Less Stressed Life: Helping You Heal Yourself #431 Hope for Depression (and Alzheimer's and Addiction) with Dr. James Greenblatt, MD
Dec 10, 2025
Dr. James M. Greenblatt, a board-certified psychiatrist and founder of Psychiatry Redefined, discusses innovative approaches to depression. He emphasizes the often-overlooked role of nutrition, revealing how amino acids and specific nutrient deficiencies like zinc and vitamin D can dramatically affect mood. Greenblatt critiques conventional lab ranges, highlights the risks of very low cholesterol, and showcases new research on nutritional lithium for brain health. He advocates for a whole-body approach to mental well-being, offering hope for those struggling with depression and addiction.
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A Mistaken Test Changed Practice
- In 1994 James Greenblatt accidentally ordered an amino acid profile and found fasting levels reflected digestion, not recent meals.
- That discovery led him to routinely test amino acids and treat low absorption with enzymes and freeâform amino acids.
Augment Antidepressants With Nutrients
- If antidepressants fail, assess nutrient cofactors like vitamin D, magnesium, zinc, folate, and B12.
- Add targeted nutrients to augment medications when synthesis cofactors are missing.
Replete Zinc Carefully And Monitor Copper
- Test zinc and replete thoughtfully (commonly 15â60 mg/day depending on age) while monitoring copper.
- Avoid longâterm zinc alone; recheck labs after ~3 months and include copper in multivitamins if needed.
