Vitamin C causes mood problems....

[Guest]

I've searched far and wide and found the opposite of what I was expecting, that vitamin C helps prevent depression/irritability.

My mom is convinced that it affects her and I, that when we have a lot of vitamin C we tend to get moody. Sounds absurd, yet I've experimented enough to know that there is definately some kind of tie between the mood swings and juices high in vitamin C. The latest example occurred in December. I began drinking pomegranate juice, maybe 4oz a day (estimate). I then began drinking some other juices (Naked brand, supposed to be organic and all). This went on for about a week, and then all of a sudden I was hit by a depression that I hadn't felt in months. As soon as this happened I stopped all of the juice and was back to normal in a couple of days. Most of the time I will will have something will lots of vitamin C in it and just act like a grumpy jerk for a while.

Does anyone know anything about this, or maybe something else common in juices that could be causing the mood swings?

[Gaz]

I have not noticed this, in fact I feel very much more laid back mood wise, if anything. Are you sure its not the sugar, or some other ingrediant in the juice?

Why do you suspect the VC?

[DanSco]

If you are just drinking juice and not taking ascorbic acid pills or capsules, then it would be easy to prove it to yourself whether VitC is responsible. The Vitamin C content of most fruit drinks is written on the label. Just drink water with vitaminC in the same concentration and see if the effect appears again. We would all be interested in your results.

I personally have not noticed any mood swings in myself or my wife.

-DanSco

[Kay]

I'll speak from my own personal history of depression some years back and I mean a severe depression. With me, it was mineral deficiency, not necessarily Vitamins.
Over time, I "cured" my mood swings and depression with Magnesium, and all the other minerals but magnesium was the highest potency. I firmly believe that if a person is depressed it is because they are mineral deficient and why not? Our soils are depleted and not laid to rest, ever. Our food supply sure is deficient in minerals, and many of the minerals we take once a day are a joke, not absorbed. Just my take from my own history. Hope it helps.

[johnor]

I've had the same reaction with fruit juices. Especially grape juice, though not particularly apple juice. Possibly it is the fermentation. Vitamine C in pill form and in large doses doesn't have any mood changing effects on me.

[Lab Rat]

I would suspect either fructose or high fructose corn syrup. Fruit juices contain fructose or are sweetened with HFCS. It could be a sensitivity to fructose. I think DanSco has an outstanding idea. Please try it and let us know.

In the mean time, you might explore the following article: Carbohydrate malabsorption syndromes and early signs of mental depression in females.

[Ken_RN]

I'd go with Lab Rat on this. Sugar in its various forms is a well-documented mood destabilizer.

http://www.mercola.com/article/sugar/dangers_of_sugar.htm

[Guest]

Makes no sense since ascorbic is a transition chemical in the brain of two other chemicals to create seratonin. I feel just the opposite a very light up feeling.

[Dolev]

Please explain about ascorbic acid being a "transition chemical in the brain of two other chemicals to create seratonin." This is new to me and I'm very interested in knowing about these sorts of things. Which chemicals and how?

Thanks,

[Ken_RN]

Taken from Natural Remedies for Depression:

Vitamin C, as the cofactor for tryptophan-5-hydroxylase, catalyzes the hydroxylation of tryptophan to serotonin.(18) Vitamin C may therefore be valuable for patients with depression associated with low levels of serotonin. In one study, 40 chronic psychiatric inpatients received 1 g/day of ascorbic acid or placebo for three weeks, in double-blind fashion.(19) In the vitamin C group, significant improvements were seen in depressive, manic and paranoid symptom complexes, as well as in overall functioning.

Works cited:
18. Cooper JR. The role of ascorbic acid in the oxidation of tryptophan to 5-hydroxytryptophan. Ann NY Acad Sci 1961;92:208-11.
19. Milner G. Ascorbic acid in chronic psychiatric patients: a controlled trial. Br J Psychiatry 1963;109:294-9.

This list of journal articles dealing with Vitamin C and Mental Health may also be worth looking at. The page loaded very slowly for me.

[Ralph Lotz]

"ascorbic acid acts as co-factor for the enzyme dopamine-β-hydroxylase, which catalyzes the conversion of neurotransmitter dopamine to norepinephrine. Thus ascorbic acid is essential for synthesis of catecholamines."

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articl ... tid=201008

[ascorbicjoe]

Makes no sense since ascorbic is a transition chemical in the brain of two other chemicals to create seratonin. I feel just the opposite a very light up feeling.

I would say that ascorbic acid surprised me. I discovered that I was not as happy as I could be. I found a new level of normal. I feel less shy, more willing to exercise and more likely to drink less alcohol or coffee. I still enjoy those vices, but it is much easier to relax or get moving without external psychoactive chemicals.

I take my ascorbic acid with baking soda mixed with water, 15+ grams per day. I supplement with chewables or pills as I feel symptoms of infection.

Joe

[S�rgio Oreiro]

Makes no sense since ascorbic is a transition chemical in the brain of two other chemicals to create seratonin. I feel just the opposite a very light up feeling.

I agree with you.

[S�rgio Oreiro]

I'll speak from my own personal history of depression some years back and I mean a severe depression. With me, it was mineral deficiency, not necessarily Vitamins.
Over time, I "cured" my mood swings and depression with Magnesium, and all the other minerals but magnesium was the highest potency. I firmly believe that if a person is depressed it is because they are mineral deficient and why not? Our soils are depleted and not laid to rest, ever. Our food supply sure is deficient in minerals, and many of the minerals we take once a day are a joke, not absorbed. Just my take from my own history. Hope it helps.

I agree with you that many soils are not laid to rest. But not all the soils. Here in Brasil we can by organic fruits and vegetables with high amounts of vitamins and minerals, including magnesium, even in the big cities. Besides, the true depression (not a sadness) is genetic and have to be treated with antidepressives. I also hope it helps.

[individual freedom]

i find the topic of mental health and vitamin c very interesting. your question is difficult as it may involve sugar or something else. dr atkins discussed carbs and blood sugar and the effect on mood and general health in great detail. all his writing is good, especially his later work.

with regard to vitamin c and depression here is a google link that will lead you to numerous articles about how a lack of vitamin c can cause depression or megaga doses can cure serious mental illness.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=& ... depression

another link on orthomoluclear psychiatry:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=or ... psychiatry

although i understand how a lack of ascorbic acid can damage arteries and kills about a million a year in this country alone, i feel that that same lack of vitamin c is causing many problems due to mental illness from lack of vitamin c as well.

my best understanding on this is that vitamin c and nicin work to decrease mental illness when used in sufficient quantities and it may be that the vitamin c strengthens the cell walls in the brain in such a way as to facilatate better chemical and electrical function. a bad analogy would be how an electric motor would not work well if its case were "out of shape".

there is a vast amount of literature on vitamin c helping to end mental illness in people.

i hope this helps to point you in the right direction and i also like to point folks here to the vitamin c foundation web site as well because it has much good references to this topic as well.

good health to you and yours.