As your body naturally transitions to the time when you are no longer fertile, you may have emotional challenges. You may find yourself struggling with nerves, stress, depression, irritability, feelings of anxiety, or general disruptions of your mood. Getting sufficient quantities of various vitamins may help to ease this transition.
Irritability
Irritability is one symptom of insufficient levels of vitamin B-6. B-6, which is also known as pyroxidine, helps your body make neurotransmitters, which facilitate communication between your nerve cells and your brain. As many as 90 percent of women don't get enough pyridoxine, according to a report from Fairmont General Hospital in West Virginia. Dr. James F. Balch and Mark Stengler, authors of "Prescription for Natural Cures" recommend getting between 10 and 25 mg of pyridoxine each day.
Stress
In their book "The All-Natural Menopause Diet" authors Theresa Cheung and Dr. Adam Balen discuss different vitamins that can help with stress during menopause. Pantothenic acid, or vitamin B-5, enhances your ability to keep stress at bay. It's important to get plenty of vitamin C if you are under stress, as stress can deprive your body of it. Also be sure to get enough vitamin B-1, also known as thiamin, because assists your body as it contends with stress.
Anxiety
Vitamin B-2, thiamin, vitamin B-3, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-9, pyriodoxine, vitamin B-7 and vitamin B-12 may all help to reduce your feelings of anxiety. Vitamin B-2 is sometimes called riboflavin; B-3 is also known as niacin; B-7 is also known as biotin; B-9 is also called folic acid, and vitamin B-12 is another name for cobalmin. Collectively these eight vitamins are known as the B complex vitamins; anxiety is one sign of a B vitamin deficiency.
Depression
Many vitamins factor in depression. According to author Dr. Robert A. Schulman, at least one of every three depressed persons doesn't have enough folic acid. Elizabeth Somer and Robert Garrison Jr., authors of "The Nutrition Desk Reference" write that a quarter of those who are depressed lack enough riboflavin. Depression is a symptom of insufficient levels of biotin, vitamin C, cobalmin, folic acid and pyroxidine; and low levels of vitamin E are also associated with depression. In her book "The Wisdom of Menopause" Dr. Christiane Northrup recommends that menopausal women struggling with depression take 1,000 mg of vitamin C and 50-500 mg of pyriodoxine each day.
Nerves
If you find that your nerves are shot at various times in your menopausal transition, you may benefit from supplements of vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin B complex.
General Mood
Vitamin D has been linked to fewer fluctuations in mood during menopause. Inadequate amounts of vitamin C may negatively impact your mood, and getting sufficient quantities of folic acid will make your mood easier to manage. Your body needs pyroxidine in order to make serotonin, a neurotransmitter responsible for calming you and positively impacting your mood. Thiamin, riboflavin and cobalmin all play parts in making neurotransmitters; low levels of any of these may result in a poor mood.
References
- "The All-Natural Menopause Diet"; Theresa Cheung and Dr. Adam Balen; 2008
- "The Wisdom of Menopause: Creating Physical and Emotional Health During the Change"; Christiane Northrup, M.D.; 2006
- "Menopause Matters"; Julia Schlam Edelman, M.D., F.A.C.O.G.; 2010
- "The Nutrition Desk Reference"; Robert Garrison, Jr., M.A., R.Ph. and Elizabeth Sommer, M.A., R.D.; 1995
- "Our Bodies, Ourselves: Menopause"; The Boston Women's Health Collective; 2006
