Free How Come They're Happy and I'm Not? by Peter Bongiorno

to start the process. When I asked what he used to enjoy, he mentioned watching his favorite baseball team and cooking chocolate chip pancakes for the kids. I helped him make a plan to schedule a baseball game and to cook breakfast one day each weekend.
    I also placed Mel on a regimen of fish oils, a multiple vitamin, and acupuncture designed to help support his liver and spleen. During his initial acupuncture treatment, I burned sage and explained Native American rituals with sage (see chapter 5 for more on sage).
    When Mel came back for his second visit, I noticed a faint smile and a sense of being present, something that had been missing in the first visit. Although still depressed and unable to face his work, he told me that he had thought about the need for change, and although he knew it would be hard, it was the first time he'd felt hope in a long time.
    During the third visit, he complained about experiencing more anxiety and a “stuck” feeling in his stomach area, but he also reported that he'd cracked a joke with some friends and laughed heartily—something he had not been able to do in a while. At that visit, we also reviewed his completed lab tests, which included high homocysteine, low total testosterone, low normal serum carnitine, and surprisingly high vitamin D. As of this writing, I am planning on placing Mel on supplements to lower homocysteine (B 6 , B 12 , trimethyl-glycine, and folate) as well as 200 mg of SAMe twice a day. He will be visiting an endocrinologist for a second opinion about the testosterone level, and we will consider a testosterone transdermal patch.
    I believe Mel's condition is multifaceted around his dislike for his work and his sense of being trapped at an unfulfilling job. I also see the high homocysteine, along with the low carnitine and testosterone, as a sign that his body has been primed for strong depression, and as we work to balance those physiologic factors, he should be much more resilient to depression.
Test: C-Reactive Protein
    Similar to homocysteine, C-reactive protein (CRP) is a blood test that records the level of a protein that is increased in your blood when the immune system is fighting a war, a war that beats up your arteries and your nervous system and causes depression and cardiovascular disease.
    When your CRP is high, it means the war is raging and your mood is losing. High CRP levels have been shown to be quite related to depression in both men and women.
How to Treat High CRP
Exercise: Start with walking for thirty minutes three times a week and increase.
Reduce intake of highly cooked food: Chemicals called advanced glycation end products (with the appropriate acronym, AGES) from foods that are cooked at high temperatures increase CRP levels. Eating more raw and minimally cooked foods (boiled or poached) helps.
Take fiber and psyllium seed husk: The first place to put out the inflammatory fire is in your digestive tract, for about 80 percent of your immune system resides there. Like using an extinguisher's foamy contents to douse a fire, regular intake of quality fiber calms the inflammation in your gut and allows the residual contents to be whisked away. I recommend 25 g of total fiber for the day. You can get about 5 g by mixing a teaspoon of psyllium seed husk in eight ounces of water. Do this twice a day, in the morning and evening. Consume the rest of your daily fiber by eating quality fruits, vegetables, and flax meal throughout the day.
Take fish oil: One teaspoon per day balances inflammation in the body.
Take vitamin C: Swallow 500 mg three times a day to reduce elevated CRP.
Take vitamin E: Aim for 1,200 IU every day.
Test: Complete Blood Count and Iron Panel
    A complete blood count (CBC) looks at the health of your red and white blood cells. Red blood cells carry your oxygen around your body to keep your tissues alive, your energy up, and your mood strong. White blood cells form the army that is your immune system. When there are not enough red