Vitamin B and Depression

Vitamin B supplements may help people to fight depression, research suggests.

Scientists found that people with depression responded better to treatment if they had high levels of vitamin B12 in their blood.

They suggest taking vitamin B supplements may be a way to boost the effectiveness of anti-depressants.

The research, by Kuopio University in Finland, is published in the journal BMC Psychiatry.

The researchers monitored 115 outpatients who were receiving treatment for depression over a six-month period.

They measured vitamin B12 levels in the patients' blood when they first came to the clinic, and again at their six-month check up.

The patients who responded fully to treatment had higher concentrations of vitamin B12 in their blood at both the start and the end of the study than those for whom treatment was less effective.

The association remained significant even after other factors such as smoking and drinking habits, type of treatment received, and family history of depression were taken into consideration.

Lead researcher Professor Jukka Hintikka told BBC News Online the finding was potentially significant as many people do not respond to anti-depression treatments.

The B-Complex Vitamins for depression:

The B-complex vitamins are essential to mental and emotional well-being. They cannot be stored in our bodies, so we depend entirely on our daily diet to supply them. B vitamins are destroyed by alcohol, refined sugars, nicotine, and caffeine so it is no surprise that many people may be deficient in these.

Vitamins and depression What is the relationship between the Vitamins and Depression? There are a variety of vitamin deficiencies that can lead to depression symptoms. Correcting deficiencies, when present, often relieves depression

B-Vitamin Problems May Cause Depression in Some. The first clinical effects of insufficient vitamin B complex are mood changes, insomnia, changes in appetite, sugar carving and impaired drug metabolism. As a group, the B vitamins plays an important role both in alleviating depression and in relieving the anxiety and restlessness which often accompanies it.

See the chart to know effects of various vitamins and minerals deficiency in depression See the chart which explains in a nutshell the benifits, deficiency effects, source and daily dosage of the B Vitaimin family.

Vitamin B1 and its deficiency leading Depression Vitamin B1 is essential for nerve stimulation and for metabolism of carbohydrates to give brain energy as well as body energy. Deficiency symptoms include mood disorders, anxiety, insomnia, restlessness, night terror etc.

Vitamin B - B2 and its deficiency leading Depression Although this vitamin itself has not generally associate with emotional states, researchers find that diets restricted only in riboflavin produce adverse personality changes, including aggressive personality alterations.

Vitamin B3 Vitamin B deficiency has been associated with depression ans anxiety. It helps in irritability and other mental disturbances.

Vitamin B - B5 Vitamin B5 is active in the formation of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which can be involved in some depression. A deficiency can caues depression, fatigue and allergies.

Vitamin B6 Vitamin B6 has a major importance in regulating your mood disorders and is the most implicated of all the vitamins in the cause and treatment od depression.

Vitamin B12 and its deficiency leading depression The mental changes caused by deficiency of Vitamin B12 can raise from difficulty in concentrating or remembering, mental fatigue and low moods, to a severe depression, intense agitation etc.