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Vitamins and depression

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025
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Did you know that signs of depression can be avoided if you take vitamins on time? However, this vitamin complex should be chosen correctly on the recommendation of a doctor. Self-medication is destructive.

Read also: 8 Things You Need to Know About Antidepressants

Why fight depression?

When you have already felt the signs of depression: you do not want anything, you get tired quickly, you have a depressed mood, you need urgent measures. Be sure to contact a therapist for an examination and for him to prescribe you a complex of necessary vitamins to correct the negative state.

Vitamins and Depression

After all, depression is not just a bad mood. It can also be a whole complex of ailments associated with the depressed state of the nervous system. For example, constant headaches, loss of sexual interest in a partner (oh, the horror!), insomnia, external signs - bad pale skin with rashes, dull hair, brittle nails. How to deal with this and how to recognize the real enemy in the form of a lack of substances necessary for the body?

We will tell you about some of the beneficial properties of vitamins.

What to take for depression?

There are different types of depression. Therefore, you need to fight them with the help of properly selected medications. Do not allow yourself to do anything, otherwise you can harm yourself. For example, you wanted to strengthen your body and bought a vitamin complex with minerals at the pharmacy.

If you had consulted your doctor beforehand, you would have known that some minerals, when in excess in the body, cause negative reactions in the form of more severe depression. For example, magnesium.

If you have previously found high levels in your blood, adding magnesium to your diet in the form of vitamins will only make your depression worse. It should be removed from your diet, not added to it.

Depression can arise not only because something happened to you or because you work at a job with a high level of stress. Depression threatens those who abuse coffee, a lot of sugar (or dishes with a lot of it), very fatty foods.

If this is your diet, consult a nutritionist and choose a complete healthy menu for yourself without fatty, sweet and large amounts of caffeine. And in order to still receive the necessary substances contained in these products, include in the menu multivitamins containing B vitamins, in particular B1, B6, B2, as well as vitamin C and folic acid (vitamin B9, necessary for the formation of new cells).

It is very important to calculate the dosage correctly so as not to harm the body.

Vitamin B9

Vitamin B9, which we just talked about, or folic acid, is so useful that in some countries the government obliges manufacturers to enrich flour products with it.

Natural sources of folic acid for you are green salads, vegetables, beans, citrus fruits, wholemeal flour (for example, rye bread with bran), pork or beef liver, honey. And, of course, vitamin B9 in a pharmacy version. If you introduce enough folic acid into your diet, you will avoid depression and bad mood.

What to do?

You need an average amount of two to five milligrams of vitamin B9 each day. To ensure it is well absorbed, supplement it with other B vitamins in amounts of 5 to 100 milligrams daily.

When taking this vitamin complex, be sure to consult a doctor to find out if you have low levels of vitamin B12 in your blood. If so, you should increase the dose of folic acid with accompanying vitamins, since its intake can hide a deficiency of B12. Its level must be monitored. A deficiency of vitamin B12 can cause gastrointestinal disorders, anemia, and provoke other troubles.

Vitamin B6

Vitamin B6

It is also called pyridoxine. This substance takes an active part in the production of the so-called happiness hormone serotonin. If your body produces serotonin, it means you are joyful and carefree. Help your body, saturate it with pyridoxine to improve your emotional state.

Riboflavin and thiamine are very good together with pyridoxine.

What to do?

An average daily dose of 100-150 milligrams of B6 for 1-1.5 months will be enough for you. If you increase the dose of this vitamin on your own, you risk upsetting your own nervous system. Excess pyridoxine (dosage of 200 mg per day and more) contributes to this. And it will be very difficult to correct it later.

Biotin (vitamin H)

If the body lacks vitamin H, and this situation lasts for more than 3 months, you are at risk of depression. By the way, raw eggs in the diet inhibit the effect of biotin on the human body. Therefore, they should be avoided on an empty stomach.

What to do?

Include biotin in the menu at a dosage of 300 mcg per day. Duration of intake is 4-6 weeks.

Take the right vitamins and get healthy with our advice. Joy to you and mutual understanding of your loved ones.

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Attention!

To simplify the perception of information, this instruction for use of the drug "Vitamins and depression" translated and presented in a special form on the basis of the official instructions for medical use of the drug. Before use read the annotation that came directly to medicines.

Description provided for informational purposes and is not a guide to self-healing. The need for this drug, the purpose of the treatment regimen, methods and dose of the drug is determined solely by the attending physician. Self-medication is dangerous for your health.

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