Mood-Boosting Vitamins: Mindful Micronutrients for a Healthier Headspace

Vitamin D

This sunshine vitamin earns every bit of its cheery namesake! If you’ve ever experienced the wrath of a long and dark winter, there's a good chance you’ve also faced a bout of seasonal blues. In fact, 77% of all Americans are currently deficient in this mood-boosting vitamin, leading to an epidemic of melancholy amongst the masses.

Seasonal Affective Disorder, often referred to as SAD, usually creeps up in response to seasonal shifting and less exposure to natural light, both factors that play a role in our brain function. However, while the specific source of SAD has yet to be determined, research indicates that the sunshine vitamin can help to shake dreary weather depression.

As one part of the dynamic duo for bone health, vitamin D works to facilitate the absorption of calcium, allowing you to build stronger bones and prevent premature osteoporosis. But how does this bone-building vitamin perk you up through life’s figurative and literal seasons?[10,11]

Research has uncovered a link between depression and chronically low levels of serotonin in the hippocampus, which eventually leads to long term structural and behavioral changes. The decreased levels of this neurotransmitter were found to correspond with a vitamin D deficiency, which led researchers to propose the link between the two chemicals.

In 2017, one study sought to further explore the relationship between vitamin D and depression, suggesting that the relationship could be the result of impaired neuronal pathways as a result of inappropriate calcium levels in the brain. The results indicate that vitamin D helps to regulate the rise in neuronal calcium levels that have been linked to depression. [12]

As research continues to uncover more support for the sunshine vitamins role in managing the symptoms of depression and anxiety, it’s clear that this micronutrient has significant mood-boosting potential. So if you find yourself feeling down when the weather darkens, it may be time to dose up with vitamin D.

Folate

Also known as vitamin B₉, folate or folic acid provides an array of brain-health benefits in addition to improving mental wellbeing. By breaking down the amino acid Homocysteine, a molecule with a known association to Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and depression, folate provides the chemical housekeeping necessary to battle the blues. The mechanism behind this relationship appears to be that the breakdown of homocysteine generates SAMe. This naturally occurring compound is a fundamental component of brain cells and has been shown to have an antidepressant effect in humans.[13] Based on growing evidence, it appears that low levels of SAMe could be a contributing factor connecting folate and depression.

Additional research dating as far back as the 1960s has shown a link between folic acid and depression, revealing a connection between folate deficiency and lower levels of serotonin in the cerebral spinal fluid. [14] One study looked at patients with 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) deficiency, a disorder of folate metabolism that results in chronically low levels of the vitamin, and found a reduced rate of serotonin synthesis. These results provide further support for the connection between the vitamin and compromised mental health.

As folate affirms its place as a top performing mood-boosting vitamin, it’s imperative that this mighty micronutrient is stocked as part of your supplement supply. [15]

Zinc

If you’re feeling down in the dumps, a diet low in zinc could be to blame. Thanks to over-processed foods that are undersaturated in important nutrients, many do not meet their daily recommended target for this mindful mineral. Those who partake in a meat-free diet are at higher risk for suffering from a zinc deficiency since the most common sources are found in meat, poultry, and oysters. But whether or not you’re a vegetarian or a meat-and-potatoes machine, it’s likely you could use a boost of this mood-lifting vitamin.

As just one of many benefits, zinc helps our immune system to ward off infection, thereby limiting the inflammatory response produced by our white blood cells. Our bodies actually work to eliminate zinc during times of extreme stress by dispelling the mineral in body fluid secretions (like sweat and urine). This is so that we are better adept to register danger over the calming physiological response we have when there is adequate zinc circulating in our bloodstream. This evolutionary adaptation was important during times when we were subject to more extreme environmental conditions. Nowadays however, this adaptation is most commonly seen in those who participate in extreme training programs as well as those who are battling alcoholism, both of which indicate a state of biological stress. [16,17]

Unless you are currently employed as your local zoos resident lion tamer, we assume you are not subject to the same dangerous conditions as our prehistoric ancestors leading to the “fight or flight” stress response. However, regardless of your occupation, chronic stress and a prolonged state of inflammation that results can ultimately lead to a depressed mental and physical state. This, in turn, provides the perfect storm for a stitch of serious sadness that can be hard to shake.

Fortunately, proper zinc intake will provide a myriad of improved mood effects in addition to the stress lowering capabilities. Studies over the last several decades demonstrate a consistent inverse relationship between levels of zinc in the serum and expression of depressive symptoms. [18] Following suit, additional research was able to show that nutritional therapy through zinc supplementation resulted in reduced severity of anxiety symptoms in suffering patients. Treatment of anxiety by zinc supplementation can ignite a chain reaction of mental health benefits that are sure to lift your spirits.