Vitamins For Treating Obsessive Compulsives

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is categorized as an anxiety disorder. This disorder causes obsessions where you imagine unreal scenarios, and react with compulsions involving repeated actions. Vitamins might improve symptoms of OCD, although they should only be used as a complement to other medical care unless otherwise directed by your doctor. Obtaining vitamins through your diet is more effective than through supplement form, although your doctor might advise supplements. Speak to your doctor or psychiatrist about the best method to treat your OCD.

Folate

A lack of the brain chemical serotonin is considered one of the causes of OCD and increasing serotonin levels if you're suffering from OCD often leads to a relief from symptoms. Because of this, folate might be effective in treating OCD because it increases your brain's ability to make serotonin, according to a 2007 article by Bonnie J. Kaplan and colleagues in the journal, Psychological Bulletin. Include folate naturally in your diet through foods such as vegetables like spinach, peas and broccoli; fruit such as avocado, oranges and cantaloupe; eggs; peanuts and beans; and through synthetic folic acid, which is added to many cereals and grains.

Vitamin B6

Vitamin B6 also helps your body with serotonin levels, by synthesizing it and other brain chemicals, notes Kaplan and colleagues. A lack of B6 is directly associated with a decrease of serotonin in the brain. Add vitamin B6 to your diet through foods like meat, including chicken and beef; fish like trout; fruit and vegetables including avocado, bananas and spinach; and grains fortified with the vitamin.

Vitamin E

Free radicals seem to play a factor in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, according to a 2006 study by Serpil Ersan and colleagues in the journal, Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry. This study found that OCD was connected with an increase of free radicals in study participants. The participants also had low levels of the antioxidant vitamin E, leading researchers to believe vitamin E could improve OCD. The authors noted that more biochemical research is needed to understand this relationship and other treatments for OCD. Include vitamin E in your diet through vegetables such as broccoli and spinach, vegetable oil, nuts and seeds, and added to foods like cereal and margarine.

Iron

Although in the mineral family instead of a vitamin, iron is another supplement that helps your brain create serotonin, according to Kaplan and colleagues. The best type of iron for your body to absorb, heme iron, is found in meat, like chicken, pork and beef; and seafood, like tuna and halibut. The less easily absorbed type of iron, non-heme iron, is found in non-animal sources like legumes, vegetables such as peas and spinach, and in fortified grains.