How much vitamin B should you take to relieve depression?

All B vitamins cannot replace formal antidepressant treatment, and can only improve some depression caused by B vitamin deficiency and elevated homocysteine.

Let me give you an example that impressed me deeply. Last year, a girl who was preparing for the graduate school entrance examination came to me for emotional counseling. She had not been able to sleep well for three consecutive months and was not interested in anything. She went to the hospital to find out that she was in a state of mild depression. A blood test showed that homocysteine ​​was nearly three times higher than the normal value. The doctor did not directly prescribe antidepressants, so she asked her to take supplements of B6+B9+B12, adjust her daily routine, and go out for a walk for 20 minutes every day. She took it for less than two months. When she came to see me again, she said that the feeling of "wet cotton pressed against her chest" was much relieved, and she could already sit still and memorize three hours of professional classes.

Don’t think that this means that B-complex is a miracle antidepressant. Another patient I contacted who was moderately depressed also followed the trend and bought the same B-complex supplement and took it for three months. His mood did not improve at all. He still had to take the antidepressant prescribed by the doctor and cooperate with weekly psychological consultation to slowly recover. This is where the current consensus in the academic community differs: some studies show that for people with insufficient intake of B complex and elevated homocysteine, especially those with mild depression, premenstrual dysphoria, and low mood caused by staying up late for a long time, supplementing B6, B9, and B12 can indeed help. After all, neurotransmitters such as 5-hydroxytryptamine and dopamine, which are responsible for pleasure in the brain, need to be anabolized, and they cannot move without these B complex "tool men". However, there are also many double-blind controlled experiments that have confirmed that for patients with moderate to severe depression who do not have B-complex deficiency, the effect of supplementing B-complex supplements is not statistically different from placebo.

In fact, most people want to supplement B-complex when they are in a bad mood. Most likely, their eating habits are not very good. I also ate Compound B for a while when I stayed up late two years ago to catch up on projects. At that time, I ate takeout or instant noodles to make ends meet. I always felt inexplicably irritable when I woke up in the morning. I wanted to explode after saying a few words to my colleagues. I did get less angry after half a month of eating, but my best friend who bought supplements with me didn't feel it at all. Later, when she checked, she found out that she drank multigrain porridge every morning and stewed ribs and stir-fried spinach on weekends. The intake of B Complex was already enough, so extra supplements naturally had no effect. Nowadays, many people eat polished rice and white flour every day, and eat less green leafy vegetables, whole grains, and animal foods. In addition, they like to drink alcohol and go on a diet to lose weight. The B group is consumed quickly and cannot be replenished. Over time, neurotransmitter synthesis cannot keep up, and emotional problems are naturally prone to problems. In this case, it is actually more reliable to adjust your diet first than to buy supplements. Eat pork liver and spinach twice a week, and replace the white rice with one-third brown rice. This is more practical than any B-complex supplements that cost tens of dollars.

Don’t think that vitamins are supplements and you can just take them randomly. I met a young man before who heard that B6 can relieve anxiety. He took more than a dozen tablets a day. His hands and feet were numb after taking it for half a month. He went to the hospital to check that it was peripheral neuropathy caused by excessive B6, and he recovered after two months of treatment. The recommended daily intake of B6 for normal people is only 1.4mg. Even if you need to supplement, it should not exceed 10mg a day. It is best to draw blood to check your serum B12, folic acid and homocysteine ​​levels first. If you are missing, supplement again. Don't eat blindly.

To put it bluntly, B vitamins are more like "lubricant" for emotions. If your engine itself is out of oil (that is, you have symptoms of moderate or severe depression), you can't run with just lubricant. At this time, don't take medicine or see a doctor, thinking that you can get better by taking vitamins. If you really can't be energetic, can't sleep, or even have thoughts of harming yourself for more than two weeks in a row, you are responsible for yourself and go to a psychiatric department as soon as possible. If you just have been sleeping too much recently, eating too much, and occasionally feel a little lack of energy, supplementing with some B-complex may indeed give you a small surprise, but don't forget that it is never the pills that can make you truly happy. It is eating well, sleeping well, and those little things that make you feel alive.