Are There Effective Vitamins for Depression?
If you’re looking for all natural depression medication options, you may be wondering if vitamins for depression can be as effective as prescription medications. Actually, research has shown that for some people, nutritional supplements may be very effective at addressing the most common symptoms of depression. In fact, there are many natural health care providers that rely on this approach.
Without getting into a debate on this subject, suffice to say that nutritional supplementation is not the accepted, mainstream method of treatment in the US. In the European Union and some other countries, all natural depression medication like SAM-e and herbs like passionflower are regularly prescribed for depressive disorders.
If you’re experiencing depression and have not found relief by using prescription anti-depressants, there are natural options available. It’s now known that nutritional deficiencies are many times at least part of the cause of both physical as well as mental and emotional symptoms. This is why simple diet changes along with vitamins and nutrients can often provide depression relief.
The nutritional supplements for depression include:
* SAM-e-a nutrient present in every cell of the body, production is sometimes inefficient. In addition to providing relief from depression, it supports methylation, throughout the body. Inefficient methylation is a cause of cellular aging.
* Omega-3 fatty acids-a type of fat that is lacking in many people’s diets, because dietary sources are limited. Oily fish are the primary sources. Some researchers feel that a lack of omega-3s is the underlying cause of the increased incidence of depressive disorders seen in industrialized societies. Low blood levels of an omega-3 called DHA are associated with major depressive disorders, including suicide.
* 5 HTP – Produced from the seeds of the African plant griffonia simplicifolia, 5 HTP is used for sleep disorders, depression, anxiety, migraine and tension-type headaches. Taking 5-HTP seems to significantly improve symptoms of depression, even in patients with treatment-resistant symptoms. Also, evidence suggests that 5-HTP might be comparable in effect to some conventional antidepressants.
* Vitamin B-complex has been known for a long time to play an important role in neurological functions, as well as many other processes in the body. It is especially important when depression, anxiety and stress are an issue. B vitamins help to maintain energy levels and a healthy nervous system.
There is some variability in the quality of nutritional supplements. For effective results, it pays to seek out manufacturers who use the highest quality ingredients and production methods. Certain nutrients are very fragile and can easily be destroyed if special care is not taken during production.
An enteric coating is often used by the companies which produce the highest quality supplements. The enteric coating protects the fragile nutrients from being destroyed by stomach acids, and ensures that they are released in the small intestine where they will be better absorbed.
Since depression and anxiety symptoms involve both the mind and body, it’s important to pay attention to dietary choices. After making healthy diet adjustments, vitamins and supplements for depression can help to provide additional benefits which can help to make up for any gaps in dietary nutrients.
About the author: Max Wardlow has a website about nutritional supplements. Stop by today for more info about supplements for depression.