5 Best Mental Health Vitamins As Of Late 2022

Published on October 30th, 2022

Last updated on March 8th, 2023

mental health supplements

Stress is the body’s natural reaction to any external demands or threats. When real or imagined danger is felt, the body’s defense mechanisms are reflexively activated – the stress reaction, also called the “fight or flight” reaction. In recent years, there have been many studies on vitamins for good mental health. How polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, amino acids, pre, and probiotics affect the course of mental illness. In a paper published in World Psychiatry, researchers from the University of Western Sydney brought together data from 33 meta-analyses of reliable research on the topic. This allowed them to show the benefits of specific supplements for different conditions, considering dosage, target symptoms, safety, and tolerability.

But remember, no mental health supplement is a complete substitute for medication therapy.

With the help of the stress reaction, the body protects itself. This reaction helps you stay focused and alert and maintain normal energy levels. Stress can save your life in an emergency by providing the necessary energy boost for self-defense. However, when experiencing it for a long time, stress ceases to be helpful and becomes a serious threat to health, mood, productivity, relationships, and quality of life.

What Is The Impact Of Stress And How To Deal With It?

Although everyone has certain life stressors related to the pressure at work, money, health, and relationships, which is quite natural, they are usually the most common causes of nervous breakdowns and disorders.

A condition of stress can be acute or chronic and cause:

  • fatigue;
  • headaches;
  • upset stomach;
  • nervousness;
  • irritability or anger;
  • feelings of brokenness;
  • feelings of loss and emptiness.

Stress management is a way to regulate the effects of stress on your body and mind. Stress management may require learning skills such as problem-solving, prioritizing tasks, and time management. It may also involve improving your ability to cope with change, adversity, and conflict through, for example, improving emotional awareness, expressing gratitude, or improving personal relationships. So, the main aims to deal with deficiencies that cause anxiety and stress are:

  • Regular exercise, adequate sleep, and good nutrition are some of the best ways to prepare your body better to deal with stress;
  • Vitamins for mental health can also help manage stress. Many over-the-counter remedies can enhance healthy physiological responses to stress, such as maintaining healthy levels of stress hormones and promoting adequate sleep and good moods.

So we prepared the best mental health supplements of 2022, which you can see below.

Mental Health Supplements: Glycine

spoon of glycine

Glycine is an amino acid that your body uses to make proteins. Studies show that glycine can increase your body’s resistance to stress, promoting a good night’s rest by calming the brain and the ability to lower internal body temperature. Lower body temperature promotes better sleep and helps you sleep more soundly at night. Several studies have thoroughly investigated this question:

  1.  In one study, 15 people who complained about their sleep quality and took 3 grams of glycine before bed ended up experiencing less fatigue and increased alertness the next day compared to a placebo. These effects occurred despite no difference in time needed to fall asleep or sleep time compared to the placebo, suggesting that mental health supplement improves sleep quality;
  2. In a similar study, taking 3 grams of glycine before bed improved sleep quality and performance on recognition and memory tasks;
  3. Moreover, another small study showed that adding 3 grams of glycine before bed reduced daytime sleepiness and fatigue after three days of lack of sleep.

Glycine is well tolerated, but taking 9 grams on an empty stomach before sleep has been associated with minor stomach upset. Nevertheless, taking 3 grams is unlikely to cause any side effects.

The Best Mental Health Vitamins: Vitamin D

pot with vitamin d

Vitamin D plays an important role in mood regulation and nervous system health. It is a prohormone in many tissues of our body, especially in the parts of the brain responsible for cognitive abilities. Therefore, if it is insufficient, people have poor memory, reduced stress tolerance, problems with concentration, and the ability to process information.  Vitamin D is a group of biologically active substances that participate in physiological processes in the human body. It performs the following functions:

  • improves the function of the central nervous system;
  • reduces the growth of cancer cells;
  • increases mood;
  • reduces the risk of depression;
  • promotes weight loss.

According to studies, vitamin D reduces the production of cortisol, the “stress hormone. When there is a prolonged excess of cortisol in the body, anxiety and sleep problems occur. In addition, cholecalciferol, aka vitamin D, increases levels of serotonin and dopamine, which cause positive emotions in humans.

Mental Health Supplements: Liquid Nutrients

jar with liquid supplement for mental health

The special formula of liquid vitamins includes adaptogens, naturally occurring chemicals that have been shown to improve mental well-being through their biological ability to attenuate oxidative stress. Another key mechanism in the ability of adaptogens to combat cognitive decline is their ability to influence the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) in the brain.

Also, it is necessary to mention that all of the beneficial substances you utilize in a fatty form are absorbed into the body faster, consequently acting faster. As a result, thanks to the reception of liquid vitamin sets, you get the maximum positive effect.

Vitamins For Good Mental Health: Vitamin B6

vitamin b6 in a spoon

B vitamins are like a soft cushion for the nervous system. If you live in a mode of sleep deprivation and stress, vitamin B, especially B6, will:

  • neutralize hysterical states;
  • relieve deficiencies that cause anxiety;
  • improve thinking processes;
  • have a beneficial effect on blood pressure and fluctuations that often accompany stress;
  • participates in amino acid metabolism, the production of red blood cells;
  • beneficial effect on the condition of blood vessels.

The nervous system creates neurotransmitters (substances that transmit electrical impulses in nerve cells).

It is also responsible for the absorption of glucose by neurons and the absorption of magnesium, which provides the transmission of nerve impulses. Pyridoxine also helps improve memory and mood since it synthesizes serotonin.

Mental Health Supplements: L-Theanine

L-Theanine supplement

L-theanine is the amino acid most commonly found in tea leaves. It has been studied for its ability to promote relaxation and reduce stress without having a sedative effect. A review of 21 studies involving nearly 68,000 people found that drinking green tea reduced deficiencies that cause anxiety and improved memory and attention. These effects have been attributed to the synergistic effects of caffeine and l-theanine in tea since each ingredient was found to have a minor effect on its own. However, studies show that l-theanine on its own can help relieve stress.

One study showed that adding 200 mg of l-theanine reduced stress indicators, such as heart rate, in response to a task requiring little mental stress. In another study involving 34 people, drinking a drink containing 200 mg of l-theanine and other vitamins for mental health reduced levels of the stress hormone cortisol in response to a multi-tasking task. L-theanine is well tolerated and safe when taken at an effective dose for relaxation, which ranges from 200 to 600 mg per day in capsule form. In comparison, l-theanine is 1-2% dry leaf mass, corresponding to 10-20 mg of l-theanine per commercially available tea bag. Nevertheless, drinking tea is unlikely to have a noticeable effect on stress. However, many people believe that tea, as well as drinking it slowly, has a relaxing effect on them.

Bottom Line

Many dietary and mental health supplement ingredients can promote metabolic health. This article focuses on the most well-studied of these. It is also important to note that there is a powerful link between cardiovascular health and brain health. Therefore, it is not surprising that many heart-healthy diets, lifestyles, and supplementation solutions have an additional positive effect on your health.

FAQ

How do adaptogens in liquid nutrients effect the body?

Adaptogens are known to act on the HPA axis by reducing the release of stress-induced hormones, mainly cortisol. This series of events is thought to reduce cellular aging and improve overall brain function, especially during severe physiological stress.

How often should I use liquid vitamins?

You should drop 20 drops of liquid vitamins under your tongue twice daily to achieve a positive result. The result is different for everyone because the body may react differently, but if you follow the general instructions, you will have a guaranteed result.

What helps mental health better: pills or natural substances?

The absorption of vitamins by the human body requires additional substances. As a rule, all complexes of vitamins and nutrients contain a complete composition of nutrients for breakdown. It is impossible to overdose with such vitamins, as everything is balanced if you follow the instructions. 

Are there any side effects from liquid nutrients?

If you don’t consume more products than necessary, you won’t see any consequences. In acute cases – headache, drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, photophobia, and seizures may appear. There may also be individual allergic reactions to some components.

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