Posted by mopey on April 5, 2003, at 11:55:18
In reply to Re: Larry, I'm lost!, posted by Larry Hoover on April 5, 2003, at 9:53:22
Thanks, Larry, for your time, patience and expertise. I'll start on these and keep you posted.
> > Have been trying to keep up with all the info here, and so far have only figured out how much fish oil to take.
> >
> > Can you list what vitamins/supplements you'd recommend for someone with depression and anxiety to take?
> >
> > Thanks!
>
> I know you're looking for a simple answer, so I'll try to give one. You may want to think of my advice as a starting point. Later on, if certain symptoms persist, then more focussed supplementation trials would be worthwhile.
>
> B-vitamins: B-vitamins work together as a team, and you should take them together. There are a number of ways they're marketed, but you'll generally see them as B-complex, or B- followed by some number, like B-50. The number just gives the potency of each component, in either miligrams or micrograms, as appropriate. If you're just starting out, for one week, you can take three B-50s a day. The B's are water soluble, and any excess will simply spill into your urine, which will take on a yellow colour. But before your kidneys get at them, those B's are flooding your body with nutrients in your blood. From the blood, and only from the blood, can the different organ compartments of the body obtain their supplies. Your brain can't get any if your blood didn't have it first. So, ignore people who claim that you're just creating expensive urine. B's are cheap, and you've got to flood your body to replenish all your organs. After one week, you can cut back to 50-100/day.
>
> A good multi, like Centrum (or equivalent). Just because it's got a variety of nutrients.
>
> Minerals: You've seen lots of talk about magnesium. 2/3 of all people are chronically deficient in magnesium. Zinc and selenium are key components of many enzymes, and most people are deficient here, as well. Zinc 40 or 50 mg/day. Selenium, 200 micrograms/day. Chromium wouldn't hurt, either. 200-500 micrograms/day.
>
> Antioxidants: Vitamin C, 2,000 mg/day, in divided doses. This nutrient is far more important to mental health than most people realize. Alpha-lipoic acid, up to 200 mg/day.
>
> Methyl donors: Betaine (trimethylglycine or TMG), 500 mg/day, and/or B-12 1,000 mcg/day. (Betaine can be extremely activating, so you have to adjust the dose according to your individual response. 500 mg is just a suggestion.)
>
> You may wonder why I've listed B-12 separate from the other B's, but it is kind of unique. It contains a mineral ion (cobalt), unlike the other B's, and it is stored in the body (unlike any other B). I have come to believe that there is a sub-clinical B-12 deficiency syndrome, which is to say, one that has a number of symptoms but is not so well developed as to be identified as pernicious anemia. The RDA is something like 9 mcg, but you may not absorb it efficiently. B-12 is like magnesium in that a deficiency state in this nutrient will actually make it harder to absorb any from your food. By taking a large amount, some will diffuse across the gut membranes, even if the active transport mechanism isn't working.
>
> These are all relatively cheap. Walmart sells them all (there's no need to buy more expensive brand names, IMHO).
>
> Take with food, and let me know how things go.
>
> Lar
poster:mopey
thread:215282
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030402/msgs/216448.html