Hello loves,
This might be the most important episode we've ever filmed on the Root Cause Medicine podcast.
Last month was suicide prevention awareness month. Yet, conversation after conversation and post after post neglected to mention the biomarkers (lab results / health issues) that are linked to increased risk of suicide in people with depression.
That's a problem.
Because both the research and Dr. Greenblatt and my combined years of clinical experience suggest that too often, people with suicidal ideation are suffering from things like
Low cholesterol
Low vitamin D
Low omega 3s
Thyroid and blood sugar issues
Inflammatory conditions
that, when addressed, can help to improve their symptoms and even save their lives.
Suicide rates have risen a staggering 36% in the last 25 years according to the CDC. Chances are you, you know (or will know) someone who struggles with suicidal ideation that could be helped by this information, which is why it's so important to listen and share it. We go through the most important biomarkers that doctors must test for people with suicidal depression in this weeks' episode of the Root Cause Medicine podcast. You'll hear us mention
and why they give us vital information about the health of a person's brain and even potentially their risk of suicide.
These are vital labs to chat with your doctor about if you or a loved on has suicidal ideation. You can start by asking for these from your existing practitioner and, if you're looking for a practitioner who's trained to help using these methods, you can find doctors trained in Dr. Greenblatt's methods here.
Dr. Greenblatt also just made his important course on Biological Models of Suicide Prevention free. You can access it here with the code SUICIDECOURSEFREE2025 Thank you as always for listening and sharing our episodes with people who need to hear them. This topic is a tough one, but it's vitally important to empower ourselves and our loved ones to know how to effectively deal with suicidal ideation and depression when it strikes. This podcast and this course give you a great start. Warmly,
Dr. Kate