I ran across an article today, and found several others online, that all suggest that depression could be the result of an 'allergic reaction'.
Recent research is showing that depression is an allergic reaction to inflammation. 1
Researchers name a host of possibilities ranging from infections, such as the flu, to diets high in sugar and trans fats, to bullying and loneliness. In my case, the suspect is painfully obvious: carbohydrates composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen … a.k.a the legal white powder that is a hidden ingredient in most of our foods.2
The answer to that seems to be yes, and the best candidate so far is inflammation – a part of the immune system that acts as a burglar alarm to close wounds and call other parts of the immune system into action. A family of proteins called cytokines sets off inflammation in the body, and switches the brain into sickness mode. 3
Other experts go a step further and promote the idea that the inflammatory state underlying depression may be caused by a pathogen such as a parasite, bacterium, or virus.4
This seems far-fetched, but I can find nothing to refute any of these claims. Is depression truly caused by an 'allergic reaction', or 'inflammation'? Or is this a gross oversimplification/plain not true?