Which Vitamins Are Important for Fighting Depression?

Do you have everything you could always want or need in your life but are still depressed? This can happen! You may have a great family, a job you love, and a spouse that is heaven-sent and still be depressed. You may have all your needs met financially and still have money to spend on fun activities but still feel despondent, listless, and depressed. Do you know the symptoms may disappear if you eat healthy and receive all the vitamins and minerals your body needs?

It’s true, although some depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain, or circumstances that are causing stress in your life; many depression symptoms are because of vitamin shortages in your body. We need vitamins and minerals for a healthy body and for emotional health. The B complex vitamins are extremely important in their relationship to depression. A shortage of any one of these important vitamins can lead to depression, irritability and thoughts of suicide.

Folic acid is a part of the vitamin B family and is important for DNA synthesis. Folic acid supplements are advised for women who are pregnant because it protects the developing fetus from neural tube defects. You may have a shortage of folic acid from poor diet or if you are ill, drink alcohol regularly, and use drugs such as aspirin, barbiturates, anticonvulsants, and birth control pills.

Vitamin B is plays an important role in controlling depression. Vitamin B1, also known as thiamin is needed to convert blood sugar into fuel. Without this important B vitamin, the brain will run out of energy. This leads to fatigue, irritability, anxiety, depression, and thoughts of suicide. Lack of thiamine may also cause gastrointestinal disorders, memory problems, insomnia, and loss of appetite. If we consume too many refined carbohydrates, it will drain our body of B1. Refined carbohydrates are sugar and products made with sugar.

Vitamin B3, also known as niacin is so important that many manufactured foods are now fortified with it. Agitation, anxiety, and mental and physical slowness can be caused by a niacin shortage in your diet.

Vitamin B5 is Pantothenic acid and it is needed for hormone formation and the use of amino acids and the manufacture of acetlcholine, which helps combat certain types of depression. If you are lacking in this important vitamin you may be feeling chronic stress, fatigue, and depression.

Doctors believe that our bodies do not receive enough of the vitamin B6 or pyridoxine. Shortages can occur in alcoholics, kidney failure patients, and women using birth control pills. A shortage in this vitamin can cause skin lesions, mental confusion, and a lowered immunity.

Vitamin B12 is important to red blood cell formation. If we don’t receive enough of this vitamin it can cause mood swings, paranoia, irritability, confusion and dementia. It can also cause physical problems such as loss of appetite, dizziness, shortness of breath, heart palpitations and a tingling sensation in the arms and legs.

If you are depressed and know you are not eating a healthy variety of foods, you should consider a good multivitamin to supplement your diet.