[heart attacks and strokes]. CRP (C-reactive protein, a measure of inflammation in the body) is now an important measurement in both psychiatry and cardiology. .

THINGS WHICH DECREASE INFLAMMATION include:

 EXERCISE,

 WEIGHT LOSS—especially losing intra-abdominal fat 

 DECREASE YOUR STRESS LEVEL—e.g., transcendental meditation or yoga

 aspirin 81mg [or Celebrex—maximum Celebrex is 200mg twice a day; but Celebrex raises risk of heart attack and stroke a little, whereas aspirin reduces risk of these]

 statins for cholesterol All of the them decrease inflammation. But the best for depression are apparently Zocor/ simvastatin and Crestor/ rosuvastatin.

 vitamin D—5000 to 10,000 I.U./day This is a hormone we make with the aide of UV light from sun. Everyone should be on it unless you are a day laborer and expose legs, arms and back in middle of the day.

 vegan diet (no animal protein—no milk products, no eggs, no meat);

 Mediterranean Diet (salad, vegetables, fruit, nuts, olive oil, fish—no beef or chicken);

 fish oil or krill oil and/or eat a lot of fish [By far the best is kosher fish (has scales) from the ocean. Tilapia, shark, and shellfish are not so helpful

 two diabetes medications [which are homologs of the satiety hormone GLP-1: Victoza / liraglutide or Byetta /exenatide—or Bydureon/ exenatide which is a once a week shot]
A new brand of liraglutide is Saxenda, which is approved for weight loss. The maximum dose is 3.0mg/dy [maximum Victoza / liraglutide is offically 1.8mg].

 NAC (N-acetyl cysteine) –an amino acid that increases the main antioxidant, glutathione; 2 to 4 grams is a good dose.

 Deplin/ L-methylfolate: a vitamin. This is the active form of folic acid. [Note that folic acid can be a negative if you are homozygous for the MTHFR gene C677T.]

 Inositol : this is a sugar. It is easy to take as you can stir it into water or juice. Dose is ~7 grams twice a day =~3 teaspoons twice a day. Side effect is diarrhea, so go up slowly.

 tumeric, the spice

 vitamin C: 500 to 1000mg

 vitamin E

 Coenzyme Q10 –another vitamin

 Dark chocolate – but this is usually mixed with sugar and sugar is pro-inflammatory

THINGS THAT INCREASE INFLAMMATION include:

[the first 4 are perhaps the most important]
 smoking cigarettes or marijuana

 stress

 infection E.g., gingivitis (infection of the gums) greatly increases risk of heart attacks.

 intra-abdominal fat (i.e., a large belly).

 milk (and milk products such as cheese and yogurt)

 eggs

 meat [except fish]

 processed foods: white rice, white bread, and pasta