Vitamin B For Natural Healing of Depression

Depression is on the rise like never before. Using vitamin B for natural healing of depression is generally accepted amongst professionals.   Vitamin B 6 helps your body make serotonin, a chemical that influences mood. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression, and in fact many antidepessant medication work by increasing the levels of seratonin in the body.

The B complex vitamins are essential to mental and emotional well being. Vitamin B’s are water soluable and thus cannot be stored in our bodies. All forms of vitamin B must be derived from natural foods that you eat daily.  Alcohol, sugars, nicotine and caffeine all destroy vitamin B in our bodies, so it is no surprise that a majority of the people living in America are deficient in this vitamin.  According to the University of Maryland Medical Center:

Vitamin B For Natural Healing of Depression

Vitamin B6 and Depression

Vitamin B6 helps the body make several neurotransmitters, chemicals that carry signals from one nerve cell to another. It is needed for normal brain development and function, and helps the body make the hormones serotonin and norepinephrine, which influence mood, and melatonin, which helps regulate the body clock.

Original Article Here

Dr. K. Hall Flavin adds:

Vitamin B12 and Depression

Vitamin B12, along with other B vitamins, plays a role in the body’s ability to make chemicals that affect your brain and your moods. People with low levels of B12 and other B vitamins, known as deficiencies, sometimes also experience depression. Though the lack of B12 may not necessarily cause depression, low levels of B12 may contribute or exacerbate the effects of it.

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The following foods are high in Vitamin B, and should be used daily to increase your levels naturally:

Foods That Contain Vitamin B for the Natural Healing of Depression

Fish oils: Contain omega-3 fatty acids. Research has shown that depressed people often lack a fatty acid known as EPA. Participants in a 2002 study featured in the Archives of General Psychiatry took just a gram of fish oil each day and noticed a 50-percent decrease in symptoms such as anxiety, sleep disorders, unexplained feelings of sadness, suicidal thoughts, and decreased sex drive. Omega-3 fatty acids can also lower cholesterol and improve cardiovascular health.

Walnuts, Flaxseeds, Oily fish, & Chia Seeds: are all top foods for delivery omega-3 fatty acids.

Brown Rice:Contains vitamins B1 and B3, and folic acid. Brown rice is also a low-glycemic food, which means it releases glucose into the bloodstream gradually, preventing sugar lows and mood swings. Brown rice also provides many of the trace minerals we need to function properly, as well as being a high-fiber food that can keep the digestive system healthy and lower cholesterol.

Brewer’s Yeast:Contains vitamins B1, B2 and B3. Brewer’s yeast should be avoided if you do not tolerate yeast well, but if you do, mix a thimbleful into any smoothie for your daily dose. This superfood packs a wide assortment of vitamins and minerals in a small package, including 16amino acids and 14 minerals. Amino acids are vital for the nervous system, which makes brewer’s yeast a no-brainer for treating depression.

Whole-grain oats: Contain folic acid, pantothenic acid and vitamins B6 and B1. Oats help lower cholesterol, are soothing to the digestive tract and help avoid the blood sugar crash-and-burn that can lead to crabbiness and mood swings.

Cabbage:Contains vitamin C and folic acid. Cabbage protects against stress, infection and heart disease, as well as many types of cancers, according to the American Association for Cancer Research. There are numerous ways to get cabbage into your diet; toss it in a salad instead of lettuce, use cabbage in place of lettuce wraps, stir fry it in your favorite Asian dish, make some classic cabbage soup or juice it. To avoid gas after eating cabbage, add a few fennel, caraway or cumin seeds before cooking.

Also worth mentioning: Foods like raw cacao, dark molasses and brazil nuts (high in selenium) are also excellent for boosting brain function and eliminating depression.

Original Article Here

If the body can use vitamin B for natural healing of depression before turning to harmful and expensive anti-depressant medicines it makes complete sense to at least try the vitamin first. Cutting out your use of alcohol, white flours, refined sugars, nicotine and caffeine will pay huge dividens in reducing depression. Doing this at the same time as increasing your diet to contain vitamin B’s is likely going to result in a much happier healthier body.

Has diet ever affected your experience with depression? I’d love to hear comments about it: