3 Factors That May Cause Anxiety, Depression, And Mood Disorders
Did you know what you eat can influence your mood?
That’s right, everything you put into your body can affect your mind.
In today’s post, I want to talk to you about 3 of the most important nutrients that help stabilize mood and are usually depleted in the Standard American Diet (SAD – it’s called sad for a reason ?).
Zinc – zinc is important for over 200+ gene transcriptions.
Low levels of zinc have been implicated in anxiety, depression, low libido, bad eyesight, poor immunity, dry skin, insomnia and much more.
Having adequate levels of zinc should be one of the first things you should look at if you have a mood disorder.
This can be simply done by getting a blood test of your zinc levels and then supplementing to adequacy.
Magnesium – magnesium is an essential dietary mineral and electrolyte in the human body.
The standard American Diet is very low in magnesium as grains are poor sources of magnesium.
Low levels of magnesium have been implicated in insomnia, anxiety, depression, brain fog, high blood pressure, ADHD, and headaches.
Testing for low magnesium levels are hard as serum (blood) levels of magnesium reflect poorly on actual levels of magnesium bioavailability to the body.
Instead experimenting and seeing how magnesium affects you may be the best way to see if it is something you need.
As for supplementing, magnesium bound to glycine, citrate, or aspartate are better forms for magnesium deficiency, while magnesium oxide is best for constipation and gastrointestinal disorders.
Vitamin D – vitamin D is produced when food enters and metabolized by your liver or more commonly when UV from the sun hits your skin.
After this process it is necessary for vitamin D to become “active” by being converted in the kidneys.
Lastly, vitamin D must bind to vitamin D receptors to have their beneficial effect.
Any broken part (above) can stop vitamin D from from working beneficially in the body.
For example, if you have an infection, the last step is blocked.
Another example, if you have are missing a kidney, vitamin D may not get converted properly.
Most Americans do not have adequate levels of Vitamin D because their diet isn’t high in foods that supply it (eg fish) or they do not get enough sun on their skin (eg being inside or wearing sunscreen).
Low levels of vitamin D have been implicated in many mood disorders, such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, tics, bipolar disorder, and seasonal affective disorder.
Vitamin D can be tested by looking at both the active and inactive forms.
I have an important note to tell you, if you do decide to supplement all 3 of these nutrients.
First of all, magnesium and zinc inhibit absorption of each other, so they should be taken apart.
Magnesium and vitamin D are dependent on each other for some genetic process to work properly.
Zinc should be taken during the day and with food as to not upset your stomach, while vitamin D should be taken during solar noon and magnesium in the evening.
At Rezilir Health, we work with patients that have mood disorders and look at their diet/nutrition to optimize their health.
If you are having problems with anxiety and/or depression feel free to send us a message or give us a call.
