Natural Ways to Beat the Winter Blues

Medically speaking, seasonal blues are known as winter-onset seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of depression triggered by the change in seasons. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, some 500,000 Americans have the full-blown condition; another 10% to 20% of us experience a milder form. It's more common in women and residents of northern states, where winters are longer and drearier. The checklist of symptoms includes:

• Change in appetite, especially a craving for sweets or starches
• Weight gain
• Fatigue
• Tendency to oversleep
• Difficulty in concentrating
• Irritability/anxiety
• Avoidance of social situations
• Increased sensitivity to social rejection (wonder how they measured that one?)

Standard treatments for SAD include light therapy, drugs, and psychotherapy.  Martha Howard, MD, medical director of Wellness Associates of Chicago, one of the country's earliest pioneers in the practice of integrative medicine, uses traditional Chinese medicine (she's a licensed acupuncturist), herbal medicine, and other natural approaches in her practice. Here is her advice:

Take the best preventive action in the fall—before winter begins. Between October 1 and October 15, go somewhere with a lot of sun and spend time outside four hours a day, four days in a row.

Get a light therapy desk lamp (like those from Northern Light Technologies). Put it right next to your computer and use it at least one hour a day, especially in the early evening. These high-intensity lamps are easier to fit into good old "real life" than using those expensive light boxes that you're supposed to bask in front of for 45 minutes in the morning, says Dr. Howard.

Exercise at least four to six times a week for 30 to 45 minutes. This can be a 2-mile-an-hour walk on the treadmill, or you can even walk through the halls and up and down the stairs of your house or building. Do something, anything.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbs work well for some people, but have to be tailored to the individual by a TCM practitioner.

Try SAM-e (S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine). This naturally occurring bodily compound helps produce and regulate hormones, including the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine; low levels of these are associated with depression. Dr. Howard recommends taking 400 to 800 milligrams daily.

Take a fish oil supplement with at least 600 milligrams of combined EPA/DHA daily.

Take 500 milligrams of vitamin C three to four times a day with plenty of water, and a B-complex vitamin.

Sara Altshul, Health.com