Deficient & Depressed

2019 is upon us and we’re all nursing our sore heads. January doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom and most of us are likely to make some positive changes in our lives (for the first 24 hours). I thought I’d try giving up sugar for a month but after someone brought out Leibniz biscuits, it was time to resign. The Germans truly are unstoppable in that department. Many of the changes people will be making will be about body image, whether that’s through cutting back on alcohol, facing your Leibniz addiction, exercising more and eating better. We’re all aware that what goes in the mouth either builds you up or knocks you down. Healthy choices always means a healthier body. This is the kind of motivation we can see with our eyes and there’s nothing more motivating than ‘seeing’ change.

This is all very well for the body but what we have forgotten is that the mind is just like the body when comes to food.  It has very specific requirements of nutrients and it’s also very very greedy. Your thoughts are neurotransmitters which are synthesized by amino acids, requiring all sorts of things to fire and connect properly. You could even say every time you feel a feeling, the brain drinks a small soup of nutrients. When you’re stressed for example, you use minerals like magnesium which is the fourth most abundant mineral in your body and crucial for enzyme creation. Certain deficiencies can literally drive you to insanity. Insane in the membrane.

Remarkably, when we suffer from mental health problems like depression or even  schizophrenia, the deficiencies in our diet are barely touched upon. Interestingly when you look at the research in this area, there is a plethora of information available on researchers helping and even curing mental health problems through natural supplementation. It might sound a bit far fetched, but the reality is your mind is a machine that needs to be well oiled and when it doesn’t get what it needs, it starts to malfunction.

In Britain, around 1 in 20 are diagnosed with depression and about 1% of the population diagnosed with schizophrenia. This has been growing year on year throughout the western world. Often the first port of call for these conditions is drugs but could there be an alternative to these substances? Could we remedy at least some of the problem by supplementing the imbalance? We are all biochemically unique and there is growing evidence those suffering from mental health problems may have specific deficiencies. Some of these are caused by genetic disposition and some by just general dietary intake. There’s is no one reason why we feel the way to do but what we eat and drink is something we are in command of (at least for the most part).

As mentioned at the start, amino acids are right up there when it comes to mental health. Two important amino acids in this field are TMG and SAMe; both play a role in the synthesis of neurotransmitters. TMG stands for tri-methyl-glycine and SAMe stands for  s-adenosyl methionine. These guys work by donating ‘methyl groups’ which keeps the brain happy. They’re like that generous friend you have on a night out but without the hangover. This process of adding and sometimes taking away methyl groups is crucial in keeping everything in balance. SAMe in particular is one of the most researched natural anti depressants on the planet. Over a 100 well reviewed studies show its equal or superior to anti depressants, along with working faster. SAMe is also great for joint disease and liver problems. The problem with SAMe is that it’s quite unstable and expensive, with a lot sold in shops to be ineffective. You should look for SAMe in the form of butanedisulfonate (bit of a mouthful) which is more stable. The alternative is TMG as it turns into SAMe in the body but you’ll need to supplement more of it. As with any type of ‘anti depressant’, there is a small risk of a switch to mania in biopolar disorder so it should be taken under supervision.

Folic acid is an essential ingredient for making the genetic material of cells and those suffering with depression have been found to be low in this B vitamin. A study of 213 patients who had more ‘melancholic’ depression took part in a double blind placebo controlled trial of folic acid for 6 months in addition to their standard drug treatment. These patients were less likely to improve when just given SSRIs (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors). The longer they took the folic acid, the more their symptoms improved. These patients were taking mega doses of folic acid, far beyond the RDA. As with many vitamins and minerals, folic acid is best taken in conjunction with something else, namely vitamin B6. Both these help to tune up your brain.

Fats are also crucial for your brain to work properly.  In fact your brain is a big fat blob of it (almost 60%). It’s no surprise then that you need fat to keep your mind healthy. However, to turn these essential fats into building materials, you need the B vitamins. They’re the dream team, the duo ready to take on your mental health with open arms. This because they drive the enzymes that turn one essential fat into another. Fats are also converted into hormones like prostagladins by these B vitamins. Both these processes promote the brains production of serotonin and other key neurotransmitters. The fats you need especially are the omega-3’s because we’re all drowning in omega-6’s. You can get the 3’s from things like oily fish. In supplement form, you can buy a DHA & EPA supplement (or a vegan form) providing you with the two key players. In a relatively recent study, patients already on anti-depressants experienced major improvements in as a little as three weeks when given daily supplements of omega-3 fats. The higher the levels of omega-3 fats in your blood the more serotonin your are likely to make.

Talking of serotonin, it’s also worth considering a supplement of 5-HTP to give your body an extra hand in this department, which is also particularly beneficial before bedtime to aid your sleeping. Named 5-Hydroxytryptophan and derived from the African plant Griffonia, researchers have found that giving patients 50 – 300mg of 5-HTP per day had significant effects on their symptoms with no side effects. One double-blind trial gave 34 depressed volunteers either the SSRI Fluvoxamine or 5-HTP. Each patient was assessed for their degree of depression using the widely used Hamilton Rating Scale and their own subjective feedback. At the end of the 6 week experiment, both groups had significant improvement, however those taking 5-HTP had a greater improvement in each of the criteria assessed (depression, anxiety, insomnia and physical symptoms). Now If you do decide to take 5-HTP, there’s a small chance that you might get stomach ache, this is because your stomach isn’t expecting 5-HTP down there. If you do, try a lower dose. You should not take both SSRIs and 5-HTP together, it’s overkill for your noggin. As with anything, I recommend seeking advice from a professional.

Another underpin for depression is having an under active thyroid. Thyroid medication is actually the fourth most commonly prescribed drug in the US. Your thyroid makes the hormone thyroxine (of course) which tells your brain to get a move on. This personal trainer of your brain keeps you from feeling lethargic and generally low in energy which is a common symptom of depression. You can naturally boost your thyroid by taking things like iodine, zinc, selenium and tyrosine as they all play a role in the process of producing this important hormone. Iodine in particular is a very intriguing essential mineral which I might even write a whole article on if you’re lucky. You can actually test to see if you have an under active thyroid at home as it’s linked to body temperature. Get a thermometer and keep it by your bed side. As soon as you wake up, stick the thermometer under your arm and lie there for 10 minutes. Unless of course, you want to take a Rectal reading, that’s the best way to measure core temperature. I won’t say anymore on that topic (Callum, people don’t forget). On a real note though, don’t go doing that unless you’re some kind of probing professional. When you do take the measurement, your basal temperature should be between 36.5 – 36.7 C. If your temperature readings are below 36.5, take the test for a week or so to see if this is a common occurrence. If it consistently comes up with this result, then you may well have an under active thyroid.

The examples above are only a snapshot of the research in this area. If you are suffering from mental health problems or even just general low mood/energy, then I would absolutely recommend taking a good look at your diet, I mean why not tackle mental health at all angles? You can now accurately test for all sorts of things and with the help of a good functional medicine doctor, you should be able to create an action plan based on the results. Imagine finding out that you had a genetic disposition to not produce certain amounts of X and that you could of corrected it by supplementing Y all this time. I’m not saying that just by taking a few supplements or eating a few foods one can cure all mental health problems. Our mental health is extremely complex, our thoughts and feeling can seem out of control, erratic and with no logic much of the time. However, behind the scenes of the conscious mind, very measurable changes are happening in the brain. Very specific requirements of nutrients that dictate how you feel. I feel like we have forgotten this fundamental nature of our biology, clouded by the complexity at the front end. It seems logical to me that before any psychiatric drugs are taken that people are first given adequate nutrients to get their baseline up, although the drug industry would despise you for such approaches. Placebo effect or not, natural supplementation doesn’t come with near as many side effects of many psychiatric drugs and will always benefit you as a whole.

If you know someone who is yet to explore the role of diet in their mental health, then please do forward this article onto them, who know’s, you might have open their eyes to something they had never considered. I’d also be happy to point anyone in in the right direction if they want a bit more information.

Matt Jarosy