Everyone has bad moods and sad days. But, if you don’t recover for days or weeks from the soul’s depression, you should understand you may be depressed, and also that many people feel the same way.
Almost one fifth (16 – 20 %) of the world’s population is affected by a depressive disorder at least once in their lifetime. Depressive mood can be a harbinger of a pronounced depression or anxiety disorder and is primarily related to hormonal balance. But micronutrients can also play a part.
A lack of zinc can have a negative effect on the mood barometer. An adequate supply of this micronutrient also has far-reaching meanings in other areas of our body. Zinc plays a major role in maintaining our ability to function, perform, and regenerate, especially in sports, chronic intestinal diseases and wound healing.
Those who are often depressed should have their zinc status checked.
Feeling good all over again
The fact that sufficient zinc positively influences one’s mood also supports the following study result: Young women, who were confronted again and again with depressive moods and fear, had taken a multivitamin preparation in combination with 7 mg zinc in the context of a study for 10 weeks. The result: there was a clear improvement in the mood. Therefore, it makes quite sense to examine one’s zinc status when depressive moods occur. That is supported by a comprehensive analysis of 17 studies: The more severe the depression, the less zinc in the blood.
What happens with depression?
In a depressive mood, the might last a few days, which is in contrast to full-blown depression. Feelings of sadness and inner emptiness are strong and can persist for a long time. Any activity, however small, requires an enormous amount to overcome. In addition, there are physical issues such as sleep disorders, loss of appetite, and dizziness. The cause of depression can even be a lack of serotonin.
Zinc can improve the effectiveness of antidepressants.
Antidepressants that compensate for a lack of the messenger serotonin and increase the serotonin level in the brain can help. An accompanying zinc therapy makes sense, because zinc supports the cells with the utilization of serotonin. In a study, participants received daily 140 mg of an antidepressant drug in combination with 25 mg zinc. The result showed that zinc improved the effects of the medicine – particularly with people who were already under treatment with antidepressants.
