Are You Nutritionally Happy?

Ever wake up on the wrong side of the bed in the morning and you stay on the wrong side for the rest of the day? Ever have a mild bout of depression and you can’t place your finger as to the reason why? One of the most overlooked areas of health is nutrition. Many health conditions today are not caused by a lack of medication, but a lack of nutrients our bodies need daily. Let’s take a look at two of them.

What I’m focusing on is your mental state. When you feel good mentally, the rest of your body falls into line. Every one of us needs to take a multiple vitamin daily. One with lots of B vitamins. These are needed to convert proteins, fats and carbohydrates into energy. B vitamins are also needed for a healthy nervous system which includes your brain of course. There are two particular B vitamins I want you to focus on, Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid) and Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide/Niacin). If you are dealing with lots of stress and fatigue, you need extra Vitamin B5. This nutrient improves adrenal gland health, since B5 is known as the anti-stress vitamin and helps one to overcome stress and other serious mental problems like anxiety and depression to ensure fitness of mind. It does so by regulating the hormones responsible for giving birth to these mental states. B5 is also a fatigue-fighter by helping to reduce body fatigue and weariness and putting the functioning of body parts on right track. This means that this vitamin is capable of building the stamina of human body to perform well in various tasks. The dose of Vitamin B5 should be 500-1,000mg daily in a single or divided doses. One thing to remember, B5 can speed up the function of the digestive tract, so be aware as B5 in high doses can lead to quick trip to the restroom and in many cases that’s a good thing. A clean colon will also help one feel happier.

The second nutrient is Vitamin B3, a nutrient that is commonly overlooked for mental health. Niacinamide is believed to delay the debilitating effects of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. It helps by reducing inflammation inside the brain and by strengthening the immune system. Previous experiments have proved that regular supplementation of niacinamide would greatly benefit those suffering from Parkinson's disease especially when given at the early stages of the disease before dopamine starts to be depleted.

Researchers found that niacinamide reduces the level of the protein called phosphorylated tau in people suffering from Alzheimer's disease. High levels of this substance leads to the development of lesions associated with Alzheimer's disease.

The symptoms of niacinamide deficiency is very similar to the symptoms of anxiety and depression - hyperactivity, fatigue, apprehension, headache and insomnia. Once niacinamide deficiency has been corrected, any symptom of anxiety and depression that a patient is suffering from will have been addressed as well.

Niacinamide is also known to enhance insulin production and protects insulin sensitivity and secretion by helping in cell function and metabolism. Previous laboratory experiments have also demonstrated that it prevents the early onset of Type 1 diabetes. I want to make a special note here, if your blood sugar is constantly low, you will have signs of depression, fatigue, irritability and even anger. Keeping a watchful eye on your blood sugar will help you prevent mild mental health issues. Eat more protein and fiber to keep your blood sugar from spiking and then dropping, and of course stop eating refined sugar-laden products. Refined sugar and artificial sweeteners are death to the brain.

The dose of niacinamide should be 1,000-1,500mg daily to correct mild depressive mental states. Once one overcomes the niacinamide deficiency, a daily dose of 50-100mg should be enough to maintain a happier you.

Being mentally happy is a requirement for optimum health. Your mind is so powerful, that it can think healthy or think sick. Feed it right! 


- Ward W. Bond, PhD 

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