512. Cortisol And Depression

Transcript Of Today's Episode

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Dr.Martin: Good morning, everyone. And once again you're welcome to our live this morning. Hope you're having a great start to your [00:00:30] day, and I'm going to blow your socks off here. I want to talk about a new study that came out. I think I told you yesterday I read it Friday, Saturday, I can't remember. I flagged it immediately because it was unbelievable, unbelievable. I'm going to preach this morning. Well, I'm going to start off just with a verse in the [00:01:00] Bible because I want to show you something and then I'm going to develop that study that came out. Okay, now listen to this, okay, I want you to listen. In Proverbs. You know what the book of Proverbs says. 12:25 it says this, "Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression." Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, [00:01:30] it's the cause of depression.

Now, this study came out, it's the first time I've seen this and it says this, "Depression is a protective mechanism due to the fight or flight mechanism in your body. So depression is a reaction to anxiety, the fight or flight, [00:02:00] it's cortisol. Because for years and years and years depression was separated from anxiety. And I always said, well, it's a two-headed coin. Some people get anxiety, some people get depression, but what this study is showing that anxiety is the actual cause of depression because what happens? People that get depressed, [00:02:30] it's a protective mechanism from the fight or flight. So if you get that constant drip, the constant drip of stress, anxiety, like ooh, for some people what they do is their body shuts down.

Okay, let me just give you a definition of clinical depression. You can Google this, I mean, I'm not going to give you anything that's different. [00:03:00] Depression is defined as feeling hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, ashamed, or restless, and it's defined in medicine as a chemical imbalance. And obviously some people are more prone to depression than others, but this new study, it's incredible and I'm going to talk to you more about what I've seen and I've said [00:03:30] it many a time, I'll just go over what I saw in my office for 46 years. I'll tell you what I saw, clinically.

But think about that. The effect of anxiety, and I come out with this, the coming tsunami, COVID has made us stress, COVID has made us anxious. [00:04:00] The final stage of depression, by the way, is you lose interest in activities that once were pleasurable to you, it's the final state. They gets so low that they find no pleasure in things that they used to get pleasure in. And there's no doubt that chemistry gets affected because the body for some people, their protective mechanism [00:04:30] is to go into depression, incredible.

Now, let me just go over some of the things that I've talked about in the past when it comes to depression and I'll talk to you about clinically what I found. But I think I just want to develop this, because, let's talk about stress first. A study came out recently, I don't think I commented on it but it said that 75 to 90% of all visits [00:05:00] to the doctor, 75 to 90% have a stress component to it. And we've developed that before. Like what does cortisol do? Well, cortisol, it's meant if I come up behind you and scare you, you're going to punch me or you're going to run, that's the fight or flight. Adrenaline, it comes from, obviously from the brain first. Your hypothalamus [00:05:30] tells your adrenal glands to secrete cortisol.

I mean, you got two adrenal glands, adrenal on top of kidneys, but they only react to what the brain tells them to do, it's automatic. It's dark and you're walking to your car and you hear footsteps behind you who, it can be scary. Well, okay, your body goes until your hairs [00:06:00] on the back of your head come up and la la la, and you know what I mean? You're ready to run our fight. But what it's saying is, okay, what this study is saying is when that happens and it goes on for a period of time there's a good portion of the population that will go into a protective mechanism to stop that, and you know what they do, they shut down. The body shuts itself [00:06:30] down to some extent and then you get what we call clinical depression.

Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, Proverbs 12:25. Crazy. And two areas of the brain, I want to talk to you about this. When you have high cortisol, I wrote about this in the 1980s, [00:07:00] when you have high cortisol over a long period of time, two areas of the brain get affected. One, your memory center, that's why you get brain fog, you can't focus. When I wrote my book on chronic fatigue syndrome, I think I got to write another one, really. But I can't remember the title, Chronic Fatigue [00:07:30] Syndrome: The Modern Woman's Curse. I actually wrote a book in French [French 00:07:45]. It was a year's bestseller in Quebec. That's a long time ago. It was published by [Quebeco 00:25:06], Quebeco, big, big publishing company in Quebec. And it was a huge, big seller.

[00:08:00] But what did I talk about? Why do people get chronic fatigue? What's behind it? And fibromyalgia, which is just really, I believe fibromyalgia is just a symptom of chronic fatigue. It's adrenal gland exhaustion. Why is that too much cortisol, the drip, drip, drip, drip, drip? And for some people, they go into pain, fibro. Some people go [00:08:30] into exhaustion, chronic fatigue syndrome, exhausted, barely get out of bed. And some people, and you can get all three of these but some people would go into an actual depression.

And what the study is saying is that's the body's mechanism to protect itself from chronic secretion of cortisol, physiologically that's [00:09:00] what's happening. And some of the population, and it's getting bigger and bigger and bigger, I just got to say this because this is what makes me, should I use the word angry? This is what gets my cortisol up. You know me, I've said it for a long time, we're not thinking past our noses. The public health officials, virus, virus, virus, virus, virus, virus. [00:09:30] Closed down, closed down, no more school, wear your mask, blah, blah, blah. Okay, I get it.

But they're not thinking past their noses because there's going to be an enormous amount of depression, clinically coming to a theater near you. Now, I'm not a prophet nor the son of one, but I'm telling you I have an honorary degree in obituary- [00:10:00] ology. Oh, when I see young people in my hometown, one a day on average, since March one, a day, suicide, young people overdosing. What's the effect of that? You know me, it bothers me that we're not thinking about that. And you know what? I get a little bit upset at my generation [00:10:30] that have a pension and that are all right with staying home. And they're all right with that. And you know what? Well, we got to just get rid of this virus.

And I get upset at that generation because they're not thinking of young people. This doesn't affect them, I mean, the virus. But it does because they're meant to see people. And schools are online again. And now I know it's going [00:11:00] to be temporary but jeepers, we're into nine months now, 10 months. And then there's going to be a variation of that virus. In the United Kingdom you know why they closed down again? Because the virus has mutated, of course, a virus mutates.

Why do you think you have a different flu shot every year? Every year the flu shot is different, why? There's a lot of variations of the same virus, the coronavirus, and they got [00:11:30] to figure out what flu shot to give. And we're not sure that these vaccines will be effective for the mutation, I don't know. All I'm saying, guys, think of this in long-term effect, okay, I'm going to stop about that. But let me just talk about some of these symptoms here.

I talked about the onslaught in the brain, two centers in your brain. You only have to [00:12:00] remember two, maybe three. But here's two, you have the hippocampus and you have the hypothalamus. I know if I gave you guys a test you would get 100%, you'd get 100%. Because I'm doctor repetition you only have to memorize two things in the brain. Two major centers. One is your memory and the other one is headquarters [00:12:30] for your hormones, that's called your hypothalamus, it runs your endocrine system. You got that? I know you do. There'll be a test on Friday. No, there's no test, I got to give you a test.

But if you guys understand that, and then you see what cortisol does, the drip, drip, drip, drip, the stress, the fight or flight, over a period of time it affects the memory, the center [00:13:00] of the brain, the hippocampus and it also affects the endocrine system, the hypothalamus. Cortisol will not allow your thyroid to work properly. See a lot of people, "Oh, doc, I got my blood work done and my thyroid is just fine." Blood work... I don't want to be negative but don't just rely on the lab. Medicine has bought the lab hook, line, and sinker. [00:13:30] The lab, the lab, the lab, the lab results. Gee, I'm losing my hair, I don't feel good and I'm gaining weight and my doctor says, I'm fine.

I get a little bit uptight, the simplicity of weight loss. And you know what? Just stop eating and exercise [00:14:00] more. I mean, that's been going on for, I don't know, as long as I've been in practice, but it hasn't been very successful because they're not taking into account what about if you're a stress ball? What does cortisol do? Well, it affects the hypothalamus. What else does it do? It affects the conversion of T4 to T3. Your thyroid can't even function properly. What if you have too much estrogen because [00:14:30] of your hypothalamus being affected by cortisol? Estrogen will affect your thyroid. Estrogen dominance, insulin. Well, it's like the chicken or the egg, what comes first? You don't feel good or you're stressed and you eat, you're craving.

Think about this for a second. If you're listening to a podcast, listen to what I'm going to do... [00:15:00] That's what's happening inside your body when cortisol is sighing. Okay, got it? What happens? Well, your blood sugar is got to go up because you're getting ready to fight or flight and what goes up must come down. So what do you get? Fluctuations in blood sugar even without eating. Cortisol will elevate your blood sugar. Why? It's trying to get you to run a punch? So then you get [00:15:30] the fluctuations of blood sugar. Think about that for a minute. Where do you think hypoglycemia comes from? What goes up must come down. So what do you do? You crave, you got high levels of cortisol. You crave sugar.

You see Laura Secord you want to do a swan dive. Chocolate, ladies. But I get a little uptight, even some of my guru [00:16:00] friends, colleagues. And it's just simple, well, just stop eating, but they're not taking in to account hormones, hormones. They don't take that into... it is very important. So then you get weight gain, ladies. Now that my husband has more weight than me. A million times a year, [00:16:30] I hear that. Well, cortisol affects your husband different than you, we're from another planet, remember that. Men are so stinking weird. Men are weird and women are complicated. Is that all right for me to say in this day and age? Am I being woke?

You want to get my cortisol chord? Oh, okay, okay. So you see what I'm saying? Your two centers [00:17:00] in your brain get affected by that and for some people their protective mechanism is to shut down. And depression, clinical depression has a starting point. You see young people depressed, incredible, and clinically they were anxious and for them, [00:17:30] not for everybody, but for them their body went into a protective mechanism and it shut itself down and now you have a person who feels hopeless and helpless and you can't stimulate them clinically, it's a horrendous thing.

I happened to be old enough when they started [00:18:00] what the SSRIs. Serotonin to play with the brain with antidepressants. Prozac, I was there when it came out, I was in practice. It was in the '70s. And I'm not against it, please don't come at me and say, "Oh, Dr. Martin, he's against Prozac," no. But here's what it was and here's what it still is supposed to be. [00:18:30] It's supposed to be temporary. Those medications were never meant, as a matter of fact, when they first come out they said, "This is to get you through a terrible crisis of depression. Only to get you through, and don't use past six months." And that was a disclaimer that the pharmacist was supposed to read to you as you picked up your prescription.

[00:19:00] And clinically, here's what I saw, almost without exception, well, obviously high levels of cortisol, high levels of cortisol, even in a person that was down, down, down, even when they went into that protective mechanism of depression to turn off the fight or flight but the cortisol was still alive. I always saw, again, I can't even think of an exception, high- [00:19:30] circulating insulin and depression. They had high-circulating insulin. They had no more [French 00:19:37] and so what did they do? Whatever is simple, carbs, carbs, carbs, carbs, carbs, carbs, carbs, carbs. Of course your insulin goes up. If your insulin goes up your inflammation goes up. It's silent, so I saw inflammation, the marker.

You know what [00:20:00] I saw too? A complete lack, very low levels of B12. And I talked to you about that yesterday. If you don't eat steak, vitamin S, you ain't getting B12 from your food, our liver, I hate to admit it. But when you're eating chicken and you're eating chicken and salad you don't get B12. So don't fool yourself, you just don't. [00:20:30] Low levels of B12 and your brain don't work properly without B12. Your memory center of your brain will not work properly and your hypothalamus will not work properly.

Here's another one, chronic levels, low levels not only a B12 but a vitamin D. Oh, if you could take every depressed patient, every one of them and put them in the sunshine, again they shut down. If you can see that now how the body will... It's [00:21:00] like a protective thing to turn off but now you can't even get them out of bed for a lot of people. They need the sun, every cell in your body has an antenna for vitamin D. You are the human solar panel. And depressed patients 100% in my experience were low in vitamin D. [00:21:30] And you know what? Like a psychiatrist, well, they don't even look for that, they don't even look for that. Like vitamin D, what's it got to do with depression? It's got everything to do with it. Nevermind what vitamin D does for your immune system and everything like that, it has a huge effect on your brain chemistry.

There's another one I saw, low levels of Omega-3, low levels of Omega-3, especially, [00:22:00] remember what your brain is made up of. What's in your brain? Fat. Somebody asks the question, it's a good question, "Doc, why did I get a gallbladder attack after starting the reset?" It's a good question. Well, you didn't use it before your gallbladder because your mentee is fat, animal fat, use it or lose it. Now your gallbladder goes, "Hey dude, you haven't used me in years. [00:22:30] Now, you want to use me? I'm going to scream at low levels of omega-3, and especially DHA." DHA is the brain part of Omega-3, and DHA is only found in the animal kingdom. It's not in plants, it's not in fruit, it's not in avocado. [00:23:00] Avocado is good but it don't have DHA. And DHA is what your brain is made up of. Okay, see how much fun I have every day?

Now, an announcement. At 10 o'clock this morning we have a limited number of books that came in, Tony Jr. Told me that and he's the boss. He said, "Dad, at 10 o'clock [00:23:30] books will be available." You guys, I want to just tell you you've made it, it's not in the bookstores, you've made it a number one selling Canadian book already. And we just had a limited supply and now we're getting another, oh, oh, this COVID thing, and publishing. So at 10 o'clock, if you haven't got your copy, [00:24:00] the reviews on it been tremendous and we thank you guys for that, I mean that, we thank you for that.

So that's today 10 o'clock this morning, the reset. For those who've been doing the reset, good for you. Stick to it, stick to it. Friday is question and answer Friday. Now, Thursday, tomorrow I am going to do afternoon, four o'clock. So [00:24:30] I won't be on in the morning I'll be on in the afternoon, but you can always listen to our podcast. So sign up if you had not signed up for our podcast, sign up for our podcast at martinclinic.com, just sign up for it. So 10 o'clock books are on sale again. I love you guys, talk to you soon.

Announcer: You've reached the end of another Doctor is In Podcast with your hosts, Dr. [00:25:00] Martin Jr. and Sr. Be sure to catch our next episode and thanks for listening.

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