Vitamins and Minerals: Are they Important for Emotional Balance?

Deficiencies of vitamins and minerals have been reported in people afflicted with mood disorders. Deficiencies of these important vitamins and minerals have been reported because highly processed food is not giving our bodies the protective nutrients because of the way they are processed. In addtion, there is ample scientific evidence that conventional fruits and vegetables are much lower in their nutritive value than those grown organically.These protective nutients are needed for optimal mental and physical health.

Correcting these nutritional deficiencies with proper eating and possible supplementation may help. Supplementation with the B-complex of vitamins can help. These vitamins are water-soluble, which means our bodies cannot store them, and need to be ingested daily for optimal metabolism. Stress, improper diet, pharmaceutical drugs, alcohol, recreational drugs, smoking, loss of sleep are some of the factors that increase the need for these protective nutrients.

Remember, supplements are not the whole answer, but a good diet is is the way to go as good food (Organic) provides a full spectrum of protective ingredrients in whole foods. But supplementation provides the nutrients our diets may be missing or deficient. One other consideration is drug-induced nutrient deficiency (DIND) which can occur when you take certain pharmaceutical meds that were prescribed to you.

So what should I take? Physicians often recomment supplementing with good sources of antioxidants. This includes:

  • Vitamin C (around 200milligrams per day)
  • Vitamin E (100-200 IU per day in the form of mixed tocopherols and tocotrienols)
  • Selenium (around 100-200 micrograms per day)
  • Carotenoids (Mixed) (10,000 to 15,000 IU daily
  • Antioxidants (as part of a multivitamin/multimineral supplement

Other supplements that might be beneficial:

  • Fish Oil (2 - 3 grams per day of a supplement containing both EPA/DHA. Use a molecularly-distilled product that is certified heavy metal-free)
  • CoQ10 (60 - 100 milligrams softgel