Should I Take Magnesium Supplements For Anxiety Or Depression
Many of our patients ask, Can I just get enough magnesium from my food? While diet is the starting point for increasing mineral intake in general, it may not be enough for some people with mental health conditions, because of:
-
Modern day food cultivation. Farming processes have depleted magnesium and other minerals from the soil, and the techniques used in food processing can deplete magnesium levels by up to 80%.
-
Biochemical individuality. Factors such as genetics, metabolism, health conditions, and more can influence how much magnesium an individual person needs for healthy functioning. Those with anxiety, depression and insomnia may need more magnesium than they can feasibly get from their food.
Also Check: How To Deal With Pms Fatigue
Vitamin A For Anxiety
is an antioxidant and an essential nutrient that helps support the nervous system and promote normal muscle function and relaxation. The nervous system in turn helps to soothe anxiety and stress in the body and brain, reducing the chances of a panic attack, meaning that its an important vitamin for anxiety.
Vitamin A has also been seen in scientific studies to reduce the risk of anxiety in perimenopausal women, with an inversely associated relationship. Another study also suggested that vitamin A, along with other carotenoids, may help lower the risk of depressive symptoms.
However, if you take vitamin A for anxiety, be careful not to take more than the NRV. As a fat-soluble vitamin, it can build up in your body and potentially cause health issues later on.
NRV for vitamin A
-
Omega 3 DHA and EPA
When Should I Contact My Healthcare Provider
Contact your healthcare provider immediately if you experience thoughts about suicide, hurting yourself, or hurting others. Remember, you should always follow your healthcare providers instructions. Never stop taking your medications or start an alternative therapy without approval and supervision.
Read Also: Why Does Lupus Cause Fatigue
Read Also: Can Mold Exposure Cause Fatigue
What Causes Tiredness And Fatigue
Do you feel run down and exhausted all the time? There are many reasons why you might not have enough energy for your workouts, or even just to get through the day. Are you eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, sleeping well, and drinking enough water?
You might even be overtraining and overworking your body without ample recovery time. Some days its hard to find the perfect balance of food, exercise and sleep when we have so many other demands to meet.
Dont Miss: Psoriatic Arthritis And Extreme Fatigue
Which Vitamin Are You Lacking If You Are Tired All The Time
If you feel tired despite having a good nights sleep, you could be suffering from a vitamin deficiency. It could be that you are lacking vitamins B or C or it could be a mineral deficiency such as iron, magnesium or zinc. Taking supplements can help to reduce your fatigue and boost your energy levels.
Recommended Reading: What To Do For Extreme Fatigue
Don’t Miss: Fatigue Symptom Of Breast Cancer
Cortisol & The Stress Response
When we undergo an excess of mental or physical stress, the adrenal glands can become depleted. The adrenal glands release a stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol plays several important roles in the body. It helps control the bodys use of fats, proteins and carbohydrates suppresses inflammation regulates blood pressure increases blood sugar and can also decrease bone formation. This hormone also controls the sleep/wake cycle.
Cortisol is released during times of stress to help your body get an energy boost and better handle an emergency situation. This is a great support when we are actually facing an immediate danger and need an energy boost to fight or flee from a situation. When we experience stress on a regular basis, however, excesses of the cortisol hormone are released. Not only does this deplete the adrenal glands responsible for many necessary functions, but it can have its own slew of negative health effects over time.
Chronic stress, or a constant stress experienced over a prolonged period of time, can lead to mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety and personality disorders cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attacks and stroke obesity and other eating disorders menstrual problems sexual dysfunction gastrointestinal problems, and much more. Chronic stress is terrible for the whole body.
The Top Vitamin Supplements For Depression
Vitamin deficiency is not the first thing you think of when considering the underlying causes of depression.
Doctors and psychiatrists rarely recommend vitamins for depression either.
But clearly, your brain cant operate at its peak when essential nutrients are missing.
A healthy brain is the first line of defense against depression and other mood disorders.
Some vitamins are necessary for the formation of mood-boosting neurotransmitters, while others provide energy to brain cells or protect them from damage.
Heres a look at the most important vitamins for depression and their recommended dosages.
You May Like: Can Rheumatoid Arthritis Cause Extreme Fatigue
Natural Antidepressants: Best Vitamins For Energy And Depression
Ample evidence suggests that B vitamins can help with depression. B vitamins control and produce important chemicals in your brain that impact depression and mood regulation. As Healthline explains: folate , B12, and B6, are needed for the production and regulation of neurotransmitters like serotonin, gamma-aminobutyric acid , and dopamine. Further, research suggests that deficiencies in these vitamins may increase the risk of depression, and that treatment with folate and/or vitamin B12 reduces depression scale scores, increases remission, and prevents the onset of clinically significant symptoms of depression in people at risk.
So when youre looking for vitamins that help with depression, B vitamins are well worth discussing with your provider.
Zinc is a naturally occurring mineral that, in the words of Healthline, is critical to brain health and the regulation of neurotransmitter pathways. It also boasts antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. More importantly, it is a mineral that has been closely linked to depression.
Dr. Emily Deans, in Psychology Today, has tracked research on the relationship between Zinc and depression. Some key findings include:
The more depressed someone is, the lower the zinc level.
Zinc supplementation has been shown to have antidepressant effects in humans.
Successful treatment with antidepressants will increase serum zinc levels.
Other Physiological And Psychosocial Factors
Another angle of viewing diet and depression involves old age, which is a time of vulnerability to unintentional weight loss, a factor that is often linked to increased morbidity and premature death. Anorexia of aging may play an important role in precipitating this, by either reducing food intake directly or reducing food intake in response to such adverse factors as age-associated reductions in sensory perception , poor dentition, use of multiple prescription drugs, and depression. Marcus and Berry reviewed malnutrition occurring in the elderly, in both institutional and community settings, due to refusal to eat. They suggest physiologic changes associated with aging, mental disorders such as dementia and depression, and medical, social, and environmental as causative factors. Currently to tackle the problem of depression, people are following the alternative and complementary medicine interventions. CAM therapies are defined by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine as a group of diverse medical and health systems, practices, and products that are not currently considered to be a part of conventional medicine. Mental health professionals need to be aware that it is likely that a fair number of their patients with bipolar disorder might use CAM interventions. Some clinicians judge these interventions to be attractive and safe alternatives, or adjuncts to conventional psychotropic medications.
Read Also: What To Do With Chronic Fatigue
What To Expect At Your Providers Office
There is no laboratory test for chronic fatigue syndrome. But your health care provider may use tests to rule out other illnesses. Your provider will go over your symptoms, check your medical history, and do a physical examination.
If you have CFS, your provider may prescribe drugs to treat your symptoms, or suggest herbs, vitamins, or dietary changes to help you. Get plenty of rest, exercise regularly, and learn to pace yourself. Often this combination of treatments will help you get better.
If the usual treatments do not work, your provider may check for other conditions that can cause symptoms similar to those of CFS.
What Is A Natural Energy Booster
Taking vitamin supplements is a great way to naturally increase your energy levels and reduce fatigue. Many people dont get the micronutrients that their body needs through diet alone, leaving them feeling tired and low in energy. Vitamin supplements will help to ensure that your body is not deficient in any nutrient, whilst supporting your bodys natural processes and your overall wellbeing.
Recommended Reading: Diseases That Cause Joint Pain And Fatigue
Whats The Best Natural Antidepressant Supplement
There is no one best supplement for people with depression. Although some supplements have been shown to benefit certain populations with depression, not everyone will benefit from the same supplements.
Every person with depression has different needs and should work with a healthcare professional to create an individualized care plan, which may or may not involve dietary supplements.
Why You Should Consider Vitamins For Mood Swings
Vitamins for mood swings may benefit your Neuroaffect Circuit and its function. As such, your Neuroaffect Circuit plays a role in your bodys NeuroEndoMetabolic Stress Response and is a biological component of various mental health issues. But because it plays an integral part in so many bodily functions, a healthy Neuroaffect Circuit that implies healthy brain function is extremely important for not only your mental but also physical health.
One of the main causes of mental issues is stress. Stress may cause a hormonal imbalance in the brain because of the high cortisol production associated with it. Your hormones in the brain, to a large extent, are the neurotransmitters used by the brain to send instructions to your various organs and other body structures. An imbalance could lead to various mental health issues including anxiety and depression, amongst others.
The various vitamins for mood swings mentioned all play a supportive role regarding hormone production and brain health. Using these supplements may help you cope in the short term while supporting brain health in the long run.
Read Also: The Best Anti Fatigue Kitchen Mats
What Vitamins Help With Seasonal Depression
B vitamins, such as B-3 and B-9, can benefit patients with depression because they help the brain control moods. Seasonal depression is treated with vitamin D, melatonin, and St. John’s Wort.
Vitamin D is needed for healthy bones, but it can also have other benefits for your body. Scientists think that this nutrient may be able to help reduce symptoms of depression by acting on nerve cells in the brain. Vitamin D doesn’t go straight into your blood stream instead, it must be converted first into a form that can be used by the body. The main source of vitamin D is sun exposure, but only if you are outdoors during daylight hours. Other sources include certain foods like salmon and eggs, and some types of supplements. It is important to note that too much vitamin D can be toxic, so keep that in mind when choosing how you will treat yourself with this essential vitamin.
Melatonin is another supplement that has been shown to help people who suffer from depression. Melatonin is naturally produced by the body at night time, but we also need it during the day if we want our bodies to function properly. Some research shows that taking melatonin at bedtime may help reduce symptoms of depression by regulating the sleep-wake cycle and improving cognitive functions during the day. However, more studies are needed to determine exactly how this supplement works for treating depression.
Does Kava Help With Stress
Kava is a supplement made from the roots of the Piper methysticum plant. It has a long history of use for relieving stress and anxiety in traditional herbal medicine, and research suggests that it does offer some stress-relieving benefits .
However, researchers have also noted rare cases of liver damage arising from kava use.
Not enough information is available about these episodes to allow researchers to confidently create dosing or safety guidelines. For this reason, we recommend avoiding kava and choosing alternatives that have a better safety profile (
Recommended Reading: Hot Flashes And Fatigue Female
Symptoms Of Constant Fatigue
If you feel as if fatigue is something youre facing each waking day, then you might be experiencing some of the following symptoms. From a sore throat to extreme dizziness, there are many variations of these symptoms that indicate youre constantly tired.
These are a few of the red flag signs that may reveal that you have CFS:
- Extreme feelings of fatigue
- The appearance of enlarged lymph nodes in your neck or armpits
- Muscle pain or joint pain
- Dizziness feelings that increase from lying down, sitting or standing
- Feeling tired after sleeping
- Extreme exhaustion after physical or mental exercise
Have you experienced any of the above symptoms? If so, theres a possibility that you may be chronically fatigued and should seek a health care professional for medical treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome.
Dont Miss: How To Help Anemia Fatigue
What Vitamins Are Good For Anxiety
If you experience chronic anxiety or acute bouts of nervousness , considering vitamins for anxiety and stress, in addition to other treatment options, is a good decision. Be sure to discuss this with your doctor before starting supplements, especially if youre taking other medications.
If you were wondering how to treat anxiety with vitamins, some of the best vitamins for anxiety include both water-soluble vitamins that dissolve quickly in the body, as well as fat-soluble vitamins that circulate through the bloodstream and are stored by the body when not in use.
Vitamins alone wont cure your anxiety, but they may help bolster your health and mood overall. A review of 24 studies suggests that herbal and vitamin supplementation can be a beneficial and effective therapy for treating anxiety. Especially when taken in addition to other forms of treatment, like therapy for anxiety, medication, and self-help techniques, vitamins might be an integral component of your overall treatment plan for dealing with anxiety. Read on to learn more.
Read Also: Does Hidradenitis Suppurativa Cause Fatigue
The Best Supplements For Adrenal Fatigue
In an ideal world, wed get all the nutrients we need to restore adrenal health from a well-balanced diet. However, adaptogenic herbs arent typically part of everyday foods, and no matter how well we eat, a stressful day can really burn through all our nutrient stockpiles. The best supplements for adrenal fatigue are those formulated to address fatigue and stress symptoms by delivering key nutrients in therapeutic amounts.
Adaptisol is formulated with the adaptogenic herbs astragulus, eleuthero, cordyceps and rhodioloa to address symptoms of adrenal fatigue and restore energy levels. Adaptisol aids the bodys natural ability to adapt to stress, enhances mental clarity, and supports healthy immune function.
Adaptogens help to protect the body from the effects of excess cortisol and prevent cortisol overproduction in the first place. Adaptisol is designed for women whose symptoms cluster around the tired end of the adrenal spectrum, including extreme fatigue, brain fog, lack of focus, mood changes and weight gain.
Serinisol is formulated with minerals and natural adaptogenic compounds to restore your calm and ease sleep disruptions. When stress is ongoing, cortisol does not return to normal levels as intended and instead can stay high for long periods. This will affect your body negatively, leading to symptoms like anxiety, sleeplessness and impaired memory.
Which Foods Have The Most Magnesium
When trying to evaluate our magnesium intake, the first source we should look at is our daily diet. Healthy foods are foundational to raising magnesium levels and other essential minerals, and supplements should never be viewed as a substitute for a nutrient-rich diet.
While its beneficial to build a healthy diet with all of these foods, leafy greens are the best source for magnesium and overall mineral intake. This is because grains, seeds, and nuts contain a compound called phytic acid, which can reduce the bodys ability to absorb magnesium and other minerals like zinc and iron.
Recommended Reading: How Do You Know You Have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Impact Of Vitamins On Mental Health
Various mental health conditions could have adverse effects on your lifestyle. Among them is depression, a condition that is associated with a lack of some vitamins. It is the most common mental health condition. Statistics show that more than 19 million Americans â nearly 8% of the U.S. population â have experienced depression. It affects people of all ages, races, socioeconomic backgrounds, and ethnicities.
A diet that includes vitamin B complex helps boost mental health. Vitamin B deficiency could negatively influence your memory function, and cause cognitive impairment and dementia. Vitamin B contributes to the complexity of depressive symptoms.
Low levels of folate have been linked to depression. Vitamins supplements such as folic acid combined with antidepressants can boost relief in women. Folic acid helps the body make healthy red blood cells.
Where to find folic acid. Folic acid can be found in green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, beans, fortified bread, and cereals. Because vitamin supplements do not work as a standalone solution for mental health issues, it’s important to include these foods in your daily diet. With folic acid, you should only consume around 1 milligram daily.
Where to get vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 can be found in plenty in animal products such as fish, lean meat, poultry, eggs, and low-fat and fat-free milk. Fortified breakfast cereals also are a good source of B-12 and other B vitamins.
When Combined With Evidence
Depression is a mood disorder, and its one of the most common mental health conditions that people experience. Different terms used to refer to depression include major depressive disorder and clinical depression. While many people require clinical treatment and perhaps pharmaceutical medications to treat the symptoms of depression, there are also certain vitamins that can be helpful for depression. Along with vitamins for depression, there are also natural supplements for anxiety and depression that can be helpful for treating symptoms of these co-occurring disorders.
Symptoms of depression include significant changes in feelings, thoughts and behaviors, including loss of interest in activities that a person previously enjoyed and an ongoing, persistent feeling of sadness. Depending on the severity of the depression, a person may experience different physical and emotional problems related to the disorder.
Also Check: Muscle Aches Joint Pain Fatigue
