degree of cooperation with some freeloading from defectors, and the balance will fluctuate.

No, they get to keep their portion.

> our bodies are designed to process a very wide variety of foods in a very robust manner

There are indications that various health conditions can impair glucose regulation, and those affected would tolerate less dietary carbohydrate than healthy people. I'm aware of two conditions, elevated cortisol [1] and elevated blood iron [2] (which can be caused by regular alcohol consumption, btw).

[1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11724664

[2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26618110

Also, type 1 diabetes of course.

You're welcome, hope it works out.

BTW, I think this is also worth highlighting (from [1] above):

"Different metabolic changes, yet with similar consequences, may therefore be observed in both hypothyroid and hyperthyroid patients. In the first case, fatigue is directly related to deficient action of thyroid hormones. In the latter, however, the cause is mainly depletion of muscle energy substrate due to high metabolic demand."

It's worth checking her thyroid function:

"Some studies have related hypothyroidism to muscle dysfunction... Furthermore, studies ... demonstrated that thyroid hormone action on skeletal muscles affects mainly type-I muscle fibers, which promote slow contractions and are most prevalent in the postural muscles recruited during prolonged effort" [1]

Also, not sure where you are in the world but your doctor telling you your thyroid hormone levels are ok unfortunately may not necessarily mean they are ok... There is a controversy about reference ranges amongst experts [2], and I think it's wise to pay attention to that.

[1] http://www.scielo.br/pdf/abc/v87n3/en_a33v87n3.pdf

[2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16148345

You're welcome. Feel free to get in touch (I added an email address to my profile). I am happy to share my experience and (rather limited) knowledge.

Masaki Kobayashi made a couple of subversive films in the 1960's that present a very dark view of Samurai culture. These films [1][2] are excellent. [1] in particular is exquisite (and tied for the Jury Special Prize at Cannes in 1963).

[1] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056058 [2] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061847

I'm no expert but I'd suggest:

1) make a list of all your chronic symptoms over time

2) speak to a doctor about your particular concerns re: hormone levels, and get blood tests taken

3) if your doctor reckons, based on the results, that treatment is justified, I guess you're on your way; if not:

4) study the literature - if you disagree with your doctor about your results, you should be able to find literature that quantitatively supports your position based on your test results and symptoms

5) if you can find supporting literature, ask your doctor for treatment (don't be confrontational when dealing with your doctor, treat them as a resource and a partner, and respect their opinion even if you disagree with them based on what you've learned)

6) find another doctor if your doctor won't agree with a reasoned opinion

If you need help with this stuff, there may be practitioners out there more in tune with chronic illness than your bog-standard GP. I'm partial to the ancestral health movement and paleo diet therefore I'd look here: [1].

Finally, I'd recommend the work of Paul Jaminet - I found his book [2] and his Retreat (which includes personalised health coaching based on blood test results) [3] both to be incredibly helpful in dealing with my own long-term health issues.

[1] http://primaldocs.com/

[2] http://perfecthealthdiet.com/buy-our-book/

[3] http://perfecthealthdiet.com/perfect-health-retreat/

Personality is influenced by hormone levels, and hormone levels are an aspect of health. Here's a specific example [1] which may be of particular interest to those of a nervous disposition.

[1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3520819/

Depression is in fact a well-known symptom of an underactive thyroid [1].

Bear in mind that the reference range doctors use to determine whether your thyroid is healthy is considered too wide by some experts [2] - this will result in false negatives.

The treatment for thyroid disease and resultant thyroid underactivity is (synthetic) replacement thyroid hormone. I'd rather take a replacement hormone than a pharmaceutical drug with its side-effects. Not to mention hypothyroidism is a risk factor for heart disease and more, so better to address it than treat individual symptoms.

[1] http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/en...

[2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16148345

Define "fine"... reference levels of TSH for example are controversial [0]. The HUNT study in Norway (which followed 25,000 healthy Norwegians for 8 years) found death rates 69% higher amongst women with TSH 2.5-3.5 mIU/L than amongst those with TSH 0.5-1.4 mIU/L [1] (via [2]).

[0] http://tpauk.com/main/the-tsh-reference-range-wars/

[1] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18443261?dopt=AbstractPlu...

[2] http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2010/07/thyroid-more-evidence-t...

Highly recommended for those living in London: http://www.walkingclub.org.uk/book_1/index.shtml

All those walks start and end at rail stations. You'll need a compass, but no sophisticated orientation skills are required.

You may be putting the cart before the horse there. Cholesterol is a complex subject, and mainstream wisdom is under threat [1]. The lipid hypothesis holds that cholesterol promotes heart disease, but cholesterol could also be something the body uses to combat atherosclerosis caused by infection say.

Regarding LDL elevation on keto diets, this is true but not necessarily a reason to abandon the diet [2]. I recall listening to a podcast interview with keto researcher Dominic D'Agostino (I can't find it anymore) in which he expressed the following opinion on this: so many biomarkers improve on these diets, so if LDL gets elevated don't sweat it, because cholesterol is so poorly understood anyway.

[1] http://wapo.st/1vh4cc3 [2] http://bit.ly/1IAPAyz

Quite a bit of research has been done, check out Phinney and Volek's "The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living".

Check out the book Perfect Health Diet, a nutrition book written by an ex-Astrophysicist (Harvard, MIT, ... ) . Plural of anecdote etc., but I am a very satisfied customer.