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Food, Mood and Women's Health – Be your healthiest, look and feel great!

vitamin B12

Nutritional interventions in postpartum depression and anxiety

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A 2013 paper published in Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine and titled “Nutritional interventions in depression and perinatal depression” states the following:

In pregnancy three “different physiological causes of depression have been identified: low serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine levels in the brain; altered neuromembranes and the impact of polyunsaturated fatty acids on these membranes; and hormones, especially hormonal changes that occur during and after pregnancy. Each of these pathways is affected by specific nutrients and may be altered by nutritional approaches.”

The paper lists the following possible nutritional deficiencies to consider:

  • Folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 – which help maintain sufficient levels of neurotransmitters in the brain . These B vitamins are critical factors in homocysteine metabolism and homocysteine is a necessary precursor in the biosynthesis of serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine.
  • omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) – which keep neuronal membranes fluid and thereby enhance neurotransmitter production
  • SAMe – which has an antidepressant effect

The authors also discuss the importance of addressing possible imbalances of sex hormones, cortisol and thyroid hormones.

The paper concludes with this:

“Nutritional interventions may be a cost effective way of preventing and treating depression in pregnancy. When used prophylactically, nutritional interventions may decrease the incidence or severity of perinatal depression. When used as treatment methods, nutritional interventions may reduce the utilization of or the necessary dose of psychotropic drugs. Decreasing the amount of psychotropic drugs used during pregnancy may reduce the risk of harm to the fetus, while still providing the mother with an equivalent amount of therapy.”

In addition to the above, there is also research on: tryptophan, melatonin, zinc, and the role of inflammation in postpartum depression and anxiety.

It should be noted that by addressing many of these factors, both depression and anxiety may be alleviated. Also, since each person has their own unique biochemistry, it’s important to figure out what factor plays a role for that person.

I recently had the opportunity to share and more when I exhibited at the “California Maternal Wellness Summit: Postpartum Depression and Beyond.”

I met some wonderful women and groups who are doing amazing things to support women who have postpartum anxiety and depression. The response to my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution, and all the research on the powerful food mood connection was wonderful!

Because I feel this topic is so important, I’ve interviewed Christa Orrechio for “The Anxiety Summit.” The topic of her interview is: “Preventing and Quelling Post-Partum Anxiety.”

“The Anxiety Summit” is a free online virtual event that runs June 9 to June 22 and will be bringing together experts from all over the world – to share nutritional approaches to end anxiety, social anxiety, panic attacks and OCD.  You can register for “The Anxiety Summit” here.

UPDATE: the summit concluded on Tues 6/24 – season 2 of The Anxiety Summit will be in November 2014. If you’d like to be on the notification list just sign up here www.theAnxietySummit.com

Folic acid for anxiety, depression & preventing birth defects

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January 8 through 14th is National Folic Acid Awareness Week and I would like to bring awareness to how important folic acid is for our mood.

Of course, we also need to raise awareness that adequate folic acid intake is important for the prevention of birth defects and this is well covered here http://folicacidinfo.org/.

Back to mood…folic acid and vitamin B12 are B vitamins that are important for depression, and given the links between anxiety and depression, they may also be helpful for anxiety. They also support heart health, which is important if you suffer from anxiety or panic attacks, which stress the heart.

A 2009 study found that supplementing with 800 mcg of folic acid, 500 mcg of vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin), and only 3mg of vitamin B6 daily for six months improved the general well-being of people with celiac disease, while also helping with anxiety and depression. I have found this to be true for those with gluten intolerance too.

You also need to watch your alcohol consumption. Many of the nutrients depleted by alcohol are important for preventing anxiety: zinc, vitamin C, magnesium, fatty acids, antioxidants, and the stress-busting B vitamins, such as B6 (pyridoxine), B1 (thiamine), and folic acid.

Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke also result in nutrient depletions: vitamin C, vitamin E, folic acid, and vitamin B1 .

There are a number of foods that are a great source of folic acid: leafy green vegetables such as spinach and turnip greens, legumes and eggs. I’m not a big fan of the grain products that are fortified with folic acid because they are typically processed foods and because of the gluten mood connection.

Liver is another excellent source of folic acid, and vitamin A, vitamin B12, and other B vitamins, and, of course, iron and protein. Nutrient dense and very healing, organ meats and have been considered a valuable food by many cultures for centuries. If you have unfond memories of beef liver, try liver pate, chicken or lamb liver. You can also freeze liver, then grate it and add it to dishes like meat loaf.

Whenever I do a workshop, I ask folks to raise their hands if they ate liver as a child and most of the time, the majority raise their hands. Then I ask who still eats liver and I usually have one to four people raise their hands! Grandma and mom did know what they were doing! I encourage you to try some liver this week!

Much of this information relating to anxiety and mood and food (and so much more) is covered in The Antianxiety Food Solution: How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood and End Cravings, available in major books stores, at Amazon and via www.antianxietyfoodsolution.com