JAI ON EARTH Discovering Our Planet

Have you ever heard that greens are excellent for your mood? Or that you can be melancholy because you don’t eat enough lima beans or spinach? It’s not likely. However, the medical literature is unanimous in its conclusion that folic acid (folate) deficiency, which is common in the United States, particularly among women, promotes mental diseases, most notably depression, but also dementia and schizophrenia. Folic acid, a B vitamin, was initially isolated from green leafy plants.

It also has a high concentration of legumes. Scientists are well aware of folic acid’s antidepressant properties.

According to Dr. Young of McGill University, there is “accumulating evidence that folic acid deficiency can contribute to depressed mood,” and that treating the shortage typically heals melancholy.
The data for how broadly folic acid impacts the brain is alarming. Dr. Young observes that individuals with different mental diseases, notably depression, have significantly greater rates of folic acid deficiency than the normal population. Furthermore, mental individuals with low folate levels are more profoundly disturbed. He believes there are valid reasons why a shortage of the vitamin might lead to depression. For one reason, folic acid deficiency lowers serotonin levels in the brain.

People who were purposely deprived of folic acid in experiments developed sleepiness, forgetfulness, and irritability after five months; replenishing the vitamin caused symptoms to vanish in two days.

A double-blind study of 75 depressed individuals using lithium revealed how little folic acid may be required to combat depression. For a year, researchers gave half of the group merely 200 micrograms of folic acid every day—equivalent to around three-quarters of a cup cooked spinach. The others received a placebo. Those who received folic acid had significant improvement from depression.

According to Dr. Young, taking 200 to 500 milligrams of folic acid per day may benefit certain patients who are sensitive to depression. That much is readily available in food. High folic acid levels can be dangerous, he warns.