Stressed? Anxious? Depressed? Take Some B Vitamins First.

[Note: this post is still pretty rough - and I apologize - but the info is too important for me to hold off posting it. I'll edit it up and fix it later. Tell everyone you know who may be suffering from depression/anxiety issues about this...ESPECIALLY COLLEGE STUDENTS! For now, scroll down to the block quotes for the hard info on the vitamins, and links to other websites.]

I've been dealing with some debilitating anxiety and depression (as well as having zero energy and sleeping problems) for well over two weeks, struggling even to finish up and distribute applications for retail jobs. I had just about had it yesterday. I was really in the pits and also had a headache so awful that I was ready to throw up - which is extremely rare for me. I got desperate for headache cures, and while I was at the grocery store I grabbed pretty much everything I could think of to help ward it off: gatorade powder (dehydration and a lack of electrolytes have caused plenty of headaches in the past), chocolate (for the caffeine), and chewable multivitamins (I hadn't taken any in weeks, and my nutrition had been AWFUL).

In addition to those, I also had a bottle of B vitamin complex at my apartment. I figured that the B vitamins are water soluble (meaning that a trip to the bathroom resolves any potential 'overdose'), so I took one of those in addition to everything else. Suffice it to say, my headache was gone within an hour - and within 2 hours, my mood lifted considerably as well!

On a hunch, I did a search this morning on 'B vitamin depression' and was BLOWN AWAY by what I found.

From an article on about.com (go here for it):

Vitamin B1 (thiamine): The brain uses this vitamin to help convert glucose, or blood sugar, into fuel, and without it the brain rapidly runs out of energy. [A deficiency of B1] can lead to fatigue, depression, irritability, anxiety, and even thoughts of suicide. Deficiencies can also cause memory problems, loss of appetite, insomnia, and gastrointestinal disorders. The consumption of refined carbohydrates, such as simple sugars, drains the body's B1 supply.

This is what the article says on just vitamin B1. I couldn't believe it. I pretty much had a holy grail to my depression problems - in the form of a six to ten dollar bottle of vitamins that would last me two months. Finally, my Paxil AND Adderal have a shot at doing their jobs. As I type, I can feel explosive energy that I haven't felt in months.

College depression rates are absolutely alarming; in 2000, reports were that 10% of students were suffering from depression and as many as 15% show symptoms. More recently, other studies have shown that up to 30-35% of freshmen feel totally overwhelmed. This is from articles from the U of Michigan and the USA Today.

There's a LOT going on while students are in college, there's no doubt. There are many stressors placed on college students these days - and the pressure is just getting worse. I have no doubt that this is a major factor - but depression makes what could be normal ups and downs into staggering difficulties. It is impossible to describe what the struggle is like if you haven't been to those lows. The worst part about it is that it drags everyone around the sufferer into the vortex of misery.

What I noticed missing from the two articles I linked to above are mentions of nutrition...college students are INFAMOUS for malnutrition. It's highly unlikely that someone is going to get all the nutrients they need from a well-balanced diet consisting mainly of ramen noodles, spaghetti, fast food, and mac & cheese - even if that mac & cheese is fortified (as a matter of fact, I think most of them are).

I have to wonder just how much of the depression rates in the US (which are higher than most first world countries) could be contributed to B vitamin deficiencies. Yes, there are still other, serious causes of clinical depression and anxiety - causes that MUST be addressed for someone to get healthy - but to a broke, desperate student (note: 40% of college graduates are without health insurance), this is by far the simplest, most readily available possible solution (in addition to being the most likely cause). In my opinion, it's totally worth it to experiment to find out if this is the root cause. It's a cheap fix.

Ten bucks (if that) at a 24 hour drugstore will get you B Vitamins at ANY time, and if you're wrong, you'll quickly know - and you'll only be out that $10. By comparison, anti-depressants are expensive, require a doctor visit and a prescription, and can take weeks to start kicking in - and even then, side effects could potentially make the problems even worse. I personally found that the vitamins started working within 3 hours. If you feel NO relief after 2-3 days, then this is probably not the cause - you need to seek professional help.

Some other articles:
MotherNature.com:
http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Bookshelf/Books/10/51.cfm
Psychology Today:
http://psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20040726-000014.html
"B Happy":
http://www.archure.net/salus/bhappy.html

The B Happy site lists some toxicity info for a couple of the B Vitamins - which is important to know:

Optimum Daily Intake
Andrew Weil's "Eating Well for Optimum Health" says (pg 126) "The recommended daily allowances (RDAs) set by government agencies were determined only with a view to preventing deficiency states, not to promoting optimum health or treating specific medical conditions". levels.

Dr Shari Libermans "The Real Vitamin and Mineral Book" suggests that the Optimum Daily Intake should be.....
B1 25-300 mg (milli grams)
B2 25-300 mg
B3 25-300 mg
B6 25-300 mg
B12 25-500 mcg (micro grams)

So get the 100 mg size and take up to 3 per day

TOXICITY LEVEL for B-6 Pyridoxine and B-3 Niacin
Warning: do not take 2,000 mg of B6 Pyridoxine daily (nor greater), else you could get Temporary nerve damage (Shari Lieberman specifies it as "Temporary"). You would have to take 20 tablets per day of the strongest B Supplement to do that (keep it to 10 or less per day to be safe).
However, I am of the opinion that B-6 may be Cumulative, and 500 mg or higher on a permanent basis, might be what caused my foot cramping (however, I already had a foot problem, this just might have triggered the already existing problem. I could find no documentation on this, but I did cut back on B-6 by taking B-1, B-2, B-3, B-12, and Folic Acid in separate pills for a week or so, and the problem went away, then I found I could take a 100 mg size of multi B, but if I went over it would start again, and after a couple of months I was able to take at least 200 mg per day

FLUSHING & TURNING RED IS NORMAL & HEALTHY: 250 mg of Niacin (B3) makes you Flush, Itch, and Turn Red (around 30 minutes after you ingest it, or sooner or later), this is normal, OK, and is excellent for cleaning out fat deposits in your arteries and blood veins, however, Niacinamide (also B3) does not Flush and Itch (however, it does not clean your arteries and blood veins), so opt for Niacin, not Niacinamide

NO TOXICITY LEVEL for B-1 B-2, and B-12, The Sky is The Limit
There is no toxicity level known for B1, B2, and B12, and a few manufacturers make a separate B12 with 500 mcg, 1,000 mcg, 3,000 mcg, and even 5,000 mcg (take 1 to 3 times daily, stick under your tongue and let it dissolve underneath your tongue for more efficient absorption). I get at least a total of 5,000 mcg of B12 over a 24 hour period (used to take 20,000 per day for a while), and have notices that my musical abilities and coordination have greatly improved since I have been taking the larger dosages, as B-12 helps ones "Mental/Physical Coordination" (good for musicians and athletes). Many people take a separate B12, in addition to a "multi B" (As the amount of B12 in a B-100 is so small, typically only 100 mcg or 0.1 mg).

Vending Machine Nutrition

Everybody knows that it's important to have a good diet, in order to be successful. But what are you supposed to do when it's three o'clock in the morning, you're hungry, and you only have access to a vending machine? Not very many people have addressed how to eat when you don't have many options. If you're stuck on campus without access to a car, all the cafes are closed, and you need to get a paper done in the next five hours, what are you supposed to eat?

If you notice yourself starting to sag, and you don’t have or want to use stimulants (adderall, ritalin and the like) to help you out for a short burst of time (like for classes or assignments shorter than 2 hours), pure sugar is an OK substitute if used properly. Sleep is important, so I advise against eating much chocolate or using soft drinks for sugar - especially those with caffeine, because caffeine is so disruptive to sleep (AND causes blood sugars to fall faster - exactly what we’re trying to avoid). Most energy drinks are the same way.

Research is being done on the glucose uptake in brains of people with ADHD - those studies have suggested that glucose uptake is reduced up to 20% from other brains. Why not replace that sugar? The benefit of sugar (and high GI snacks) is that it is extremely fast acting. The drawback of sugar is that it’s extremely fast acting, and if you have blood sugar problems, can cause way more harm than good if you’re not careful. In addition, unlike muscles (which can burn stored fat, etc), the brain does NOT have any reserves of energy; it pulls ALL of its energy directly out of the sugars in the bloodstream [I believe I read this in You, The Owner's Manual, but I could be wrong].

Warning: A diet full of high GI foods (those with simple carbs) are linked to numerous problems later on in life (Read Sugar, Sleep, and Survival for a better idea); do not use sugars as an everyday thing, but only in emergencies.

The trick is to eat just enough to give you a boost, without taking you over the top. You must pace your intake to avoid a sugar high. If you don’t, and you eat it in a burst, you’ll get exactly that - a huge burst of energy followed by a drowsy, non-functional sugar crash. You must eat slowly, and methodically to provide just enough fuel to keep your brain on full alert.

With vending machines, I’ve discovered that a bag of Skittles appear to be an excellent pure-sugar option - they’re small and there are lots of them in a bag, so it’s easy to keep track of how much you’re eating. What’s worked for me is to eat 3-5 Skittles every 5-10 minutes. Resting, your body burns roughly 1-1.5 calories per minute - eating at this rate roughly replenishes the calories lost by sitting in class (or in front of the computer), keeping enough sugar in your brain at all times to function. A vending machine sized bag of Skittles (250 calories worth) should last about 3 hours.

I would advise eating a little protein with the sugar, especially when you start your run - protein lasts longer and can temper the downsides of the sugar. The whole goal is to prevent a blood sugar crash, which will ruin everything.

If you need to focus for longer than three hours, proteins and lower GI snacks are a much wiser option. Many vending machines have nuts of some sort - those are a good option (in spite of the fat). Snickers bars have a lower GI than most other candies, and are a good option.

I have not covered chocolate in this section because I avoided using it (experimenting with it) to stay awake. Chocolate is a much more complicated substance than sugar is - sugar is readily absorbed by the body, and its effect is easiliy measured, controlled, and predictable. Chocolate also contains caffeine, fat, and some amount of protein; all of which affect the body differently.

I will discuss caffeine and sleep in a different post.

Note: This worked for me - I don't know offhand whether or not this will work for everyone...I need your help to let me know if this has worked for you. Post comments - what you used, how long you ate it for, and how fast you ate it...and of course, whether or not it worked. I used Skittles because they're pure sugar, and come in small, easiliy measurable units. Gummy bears will also work. Just be careful you don't average much more than 2 calories per minute while eating, or it's gonna hit you 20-30 min after you run out of fuel.

If you're sleep deprived...that'll affect how well this works, and sleep deprivation contributes to insulin resistance (meaning your body will have a harder time absorbing the sugars in your blood), as well as making the final 'crash' even more severe [read "You, The Owner's Manual," among many other books, for more details].