Dr. Carolyn Dean, MD, ND

When researchers came up with the term “brain chemical imbalance” to explain depression, the next step should have been to supply the brain with nutrients. However, chemicals were prescribed instead.

We know that nutrients such as magnesium, zinc, essential fatty acids, vitamin B6 and B12 help create neurotransmitters and we are also learning that a deficiency in these nutrients can lead to a chemical imbalance in the brain.

1. A deficiency of magnesium magnifies depression and stress. Serotonin, the feel good brain chemical that is boosted artificially by some medications, depends on magnesium for its production and function.  A person that is going through a stressful period without sufficient magnesium can set up a deficit that, if not corrected, can linger, causing depression and further health problems.

2. Magnesium deficiency can be an underlying cause of anxiety and depression, as determined in several clinical trials as referenced in the following:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16542786?ordinalpos=6&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

http://george-eby-research.com/html/depression-anxiety.html

3. Symptoms of chronic magnesium deficiency include paranoia, anxious behavior, depression, hyperemotionality, apprehension, confusion, anger, nervousness, insomnia, and nervous fits to name a few.

4. An important study in 1995 showed that even marginal magnesium deficiency could induce the brain to become hyperexcitable, as shown by EEG measurements. The study lasted six months, with thirteen women ingesting a total of 115 milligrams of magnesium daily, only 30 percent of the RDA, for the first three months, during which time their EEGs showed hyperexcitability. During the second three months, they received 315 mg daily—a little closer to the 360 mg RDA recommended for women. However, even on this low dose of magnesium (315 mg), it took only six weeks for EEG readings to show  significant improvement in brain function and decreased excitability.

5. Stress is so prevalent in our daily life and with an active lifestyle it is even magnified further, that we have become desensitized to it and the message it is trying to give us, which is to slow down. Depression and anxiety is a chemical reaction created when the adrenal glands respond to a stressful event, such as low blood sugar, by releasing adrenaline.

6. Hypoglycemia - When you are hungry or skip meals, you lower your blood sugar.  The brain becomes extremely vulnerable to excitotoxins during episodes of low blood sugar or hypoglycemia. Pound for pound, the brain uses more blood sugar than any other part of the body. Low blood sugar occurs when you are malnourished or even when you skip meals. It also occurs in individuals whose adrenal glands are depleted and can’t mount the necessary adrenaline response to raise blood sugar when it gets too low. Magnesium is responsible for balancing blood sugar. With sufficient magnesium and balanced meals to prevent low blood sugar, you can protect yourself against depression, anxiety and mood disorders. Supporting the brain as much as possible with safe nutrients and a safe environment, you may never need the brain-altering medications that are prescribed for these disorders.

8. Magnesium is the anti-stress mineral and is known to alleviate stress, depression, anxiety and insomnia something we all need in these tough and stressful economic times. One of the most absorbable forms of nutritional magnesium is magnesium citrate powder which can be taken with hot or cold water."

RESEARCH:

1. Among healthy volunteers, low plasma concentrations of an essential fatty acid found in fish, docosahexaenoic acid, predict low concentrations of a marker of brain serotonin turnover, cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindolacetic acid (CSF 5-HIAA).3

http://msf.openrepository.com/msf/bitstream/10144/28676/1/Hilderbrand%20Food%201998.pdf


2. Research at the University of California, Berkley by Dr. Bruce Ames shows that certain people have an increased need for nutrients due to minor genetic mutations. Ames says that “inadequate intake of folate, B12, or B6 leads to chromosome breaks” just as if radiation caused those breaks.

http://mcb.berkeley.edu/index.php?option=com_mcbfaculty&name=amesbhttp://www.doctoryourself.com/ames.html

http://mcb.berkeley.edu/index.php?option=com_mcbfaculty&name=amesb


3. Schoenthaler’s studies on diet and behavior in children.

http://www.crimetimes.org/98a/w98ap2.htm