Can you beat depression using vitamins?

There are many alternative treatments available for depression these days, however before starting on any supplement routine you really need to take a trip to the doctor so you can be properly diagnosed and treated, you may not have depression so it’s important to receive an official diagnosis before you start.

There are many vitamins that can help with depression, some of these are Vitamin D, fish oil (omega 3), lithium, vitamin C and the B Vitamins, these can all help to treat depression as well as some of the lesser known vitamins below:

Zinc

Copper

Iodine

Biotin

Iron 

Potassium

Sodium

As you can see there are many things you can test out to see if they improve your depression symptoms, it’s best to get these in food based form so there’s little risk of overdose and always consult your doctor before making any lifestyle changes.

What are some signs of low vitamin status?

There are many signs of low vitamin status, vitamin B12 being a great example of a common deficiency that is usually under diagnosed, since there are many issues with blood tests it’s best to check out the symptoms and see if there are any you can relate to and then purchase the supplements from somewhere like Holland & Barrett or other high street stores like boots, however boots have quite a limited selection in my opinion so H&B is the best for in store products.

There are many great internet websites where you can find alot more information on vitamin issues, one of my personal favourites is ithyroid.com which has alot of different pages about vitamins and minerals.

Another common vitamin issue is usually vitamin D, here’s a link to the page where you can watch a video all about low vitamin D signs.

What’s the RDA for vitamin D?

The RDA table for vitamin D is printed below:

• Infants 6-12 months: 10 micrograms p/day
• Children 1-13 years: 15 micrograms p/day
• Teenagers 14-18 years: 15 micrograms p/day
• Adults 19-70 years: 15 micrograms p/day
• Adults above 70 years: 20 micrograms p/day
• Pregnant and lactating women: 15 micrograms p/day

If you are taking vitamin D products then check out http://www.vitamindsupplements.co.uk for some of the best prices, even though many advice that this is not enough I really think its best to stick with the RDA’s because overdosing on a certain vitamin can still produce very bad side effects, even if it doesn’t you are often just creating a deficiency in another vitamin or mineral, you must remember that the body needs to regulate all levels and remain balanced to make sure it stays healthy.