Using Vitamins and Minerals to Deal with Stress

It is difficult to find anyone in this day and age who is not suffering from some degree of stress. Too much stress can have physical repercussions, too. People under stress can, for example, fall victim to headaches and muscle aches. (Feel that tension in your neck and shoulders? You know that is probably caused by stress.) Stress can also sap your body of the defenses it needs to fight off infections. There are numerous ways to deal with stress, with one of those ways being to make sure that your body is getting the necessary vitamins and minerals it needs. In fact, stress can cause the body to lose some of the very vitamins and minerals it needs to deal with stress. Improving your diet is one way to handle this loss of vitamins and minerals. Fortunately, too, these same vitamins and minerals can easily be taken as supplements. So, what do you need to replace?

B-Complex
The B vitamins include: B₁ (thiamine), B₂ (riboflavin), B₃ (niacin), B₆ (pyridoxine), folate (folic acid), and B₁₂. A deficiency in any one or all of these B vitamins can result in irritability, nervousness, inability to concentrate, memory problems, and depression. I have had some personal experiences with the benefits that taking additional B vitamins, especially B-complex, which, by the way, is often labeled as "Stress Tabs."

Many years ago, a childhood friend was diagnosed with manic-depressive disorder. (This was long before it became known as bipolar disorder.) She had been to numerous medical doctors and to numerous psychiatrists, all of whom had prescribed different tranquilizers and/or anti-depressants. None of them seemed to help. She finally went to a psychologist. (Psychologists hold a Ph.D. instead of an M.D. and, therefore, cannot prescribe any medications.) He recommended that she start taking extra B-complex. For the first time, she found some relief.

Another incident involves a friend, who lost a family member a few years ago. She was having a very difficult time handling the loss and had sunk into a depression, which was affecting all aspects of her life. I suggested that she start taking B-complex immediately. I told her that it might take at least a couple of weeks for it to start to have any effect but to stick with it. I visited her about a month later, and the change was remarkable. She was definitely sold on B-complex.

Finally, when I was living in Texas, I was at work one day. It was not a good day, and I was feeling caught in the throes of a major depression. A friend of mine managed a health food store right across from the store that I managed. I went to see her on my break, and she told me to take this little pill. "Just a vitamin," she said. Back in my store and about 30 minutes later, I started feeling like I was having the ultimate hot flash. The palms of my hands were red, apparently so was my face, and the soles of my feet even felt like they were on fire. I was also bouncing off walls. My friend walked in grinning about this time. (She apparently had the timing down.) She told me that she had given me niacin and noted that I was no longer depressed. (Very true.) By the way, it is not usually recommended that niacin be taken like this on a regular basis, but it certainly worked for the short term and worked quickly.

Raising and maintaining the levels of B vitamins in your system have shown to help alleviate fatigue as well as insomnia. It has been shown to also help the elderly, who may be exhibiting early signs of senility. Generally, B vitamins are something that your body needs to handle the everyday stresses of life.

Magnesium
While we all know that stress can lead to depression, we may not all know that many studies have shown that people suffering from such stress-induced depression also suffer from significantly lower levels of magnesium as those who are considered mentally healthy. Stress actually causes magnesium levels to fall. In addition, other factors can cause the body's magnesium levels to drop, which can, in turn, cause you feel stressed. Such factors include: drinking alcohol; some prescription drugs; i.e., diuretics and antibiotics; and certain diseases, such as Crohn's disease. As we age, we also begin to lose magnesium. Usually eating healthy can give you the amount of magnesium that you need daily. It does not hurt, however, to take a vitamin and mineral supplement that includes magnesium.

Vitamin C
Of course, we know that vitamin C helps to boost our immunity and is great for fighting off colds and flu. Vitamin C also fights cortisol. Most of us have no doubt heard the commercial for supplements that will help us lose belly fat caused by cortisol. Cortisol is excreted by the body when you are under stress. If the stress is unrelenting, the cortisol hangs around, usually taking up residence in the belly region resulting in stress-related belly fat. Vitamin C actually helps to prevent the excretion of cortisol and can better help you deal with the stress. A large quantity is usually recommended, about 1000 milligrams. I recommend that you not take this all at once, however. The body does not store vitamin C, which means that you will probably eliminate most of the vitamin C that you just ingested. Space it out over the day by taking supplements, drinking orange juice, and/or sucking on vitamin C lozenges.

Vitamins and minerals are not substitutes for avoiding stressful situations. (Good luck with that!) They can, however, help you to better cope with the effects of stress. If you have any concerns, consult your primary care physician and/or a certified herbalist.

References:

Bricklin, Mark, and Sharon Claessens. The Natural Healing Cookbook. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1981.

MedlinePlus. Vitamin B12 and also B Vitamins.

National Institutes of Health/Office of Dietary Supplements: Magnesium