| Some spices such as saffron, sage, cardamom and | | | | Chillies |
| chillies are known to have specific anti-depressant | | | | Chillies also have mood elevating effects. They work |
| effects; while others work indirectly by improving the | | | | by stimulating a specific type of pain receptor (called |
| general health of the individual. | | | | TRPV1) on sensory nerve endings. When these |
| General effects of spices | | | | nerves are stimulated they signal the brain to release |
| Spices have the highest antioxidant activity of all | | | | chemicals called endorphins. Endorphins, in turn, |
| food types including fruit and vegetables (American | | | | stimulate the release of the brain chemical, dopamine |
| Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2006). Antioxidants are | | | | which in turn acts as a mood elevator and relieves |
| very important in countering free radical damage | | | | depression. |
| which can in turn aggravate or cause many | | | | Many modern antidepressant drugs also work by |
| degenerative diseases. | | | | increasing levels of dopamine in the brain. |
| All chronic degenerative diseases are associated with | | | | Sage |
| free radical damage and an increased incidence of | | | | A double blind placebo controlled trial has shown that |
| depression. Therefore preventing or treating them by | | | | sage reduces anxiety and elevates mood. It has |
| eating antioxidant-rich foods like spices, will also help | | | | been known for several years that compounds in this |
| to reduce the incidence of depression. | | | | spice work by inhibiting cholinesterase, an enzyme |
| Saffron | | | | that is intimately involved in the transmission of |
| For centuries, saffron has been used to treat | | | | signals across nerve synapses. |
| depression in traditional Persian medical systems. | | | | Sage has the added benefit of improving memory. |
| Recently several clinical trials have shown that this | | | | Cardamom |
| yellow spice is indeed as effective as many of our | | | | Cardamom has been used by traditional Ayurvedic |
| current anti-depressant drugs in treating mild to | | | | practitioners to treat depression in India for |
| moderate depression. | | | | thousands of years. Although there are no clinical |
| The first of these was a double-blind placebo | | | | trials to back up the use of this spice to treat |
| controlled trial where patients with depression were | | | | depression there are biochemical reasons that give an |
| given 30mg of saffron extract daily for six weeks. | | | | indication as to why it is effective. |
| By the end of this period depression in the treatment | | | | As with other organs the brain is subject to toxins, |
| group had improved by a far greater extent than the | | | | free radical damage and other environmental and |
| placebo group. | | | | genetic insults. Aging and damage caused by |
| In two other clinical trials depressed patients taking | | | | environmental agents can aggravate a propensity to |
| saffron were compared to those taking two | | | | develop depression. However this susceptibility can |
| commonly prescribed anti-depressant drugs, | | | | be reduced by using one or more of those spices |
| imipramine and fluexitine (Prozac). In both these trials | | | | known to have anti-depressive properties. In addition |
| saffron was found to be at least as effective as the | | | | the diet should include a variety of other spices most |
| two modern drugs. An important bonus was that no | | | | of which contain neuro-protective phytonutrients; |
| side effects were observed in the patients taking | | | | some of which may also have yet-to-be-discovered |
| saffron. | | | | mood-elevating properties. |