Review of Lifting Depression: The Chromium Connection (Hardcover)

Dr. McLeod has done his research and this book brings the reader right into the middle of it. He gives illustrative case studies of specific patients who benefited from adding chromium picolinate to their daily supplement intake. He also reviews the scientific study commissioned by Duke University to validate the effects of chromium picolinate in alieviating atypical depression. Overall, the book is scientific and convincing in terms of chromium picolinate's positive effect on atypical depression.

I am grateful to Dr. McLeod for writing this book for 2 reasons. First, I didn't even know that atypical depression existed before this book; and yet I've been seeing a psychiatrist for 8 years and taking antidepressants for 5 years. If you have symptoms such as fatigue for no reason, excessive craving of sweets & carbs, sleeping too much, heaviness in arms or legs, extreme sensitivity to rejection and onset of symptoms early in life (before age 30), Dr. McLeod might suggest you have atypical depression. Secondly, I can't believe a solution as simple and as natural as chromium could possibly work. And yet is IS working for me. Zoloft has been helping me for several years to cope with the daily task of living; but not without side effects. Chromium has no known side effects!

Dr. McLeod discusses patients in the book who take chromium with antidepressants and patients who take chromium alone. It would obviously be up to your doctor to help you decide which way to go. He also highlights several cases when chromium was not a good solution... in one case, a woman found her mood lifted, but she felt a lot of excessive energy and anger and had to discontinue. In another case, chromium had no effect on a man with rapid-onset depression... but as Dr. McLeod explains, chromium (so far) is only shown to help with atypical depression, which often lasts a lifetime.

The text of the book is not particularly well-written... it often feels choppy and stilted. But hey, Dr. McLeod is a psychiatrist, not a writer. And he does do a good job of writing for the lay person. I had no problems understanding his scientific analyses.

The chapters of the book are as follows:

Part One: Coping with Depression
1. Life is a Burden
2. Recognizing a Disorder
3. Looking for Causes
4. Formulating a Treatment Plan
5. Taking the Back Roads
6. The Long Way Home
7. Murder of the Senses

Part Two: Finding One of Nature's Secrets
8. A Ray of Light
9. A Miracle in Nature
10. Needle in a Haystack
11. Land Ahoy
12. Elizabeth: A Careful Observer
13. Do No Harm
14. Sara: Lost and Wounded
15. Giving Sorrow Words

Part Three: From Observation to Explanation
16. A Prepared Mind
17. A Lock and a Key
18. Sadness and Long Sorrow

Part Four: A Beautiful New Vista
19. An Undergraduate in Experience
20. Joseph: Insulin Resistance Syndrome
21. The Sky Turns Clear and Blue
22. Help from the Experts
23. Proof

Part Five: There, and Back Again
24. A Grateful Psychiatrist
25. Where It All Began
26. Our Paths Crossed for a Moment
27. Putting It All Together

Product Description
A new, safe, natural treatment-with no side effects-for atypical depression has been discovered by psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Malcolm McLeod. Until now, there has been no effective treatment for atypical depression that is free of unwanted side effects. In "In Lifting Depression: The Chromium Connection," Dr. McLeod describes how he serendipitously discovered that chromium, a trace mineral deficient in the diets of most Americans, was more effective and faster acting in some patients than even the strongest antidepressant drugs. Although he was initially skeptical, Dr. McLeod was unable to dismiss the effects he observed in his patients who took chromium. He began to piece together hundreds of clues from insights he gained during therapy sessions; then he conducted an in-depth study of medical and scientific literature. Over time, he deduced a scientific and medical explanation for chromium's powerful, therapeutic effects. Over the past ten years, Dr. McLeod! tested his theory and treatment by conducting single-blind and double-blind studies with patients who were desperate for help and wished to participate in trials. He used placebos, combined chromium with prescription medications, tried chromium alone, and tested different amounts of chromium and a variety of chromium products. His dedication to the scientific method of exploration led him to recruit independent medical researchers who conducted studies that support many of Dr. McLeods's original findings. Peer-reviewed psychiatric journals, including "Journal of Clinical Psychiatry," "International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology,: and "Biological Psychiatry," have published Dr. McLeod's "stunning" discovery. "Lifting Depression: The Chromium Connection" is the step-by step story of a discovery that has the potential to help millions of depressed people. In addition to explaining why and how chromium works, Dr. McLeod details a five-step program that can help overcome depression and improve overall well-being. He also helps patients self-identify the troubling symptoms which can be be relieved by chromium picolinate supplementation

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