Want to improve your mood? Try vitamin C

Sunday, September 26, 2010 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer
Tags: vitamin C, mood, health news

(NaturalNews) The known benefits of taking vitamin C now include mood improvement, according to a new study by researchers from Montreal's Jewish General Hospital (JGH). In a double-blind clinical trial, patients at the hospital experienced a significant and rapid improvement in their moods shortly after taking vitamin C.

Published in the journal Nutrition, the study adds to the growing body of evidence about the vital role vitamin C plays in regulating hormone levels, particularly those like Serotonin that affect mental and emotional well-being. And according to researchers, most people have dismally inadequate intake of the vital nutrient.

"Earlier studies, both in our hospital and in other centres, demonstrated that the majority of acutely hospitalized patients have subnormal levels of vitamins C and D in their blood," explained Dr. L. John Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D., an investigator at the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research (LDI), which is affiliated with JGH. "About one in five acute-care patients in our hospital have vitamin C levels so low as to be compatible with scurvy."

Hoffer also explained that doctors are largely unaware of these massive vitamin deficiencies, resulting in patients not getting the vitamin supplementation they need to regain their health.

"[P]atients are rarely given vitamin supplements," he said. "Most physicians are simply unaware of the problem. Subclinical deficiencies of vitamin C and D have each been linked to psychological abnormalities."

The JGH study is hardly the first to identify a connection between vitamin C deficiency and poor health. Numerous studies have shown that vitamin C is necessary to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system and to protect the body from oxidative damage, but it is now clear that the brain relies on vitamin C as well.

"Low levels of vitamin C in the brain can result in depression and hysteria," explain Michael T. Murray, N.D., and Joseph E. Pizzorno, N.D., in their book Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, Revised Second Edition.

Sources for this story include:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-...

http://www.naturalpedia.com/vitamin_C.html