Folate lowers risk of depression in men by up to 50 percent
Added 02.02.2010
Folate, or folic acid, is a water soluble member of the vitamin B complex. In our body, folic acid helps break down, use and create proteins as well as form red blood cells and synthesise DNA and RNA. Food sources include mushrooms, green leafy vegetables, chick peas, beans and yeast. Folic acid is best known for preventing birth defects, but now a new study says it also seems to play a leading role in boosting mood and lowering depressive symptoms in men.
Men who up their intake of folic acid slash their risk of depression by 50%
According to the Royal College of Psychiatrists, approximately 20% of people become depressed at some point in their lives. But according to the latest research, men may have much to be hopeful for. Men with the highest blood levels of folate had a 50% lowered risk of developing depression symptoms compared to men with the lowest levels.References:
Dr. Bo Nielsen's comments:
In the United Kingdom, the use of anti-depressant drugs like Prozac and Seroxat - the two most common anti-depressants - has increased by 234% in the past 10 years. Even worse, Prozac, which is taken by 40 million people worldwide, does not even work, says Professor Irving Kirsch from the department of psychology at Hull University. His study examined all available data on the drugs, including results from clinical trials that the manufacturers chose not to publish at the time. The trials compared the effect on patients taking the drugs with those given a placebo or sugar pill. When all the data was pulled together, it appeared that patients had improved - but those on placebo improved just as much as those on the drugs.
In this study, Japanese researchers evaluated the effect of higher intake of folic acid in a so-called cross-sectional study of 530 depressed humans (313 men and 217 women), aged 21-67 years. The researchers concluded that low serum folate is related to a higher risk of depressive symptoms in men, not in women.
Doctor's Natural Minerals for men and women include 400 micrograms of folic acid.
