While depression is often thought of as biochemically caused, research has shown that the food consumption patterns before the onset of depression generally mirrors that eaten during depressive stages. This includes skipping meals, poor appetite and a craving for sweet foods.
In many countries, the most common mental health issues include depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. The general population shows a lack of essential vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids and minerals, a situation that is mirrored in mental patients, many of them severely.
By supplementing patient diets with those nutrients, symptoms begin to abate, and supplements with amino acids have been found to ease symptoms because they help construct the neurotransmitters that help ease depression.
More experts are coming around to accept the links between nutrition and mental health. Because micronutrients help fuel the brain's biochemistry and aid in the ongoing maintenance of its infrastructure, helping those cells meet their needs only seems to make sense. While mega dosing research has been knocked in the past, mainly because no long-term studies existed, science is finally catching up with what many believe instinctively.
The links between nutrition and good health date back to ancient times. Diseases that can result from poor nutrition -- including beriberi, scurvy, pernicious anemia and pellagra, all have psychiatric symptoms attached to their onset, including irritability and depression. While those diseases are no longer common, thanks to improved nutrition in the modern world, not everyone gets the vitamins and minerals they need and may be at higher risk of developing mental health issues.
Today, the study of micronutrients and mental health issues is formally known as orthomolecular psychiatry. The Society for Orthomolecular Health Medicine has more than 200 American members who are dedicated to unlocking the secrets of nutrition’s role in mental health.
Processed Foods Are Partly to Blame
Part of the blame for poor nutrition can be linked to the way food is manufactured. Highly processed foods and artificial stimulation of produce growth has produced nutritional deficiencies in some key elements. Studies have shown that the mineral content in produce grown has dropped dramatically. Studies have found a link between reduced amounts of the right minerals having an effect on general mental health, with the most vulnerable members of the community at highest risk of experiencing serious issues.
One study in particular displayed the link. When prison inmates were given vitamin and mineral supplements, the number of infractions and fights dropped dramatically.
Is Mega-Dosing the Answer?
Although controversial, there are studies that show higher-than-normal doses of some common nutrients offer substantial mental health benefits. Here are three candidates:
1) Folic acid: This B vitamin helps regulate moods and aids in nervous system development. Some studies have shown that some patients taking Prozac for depression actually did better when receiving 500 micrograms of folic acid each day.
2) Magnesium: Researchers have long known about magnesium’s sedative powers. Although some studies have linked a magnesium deficiency with depression, the results have been largely inconclusive. However, there is a definite link between taking magnesium supplements and other mood-stabilizing drugs. Working in combination, the mineral seems to aid the mood-stabilizing drugs' effect on the manic moods of patients.
3) Chromium: There have been several research cases that linked added chromium picolinate to fewer instances of depression. It is also believed to help antidepressants work better. In a Duke University trial, 70 percent of patients given chromium picolinate improved versus none given a placebo.
Additionally, Inositol, a sugar molecule, seems to make brain receptors react better to serotonin, a mood stabilizer. Large doses of inositol helped alleviate depression, panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder in one study at an Israeli university.
The Roles of Vitamins B and D
Vitamin B12 and other B vitamins help produce brain chemicals that affect key brain functions, including mood. Studies have shown that a lack of B vitamins may be linked to depression.
While diet plays a role in the lack of B vitamins, there also may be a physical problem that limits the body’s ability to absorb this key nutrient. Older adults, people with digestive disorders like celiac disease or Crohn's disease, and vegetarians may have problems getting enough B12. The vitamin is present in fish, poultry, lean meat, eggs and milk. Some breakfast cereals are also fortified with it.
Vitamin D is estimated to be lacking in 1 billion people worldwide. Those living in lands far from the equator, the elderly and dark-skinned individuals may not get enough of this key vitamin, which is the only vitamin that is a hormone and affects every cell in the body. While its role in building bones, muscles and teeth is well known, it also is key to regulating the immune system and such neurotransmitters as dopamine and serotonin that help brain function. Researchers have found Vitamin D receptors in various regions of the brain that are linked with depression.
Because Vitamin D absorption is linked with sunlight, researchers believe that Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which occurs during periods when there is little sunshine in certain areas, may be linked to sudden decreases in Vitamin D. This will affect serotonin levels.
While there are many causes of mental health issues, more and more research is proving that levels of vitamins and minerals play a key role in optimal psychological health. Make sure to monitor nutrition for the family and serve a healthy diet that includes fruits, vegetables and other essential nutrients as a way to ensure peak brain function.