The spicy cure for depression

In India, a steaming bowl of curry is considered the ultimate comfort food -- and not just because of the good feelings you get whenever you eat something you love.

That bowl of curry might actually be one of the powerful and completely natural depression remedies antidepressant -- one that can match or beat drugs, according to new research.

The secret is in the turmeric, the spice that gives curry its distinct color. Turmeric contains an antioxidant call curcumin, and in the new study researchers put curcumin supplements up against the drug fluoxetine (you may know it better as Prozac).

After six weeks, patients on curcumin had the same response as those on Prozac. A third group given both at the same time did slightly better, but not by much -- and not enough to be considered significant, according to the study of natural depression remedies in the journal Phytotherapy Research.

So far so good... but this is even better than the study lets on, because while drugs such as Prozac come with plenty side effects, curcumin brings what can only be described as "side benefits."

It's great for the brain in general, with studies showing that it can even help ward off dementia. It's excellent for circulation and heart health. And it's a powerful anti-inflammatory that can bring real and lasting pain relief.

About the only downside to using it for natural depression remedies is that matching antidepressant drugs isn't exactly an accomplishment because many of these drugs have a hard time beating placebos in clinical trials.

That's why I look for treatments that aren't just as good as these drugs, but better -- natural remedies such as fish oil, B vitamins, 5-http and homeopathic medicine.

In many cases, however, real and lasting relief means detecting and treating the underlying conditions -- conditions such as poor nutrition, hormonal imbalances or some combination of both.

An experienced holistic physician can test you for all the possible causes of depression and work with you on natural depression remedies.