Micronutrient deficiency and mental health -
This fat-soluble vitamin influences the expression of over 1, genes that regulate mood, sleep, as well as the protection and synthesis of neurons the cells in our brain and nervous system that run the show. There are vitamin D receptors throughout the body and brain, some of which are located in regions that influence mood, alertness, motivation, memory and pleasure.
Symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency can include depression, anxiety, irritability and fatigue. Besides helping with the formation of those ever-important neurons mentioned above, vitamin B12 plays a role in regulating mood-boosting brain chemicals like serotonin and dopamine, as well as stress hormones like norepinephrine.
Symptoms of a vitamin B12 deficiency can include fatigue, brain fog, numbness and tingling, shortness of breath and more. And, like B12, vitamin B6 helps the body keep homocysteine levels in check , which helps with mood issues, Kraker said.
People with kidney disease or malabsorption problems are the ones who are most likely to be deficient in B6. Zinc is a trace mineral with many important roles in brain function, Kraker said. It also helps vitamin B6 do the best job possible of making feel-good chemicals like serotonin and dopamine.
Most people naturally get enough zinc through their diets. A deficiency can occur in women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, vegetarians and people with gastrointestinal disease. Symptoms can include loss of appetite or taste, loss of temper, depression and learning difficulties.
Besides regulating oxygen delivery throughout the body and brain, iron helps to create and balance mood-regulating chemicals like serotonin and dopamine. Symptoms of an iron deficiency can include fatigue, difficulty concentrating and dizziness.
They can also help with mood. Symptoms of an omega-3 deficiency can include mood issues, often accompanied by dry skin, fatigue, allergies and chronic thirst. Other interventions like talk therapy and medication are the best-known ways to improve mental health issues.
These can include frequent headaches, GI symptoms think: constipation, diarrhea, gas and bloating , weak nails, dry skin or eczema, hair loss and many others. The Institute for Functional Medicine , Integrative Medicine for Mental Health , and the Walsh Research Institute all list doctors trained in this manner.
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Food can affect mood. And even more, mood influences what we feel like eating. Individuals in a positive mood tend to make healthier food choices as they think about future health benefits. In contrast, individuals with negative feelings focus more on indulgence.
They crave comfort foods, often rich in salt or sugar. Mood balance and mental health are also closely related to micronutrient supply, as certain micronutrients play an important role in metabolic processes in the brain. The micronutrients most needed for maintaining mental health are vitamins D, B 1 , B 2 , B 6 , B 12 , folic acid, pantothenic acid, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron and selenium.
Table 1 describes selected brain-related functions of these micronutrients. Poor mood has been associated with deficiency of a number of key micronutrients. For example, there are associations between lower levels of folic acid, vitamins B 6 and B 12 and depressed mood.
In addition, lower levels of vitamin D, zinc and selenium have been reported to lead to poorer mood as well as depression and anxiety. Older people are particularly vulnerable to depression. Studies have shown that up to a third of persons living in residential or nursing homes have significant symptoms of depression.
In addition, micronutrient deficiencies are common in older people. Critical micronutrients with regard to mental health are vitamins D, E, B 1 , B 2 , B 12 , folic acid, iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc. Interventions showed that a combination of physical activity and nutritional supplementation with micronutrients like vitamins B, D, E, zinc, calcium and magnesium significantly ameliorates depressive symptoms and improve mental health.
In addition, the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids and certain plant extracts may have an impact on mood balance.
A promising adaptogen — biologically active plant substance that helps the organism adapt to increased physical and emotional stress situations — is ashwagandha, which seems to reduce stress symptoms.
Short summary: Which micronutrients are essential for boosting immunity and therefore reducing the risk of infection, especially in older people.
Resilience can be trained, but also assisted with special micronutrients. The B vitamins are especially important in keeping nerves and mental performance up.
Defiiciency good nutritional status is important Micronutrient deficiency and mental health maintaining normal Micronutrient deficiency and mental health function amd preventing or mitigating the dysfunction induced by internal or Miicronutrient factors. Nutritional deficiencies often Micronutrient deficiency and mental health in impaired function, Micronutriemt, conversely, intakes at recommended levels can resume or further enhance body functions. Effective antifungal treatments increasing number of Microonutrient are revealing that diet and nutrition are critical not only Healthy aging habits physiology and body composition, but also xnd significant effects on mood and mental well-being. In particular, Western dietary habits have been the object of several research studies focusing on the relationship between nutrition and mental health. This review aims to summarize the current knowledge about the relationship between the intake of specific micro- and macronutrients, including eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, alpha-tocopherol, magnesium and folic acid, and mental health, with particular reference to their beneficial effect on stress, sleep disorders, anxiety, mild cognitive impairment, as well as on neuropsychiatric disorders, all significantly affecting the quality of life of an increasing number of people. Overall data support a positive role for the nutrients mentioned above in the preservation of normal brain function and mental well-being, also through the control of neuroinflammation, and encourage their integration in a well-balanced and varied diet, accompanied by a healthy lifestyle. Deficeincy know we need jealth nutrients in order to function properly. But Micronutrient deficiency and mental health how much of an Cognitive enhancement workshops do they really have on our minds? Jennifer Krakera New York-based psychiatrist who specializes in nutrition and mental health. For most people, a healthy diet will take care of that. Drug store brands will do just fine.Video
Joe Rogan - Gary Brecka - The ULTIMATE human - Wellbeing checklist - 5 step secret to successMicronutrient deficiency and mental health -
In addition, micronutrient deficiencies are common in older people. Critical micronutrients with regard to mental health are vitamins D, E, B 1 , B 2 , B 12 , folic acid, iron, calcium, magnesium and zinc. Interventions showed that a combination of physical activity and nutritional supplementation with micronutrients like vitamins B, D, E, zinc, calcium and magnesium significantly ameliorates depressive symptoms and improve mental health.
In addition, the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids and certain plant extracts may have an impact on mood balance.
A promising adaptogen — biologically active plant substance that helps the organism adapt to increased physical and emotional stress situations — is ashwagandha, which seems to reduce stress symptoms. Short summary: Which micronutrients are essential for boosting immunity and therefore reducing the risk of infection, especially in older people.
Resilience can be trained, but also assisted with special micronutrients. The B vitamins are especially important in keeping nerves and mental performance up.
This micronutrient premix combines immune- with gut-supporting ingredients. This micronutrient premix contains all important micronutrients to support the gut immune system, especially in stressful situations.
Benton D, Donohoe RT. The effects of nutrients on mood. Public Health Nutr. Intestinal serotonin and fluoxetine exposure modulate bacterial colonization in the gut. healthy control subjects 48 — Of major interest, prospective studies revealed that high C-reactive protein CRP levels can predict a subsequent development of bipolar disorder, while increased levels of CRP or IL-6 are predictive of MDD and psychosis, thus suggesting a causal association between inflammatory status and neuropsychiatric disorders 52 , MDD, bipolar disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD are complex neuropsychiatric conditions with a set of causes and risks associated with gender, genetic and epigenetic factors, socioeconomic status, lifestyle, stress, alcohol and drug use, and concomitant disease.
Some studies suggested a role also for unhealthy Western diet BBB is a highly regulated interface that normally restricts the access to the brain of peripheral inflammatory mediators that could impair the neurotransmission.
However, during peripheral inflammatory activation, the permeability of the BBB increases, and may exacerbate or initiate neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders Neuroinflammation represents a reaction of the CNS to events that interfere with tissue homeostasis and is present in virtually all neurological diseases.
Microglia function as innate immune cells of the CNS, playing key roles in clearing foreign particles and promoting brain healing after a trauma. Prolonged microglial activation, and in particular of the M1 pro-inflammatory microglia, can contribute to neuroinflammatory responses 56 also through endothelial and BBB dysfunction Pro-inflammatory cytokines and high nitric oxide NO levels produced by activated microglia may promote reactive oxygen species ROS formation Due to its composition and biochemical characteristics, the brain is particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress, able to induce brain lipid peroxidation, damage to membrane phospholipids and to neurotransmitter receptors, and depletion of endogenous antioxidants A strong relationship between the cytokine system and the neurotransmitter system has been highlighted.
A special role in the pathogenesis and somatic consequences of MDD has been described for pro-inflammatory IL-6, whose activity may cause depression through the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis or influence of the neurotransmitter metabolism, as summarized elsewhere Within the brain, the immune-related information activates several regions and induces glia cells and neurons to release the same cytokines, in turn acting as neuro-regulators and neurotransmitters In more detail, the link between inflammation and depression is probably based on the glucocorticoid insensitivity caused by inflammation, as well as on the deviation of the essential amino acid tryptophan from the production of serotonin toward the production of kynurenine and of its metabolites e.
The decreased synthesis of serotonin following the tryptophan shunting leads to an increased glutamatergic neurotransmission, known to be associated with a depressed mood By virtue of the relationship between inflammation and neuropsychiatric disorders, increasing attention has been devoted to the therapeutic potential of anti-inflammatory treatments in this setting.
Traditional antidepressants can have anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects, which might be partly due to their influence on cytokine production, as supported also by the decrease of circulating pro-inflammatory factors 60 , The enzymes cyclooxygenase-1 COX-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 COX-2 are involved in the inflammatory cascade leading to the production of prostacyclines, tromboxanes, and leukotrienes.
An increasing number of studies are demonstrating that treatments targeting COX-1 and COX-2 can have a beneficial effect in the subgroup of depressed patients with elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and in patients affected by other neuropsychiatric disorders 65 , In particular, clinical studies concerning the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs and depression revealed a beneficial effect in some cases, in particular in presence of inflammatory disease comorbidities that, however, has not been confirmed by other studies and needs additional investigation Below we summarized the current evidences of the anti-inflammatory activity played by DHA, EPA, magnesium, alpha-tocopherol, and folate in the context of neuroinflammation.
EPA and DHA have a well-known effect on synthesis, release, receptor function and storage of neurotransmitters during development and in neuropsychiatric disorders 68 — In reference to inflammatory reactions, generally, DHA, and EPA exert an inhibitory effect on the activation of immune cells from both the innate and the adaptive systems.
In particular, omega-3 PUFAs are able to act as signaling molecules and decrease cytokine secretion by macrophages and to suppress inflammasome-mediated inflammation. DHA and EPA are also able to decrease neutrophil migration and increase their phagocytic capacity Of note, during the increase in vascular wall permeability, plasma omega-3 PUFAs reach the site of inflammation, where they are converted to SPM, able to block chronic inflammation and reduce fibrosis A dietary approach including DHA, EPA, folic acid, and vitamin E exhibited beneficial effects on structural and functional recovery in a mouse model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion, leading to decreased neuroinflammation and improved motor function A RCT conducted by Rapaport et al.
A RCT conducted in depressed pregnant women revealed that the supplementation with EPA was associated with increased levels of estradiol during pregnancy and together they alleviated the antenatal depression. However, this process was presumably mediated by a mechanism other than anti-inflammation, as the relationship between depressive symptoms and inflammatory cytokines was not significant 29 Table 1.
Alpha-tocopherol supplementation could modulate oxidative stress and inflammation in Parkinson's disease PD or AD, where neuroinflammation plays a major role.
However, clear data from RCTs are still missing and indications are still limited mainly to preclinical research. The role of alpha-tocopherol in the brain has been investigated in a murine model with a double-deficiency of vitamins C and E, revealing an increased expression of inflammatory-related genes, possibly causing neuroinflammation in the brain In vitro and preclinical in vivo studies in a murine model of AD showed that the supplementation of alpha-tocopherol further decreased the neuroinflammation and oxidative stress induced by the candidate drug etodolac Magnesium plays a key role in differentiation, proliferation, functioning, and movement of immune cells and is important for balanced immune cell responses 15 , Several studies evaluated serum levels of magnesium in different mental disorders; however, a pathophysiological association between mental disorders and magnesium in patients is not yet fully demonstrated.
Some studies in murine models of disease revealed the positive role of magnesium in neuroinflammation reduction 79 , The large majority of studies carried out so far in patients have been focused on depression, because of the well-known involvement of magnesium in several core mechanisms of depressive pathophysiology, including inflammation and oxidative stress Among others, investigations proposed that magnesium could relieve depression by blocking the NMDA receptor, whose dysfunction is a major causative factor in depression pathology Additional studies are required to establish the role of magnesium in pathophysiology or treatment of bipolar disorder and OCD.
The rise in homocysteine indicates a failure of methylation of homocysteine to methionine, that, in turn, is a precursor of S-adenosylmethionine SAM , the methyl donor in a number of brain reactions involving neurotransmitters, proteins, nucleoproteins, and membrane phospholipids.
Similarly to folic acid, SAM has also been reported to affect mood 83 — A similar correlation between folate, homocysteine, and disease status has been observed in patients affected by OCD Of interest, hyperhomocysteinemia is associated with neuroinflammation in a murine model of vascular dementia The use of folate-producing probiotic strains can be useful in reduction of neuroinflammation, as indicated by decreased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and by improvement of motor behavior in PD Some RCTs suggest that treatment with folate and vitamin B12 could be helpful in the long-term management of specific populations affected by depressive symptoms.
However, the meta-analyses carried out by Almeida OP et al. Inadequate intake, systemic diseases, medical therapies, and genetic conditions can lead to deficiencies of specific nutrients, affecting both the central and peripheral nervous systems 3.
In addition, a personalized medicine approach has been proposed in the field of nutrition applied to mental well-being, based on the assessment of specific biomarkers e.
Overall, the research data we reviewed seem to support a positive role for the nutrients EPA, DHA, magnesium, alpha-tocopherol, and folic acid, either alone or in combination with drugs, in the preservation of normal brain function and mental well-being, at least in part through the control of neuroinflammation Figure 1.
In particular, the studies we reviewed suggest that alpha-tocopherol supplementation is not consistently associated with improvements of symptoms of mental disorders.
Considering the well-known physiological role played by this nutrient and its lower levels associated with mental disorders 91 , we suggest that future adequately powered and properly designed clinical trials should further address this point.
The RCTs we reviewed included subjects of different age Table 1. This aspect should be considered when evaluating the results of RCTs and in the design of future studies focusing on the association between nutrients intake and preservation of mental health.
In addition to the published studies we reviewed, other clinical trials are currently on the way in the setting of nutrients and mental disorders or impairment.
Several ongoing trials are focusing in particular on PUFAs: among them, the trial NCT is investigating the role of high-dose DHA in patients at risk for dementia, while the trial NCT is further investigating the association between the presence of the APOE ε4 allele and the and the reduced delivery of DHA to the brain.
gov Identifier: NCT An accurate diagnosis of mental disorders and of their stage, alongside a detailed clinical history is of major importance in clinical trials testing the effectiveness of micro- and macronutrients, in order to enroll more homogeneous cohorts of patients, in turn leading to more reliable study results.
Moreover, future research would greatly benefit from the use of more uniform tools to measure both functioning and cognition in patients affected by mental disorders. Finally, a nutritional approach based on multiple agents is recommendable rather than administration of single agent supplements.
Mental health is an integral and essential component of human health, and an unhealthy lifestyle can be associated with a poor mental health. Scientific findings encourage the integration of micro- and macronutrients in a well-balanced and varied diet, accompanied by a healthy lifestyle, for preservation of normal brain function and well-being.
Editorial assistance was supported by an unconditioned grant from Angelini Pharma S. The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Medical writing support was provided by Amalia Forte, PhD, on behalf of Menthalia S. Marx W, Moseley G, Berk M, Jacka F.
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I have shared this article plenty. I would love to see a follow up article with a follow up list of the next most important vitamins and minerals missing from our diets and food.
I would like to see what supplements are recommended for those who cannot eat certain foods along with what probiotics to focus on. Hello Kelly, thank you for reaching out.
For information about Dr. Taking the right probiotic is crucial. Also the foods you listed are high in histamines. So if thete is an unbalance of histamines in the gut you want to stay away from food, drink with histamines until the gut is healed, balanced. Taking a probiotic that doesn't have histamines or trigger histamines.
I've been researching the gut for family members. And how silly we are to just throw stuff down our throats. What is beneficial for one person is NOT for another. Do you know of any specific B complex brands that will ensure I can get all of the B vitamins mentioned in a one or two pill dose?
Thank you for reaching out. For more information about Dr. RSS feed for comments on this post. Name required. Mail will not be published required. Click here for details. Metro Area Resources Patient Video Testimonials Patient Written Testimonials Blog Media and Press Webinars Podcast All Episodes Top 20 Episodes Infographics Download eBooks ADD Types eBook Anxiety and Depression Types eBook Memory Loss eBook Addict Types eBook COVID-BRAIN eBook Personality Disorders eBook Eating Disorders eBook Forensics in Psychiatry eBook Download Our Brochure About Your Brain Change Your Brain Foundation Professionals Benefits For Clinicians Make A Patient Referral Provider Support Join The Professional Newsletter Download Our Brochure SPECT Research Overview SPECT Images SPECT Case Studies Peer Reviewed Studies Careers at Amen Clinics Store BrainMD Supplements Amen University Online Courses About Amen Clinics About Amen Clinics 30th Anniversary Video Daniel Amen, MD Tana Amen Amen Clinics Team Newsletter Events Affordable Payment Options Family First Discount Plan Careers at Amen Clinics FAQ Contact.
Comment by Susan — May 19, AM What kind of pickles? Branston pickle? Pickled onions? Pickles themselves?
Etimes Videos cinema TV Micronutrient deficiency and mental health Trending Visual Stories Music Events Theatre Mirconutrient Briefs. Poonam Pandey Death Parenting Microntrient Hair Anf Potassium Deficiency Dhaniya Pani Benefits Budget Batik in India. This story is from July 15, Mood disorders can be caused by various factors such as psychological, biological, genetic, environmental, and circumstantial. Mental and physical health can be boosted with a nutrient-dense, healthy diet.
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