Is it possible that depression could be staved off with something as simple as adequate consumption of particular B vitamins? New research out of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago provides some tantalizing clues, at least for men and women age 65 and older. Those who took in vitamin B6 – from supplements, not food – were the least likely to end up depressed down the line. The same benefits resulted from those who took vitamin B12.
There was even some evidence falling just shy of statistically significant that getting enough B12 from foods could help ward off depression with the passing of years.
However, lead researcher Kimberly Skarupski, PhD, says: “We don’t want to be jumping the gun and having consumers go out and buying multivitamins en masse [only to learn later that] another study comes out and says ‘no effect, or toxicity from too many B vitamins, or they interfere with other medications older adults take.’”
Instead, she says, people should be “paying attention to their nutrition, not only for their physical health, but for the mental health as well.”
If you’re looking to get plenty of B vitamins in your diet, you can find B6 in a wide variety of healthful foods, including fortified cereals, beans, meat, poultry, fish and fruits and vegetables. In general, only those who consume diets with little variety in the way of nutrient-dense foods are at risk for getting less than the recommended daily allowance, or RDA, of 1.7 milligrams for men 51 and older, and 1.5 milligrams for women in that age group.
A baked potato with skin has 0.7 mg of B6 and a banana has 0.68 mg. Half a chicken breast has 0.52 mg and a packet of fortified instant oatmeal has 0.42 mg.
B12, on the other hand, presents a problem for a number of older adults. It’s not that they don’t consume the RDA of 2.4 micrograms – you can get that in just 3 ounces of top sirloin beef. But an estimated 1 in 5 people older than 60 and 2 in 5 older than 80 have a condition called atrophic gastritis that makes it difficult to absorb vitamin B12 from foods – beef, yogurt, tuna and milk being among the more significant sources.
It’s easier for the body to absorb supplemental B12 because it doesn’t have to be cleaved from food in the digestion process. For that reason, it pays for anyone older than 60 to talk with a doctor about whether a cereal fortified with B12 or a supplement with that vitamin might be in order.
I'm a 47 year old man, and I take B12
every morning along with a multi vitamin
is that good or bad?
I'm disabled and I have a head injury, that
caused alot health problems.
What kind of treatment do you get for your Fibromyalgia?
Also how does one know if they have atrophic gastritis ? What are the symptoms to look for?
Thanks for your help.
Jackie
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