Mineral Supplementation Supports Mood Balancing

By CP Staff

A recently published clinical trial investigated the potential impact of supplementation with a particular mineral on mood states in young women. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that mood disorders affect approximately 20.9 million American adults per year. An estimated 5-10 percent of women and 2-5 percent of men will experience at least one major depressive episode during their adult life. Furthermore, depression is 3-5 times more likely in the elderly than in younger individuals, and is more common in women than men. In addition, an estimated 40 million American adults per year are affected by anxiety disorders such as phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

In this new study, researchers supplemented 30 young women with either a multivitamin daily or a multivitamin plus 7 mg of zinc daily for 10 weeks. The women were evaluated for psychological measures, physical symptoms and serum zinc levels.

The results showed that the women supplemented with the multivitamin plus zinc had higher serum zinc levels as well as significantly lower scores on anger-hostility and depression-dejection profiles compared to the women who took the multivitamin alone.

The researchers concluded, “Our results suggest that zinc supplementation may be effective in reducing anger and depression.”

Reference:

Sawada T, Yokoi K. Effect of zinc supplementation on mood states in young women: a pilot study. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2010 Mar;64(3):331-3.