Zinc is a mineral that doesn’t receive much of the spotlight in mental health care. We often think of it in relation to the immune system.1 Low levels of zinc, in combination with inflammation, make it difficult for individuals to recover from stress-related illnesses (e.g., memory impairment, sleep disorders, heart disease, etc.).
Yet, zinc deficiencies also affect mental health. Zinc is a mineral that is an essential component of the central nervous system and neurotransmitter synthesis. This includes serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, and GABA.2 In fact, zinc is most concentrated in the brain, often located next to serotonin receptors.1
It is no wonder that zinc deficiencies have been linked to depression.3 Zinc supplementation has reduced depressive symptoms.3,4 In addition to depression, low zinc levels correlate with ADHD symptoms. Studies have found that children with low levels of zinc were found to have high levels of hyperactivity, inattention, impulsivity, opposition, and anxiety.5,6
If you are experiencing symptoms of depression or ADHD, in addition to counseling, consider nutritional imbalances. Correctly imbalances can be essential in reducing and treating symptoms.
References
- Emmons (2010)
- Psychiatry Redefined
- Swardfager et al. (2013)
- Wang, Um, Dickerman, & Liu, J. (2018)
- Elbaz, 2016
- Oner et al. (2010)
𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴–𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰, 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩, 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘦𝘹𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦–𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘯. 𝘋𝘳. 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘩𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘺𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮.