What are the risks and benefits of using vitamin C for depression and anxiety?
“In adults, emerging evidence suggests that higher daily intake of fiber-rich fruit and vegetable servings is associated with lower incidences of anxiety, greater happiness, higher life satisfaction, and greater social-emotional well-being,” says a review in the journal Nutrients. So, “persuading people to consume more fruits and vegetables may not only benefit their physical health in the long-run, but also their mental well-being in the short-run,” concluded a study in Social Science & Medicine. Fruit consumption, for example, has a protective association with leading killers like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer, as well as depression. The question is why?
Several mechanisms have been proposed. For example, one posits it’s the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of produce, which scavenge the free radicals that are involved in some of the inflammation associated with depression. If that’s the case, what about simply taking vitamin C supplements? The brain has some of the highest levels of vitamin C in the body, so it’s thought that if extra vitamin C is consumed, it may have some sort of therapeutic role in brain diseases, especially given that it is not just an antioxidant, but also has other critical functions in the brain, such as helping to build neurotransmitters like dopamine. But you don’t know whether it actually helps until you put it to the test.
One study found a beneficial effect of adding vitamin C as an adjunct treatment to an antidepressant, while another study found no benefit from vitamin C supplementation.
So, there are mixed results for vitamin C and depression. Another study found no benefit when it came to depression, but those randomized to vitamin C instead of placebo pills did show a significant decrease in anxiety level. And this wasn’t only seen in that study.
The effects of oral vitamin C supplementation on anxiety in high school students were studied in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. The teens were given 500 mg a day of vitamin C or a placebo. That daily amount of vitamin C is about what you’d find in five oranges, four yellow kiwifruit or guavas, or one and a half yellow bell peppers. Within just two weeks, the vitamin C reduced anxiety levels compared to placebo, as well as provided a significant drop in heart rate.
Given these data showing that vitamin C may have an anxiety-reducing effect, researchers sought to find out if a single dose could acutely affect emotional states. And indeed, within only two hours of taking some vitamin C, study participants experienced a significant drop in anxiety compared to placebo, though only among those who started out the most anxious in the first place, as you can see below and at 2:42 in my video Do Vitamin C Supplements Help With Anxiety?.
As a bonus, vitamin C supplementation may lower our blood pressure a few points, but whole fruits and vegetables can do the same thing—and may even do it better for those who need it the most, as shown below and at 2:53 in my video.
As I’ve shown previously, simply adding just two servings of fruits and vegetables a day can have psychological well-being benefits within only two weeks—and without the kidney stone risk associated with vitamin C supplements, though that appears to be only a problem in men.
Doctor’s Note
For more on vitamin C and on anxiety, check out related posts below.
