What’s REALLY Causing Your Depression (You’ll Be Shocked)

Q: I’ve suffered from depression for years. I’ve read that women are actually more likely to develop depression. Is that really true, and is there a reason for it?

— Amanda D.

Dr. G.: You’re right that research has shown that women have higher rates of depression and anxiety.

There’s been a lot of speculation about this over the years. But scientists have recently come up with an interesting explanation that makes a lot of sense.

And it all comes back to stress and the effects it has on your body.

Usually when we think of the dangers of stress, we think of how it impacts us mentally and emotionally.

But this invisible force can cause direct physical changes in your body – especially in your gut. And there’s a very strong link between gut health and depression.

When researchers studied groups of mice, they found that stress caused the SAME harmful changes in gut bacteria as eating the junk food diet—and you know how bad that is!

But here’s the catch – these gut changes ONLY occurred in the females.

While they don’t know why this is the case, this stress/gut connection could help to explain why women have higher rates of depression and anxiety – both of which are linked to stress – than men.

Poor gut health also plays a role in everything from digestive disorders and diabetes to chronic heart disease and cancer.

The best thing you can do to improve your gut health is to eat whole, natural food and to STOP eating processed, sugar-laden junk food. And according to this latest study, we can add reducing stress levels to that list.

The good news is that the things that help reduce stress are the same things that make life more enjoyable.

So get outside, take a walk, spend time with friends, listen to some Bob Seger…whatever makes you happy, do it!

To a brighter day,

Dr. Richard Gerhauser, M.D.