In a 2007 peer-reviewed article in the Psychiatric Annals, Dr. Bonnie J. Kaplan and Dr. Scott Shannon wrote a compelling article on why diets of child and adolescent psychiatric patients should be adequately supplemented with vitamins and minerals.
They explore the “fundamentals of nutrition and brain biochemistry shown to be important in psychiatric disorders, including the potential therapeutic benefit of nutrient supplementation.”
In doing this, they outline how “vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and essential fatty acids . . . are the building blocks of neuronal structure and function, and . . . can be expected to influence brain function.”
Additionally, they discuss “what is known of drug-nutrient interactions, including nutrient stress introduced by drugs that interfere with metabolism and increase the requirement for specific nutrients.”
In their article, they use EMPowerplus as a key example of how proper supplementation can effectively address even very serious psychiatric diagnoses.
The following are key points from this article:
Vitamin/mineral facts:
- Depression symptoms and poor response to antidepressant medication are associated with low levels of folic acid.
- Thiamine (vitamin B1) is important for the synthesis of acetylcholine, relevant to both depression and dementia.
- Biotin deficiency can cause withdrawn behaviour, a delay in cognitive development, or hallucinations.
- Zinc plays a role in over 100 metabolic pathways in the brain and is the second most abundant transition metal in the brain next to iron.
- Zinc deficiency is associated with impaired learning and memory, immunodeficiency, and delayed motor development.
- Calcium imbalance affects anxiety, depression, and cognitive function.
- Magnesium has a depressant effect at synapses, inhibiting the release of neurotransmitters
- The brain contains several iron dependent enzymes that are necessary for the synthesis, function, and degradation of neurotransmitters
- Selenium may play an important role in brain function, suspected from its selective retention by the brain in times of deficiency.
“Recent JAMA articles recommended vitamin supplementation for the general adult population as deficiencies were found to be common and a risk factor for chronic illness.”