You’re not depressed, you’re...
Hands up! Even as someone who works as a Health, Wellness and Lifestyle Consultant with a huge emphasis on nutrition, I’ve fundamentally failed lately.
I’ve been feeling quite low. Some things in life haven’t exactly been going my way, but I’m pulling out all the juicy stuff we cover on the Getaways to work on myself, uncover what’s not working, and using my strategies to address them.
But there was something else I just couldn’t put my finger on…
I’ve been lacking energy, motivation and enthusiasm for life. I’ve not felt able to do as much exercise as I normally would. Instead, I’ve been wanting to curl up on the sofa, have struggled to get out of bed and even the simplest of tasks has been too much to bear.
Depression, right?
Wrong! I knew something wasn't right, so I kept searching...
It suddenly hit me that I’ve been deficient in iron!!!
As soon as I started to take my iron supplements again, I felt so much stronger! And all this coming from someone who knows that nutrition is the most fundamental building block for good mental health!!! 🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️
Depression = deficiency?
The symptoms of iron deficiency anaemia include:
weakness;
confusion or poor concentration;
fatigue, which causes:
feeling low
lack of motivation
lack of enthusiasm
low energy
Recent studies show iron deficiency is also associated with increased anxiety and irritability [1] and can also affect the nervous system. Why? There is a causative link. Iron is required for the synthesis of the neurotransmitters serotonin (the happy neurotransmitter) and dopamine (the reward/motivation chemical) [2], and levels of both are low in depression!!!
So that got me wondering how much of depression is actually deficiency? And why aren’t the medical and mental health profession aware of this and applying it in their practice!?
I plan to do a study on the role of supplementation in mental health. In the meantime, I wanted to share my oversight with you in case it helps you, or someone you care about.
More importantly, I wanted to show you that nutritional deficiencies really can lead to what we think of as depression.
Causes of iron deficiency
Deficiency can arise for the following reasons:
insufficient iron in our diet,
poor absorption for many reasons including:
having a damaged, or leaky, gut (this is anyone who eats gluten because gluten damages our guts, or anyone who is coeliac, has ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s Disease or any other inflammatory bowel condition; i.e. most of us!);
substances that interfere with absorption such as foods with high levels of phytic acid (e.g. wholegrains), tannins in tea and coffee and possibly dairy;
not eating enough vitamin C with iron-rich foods, as it helps with absorption.
People that are especially at risk are:
those that have a poor, or highly processed diet;
people that don’t eat meat (deficiency is a common problem amongst vegans and vegetarians);
menstruating or pregnant women;
anyone that works out often, or does weight lifting;
children due to their rapid growth.
It is possible to lose iron in other ways, but these are associated with more serious conditions.
Whilst vegetarians and vegans may consider they obtain enough iron in their diet, the form of iron in plants is non-haem iron, as opposed to haem iron in meat sources. Non-haem iron is far less bio-available (absorbable) than meat-based sources. As a result, vegetarians and vegans need to be especially careful.
Indeed, it doesn’t matter how well we eat, obtaining nutrients from our food is far harder than it used to be because:
food is not as nutritious as it used to be - our soils have been leached and food is often ‘forced’;
our bodies aren’t able to extract nutrients as easily - many people have insufficient digestive enzymes and stomach acid. Those with acid reflux are often deficient in stomach acid, rather than have excess acid, so antacids are the opposite of what you need. Do contact me if you’d like to understand how that can be and what you can do to remedy this;
our systems are bogged down with more toxicity now than ever before (chemicals, medicines, metals, pesticides etc). In the 10 year period between 1971 and 1981, more than 100,000 chemicals were produced in the European Community and they have been poorly assessed and controlled [3] due to competition with North America and Japan.
we’re often extremely stressed out, which impacts the functioning of the whole body and especially the gut. It also requires greater amounts of nutrients to overcome.
Although all nutrients are important, other nutrients specifically involved in mental health, lack of energy, enthusiasm and motivation include vitamin D, the B vitamins and omega-3s.
Check it out
To check whether you are deficient, you can either take a blood test, or simply supplement for 3 or 4 days and see how you feel. Supplementation is the simpler, cheaper and more instantaneous option. (Note that some nutritional deficiencies can’t be consciously detected, but iron deficiency definitely can!)
We always recommend taking a comprehensive multi-vitamin and mineral, and this should contain iron anyway.
Caution
Please note that it is possible to overdose on iron, which has toxic effects on the body, so doing a test every now and again is always a good idea.
For me, it’s great to be back feeling stronger, happier and more motivated again; it’s a mistake I won’t be making in the future!
I hope this helps you and means you can get back to enjoying life again.
Well wishes,
Andie x
Image by: Mohamed_hassan on Pixabay
[1] ‘Irritability and Perceived Expressed Emotion in Adolescents With Iron Deficiency and Iron Deficiency Anemia: A Case-Control Study’
Ucar et al, Journal of Paediatric Hematology/Oncology, 2020 Aug;42(6):403-409 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31725544/
[2] ‘The Prevalence of Anemia and its Association with Depressive Symptoms among Older Adults in North of Iran’
Hosseini et al, Journal of Research in Health Sciences, 2018 Fall; 18(4)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6941631/
[3] REACH – an overview
Rostislav Čihák, Journal of Interdisciplinary Toxicology, 2009, Jun; 2(2): 42–44. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2984102/