Taking care of your mental health is as important as your physical health. However, many people are still not aware of the importance of their mental health to their overall well-being. Note that mental health includes our social, emotional, and psychosocial well-being. Therefore, it affects how we act, feel, think, relate to others, and make choices.
It doesn’t only relate to mental illness, so you must ensure that you take care of your mental well-being as a part of your general health plan. There are many things that you can do to start taking care of your mind, like taking proper supplements that help boost your psychological health.
One of the supplements that you can start taking is Folic Acid. If you aren’t familiar with the benefits of Folic Acid to your mental health, then you should check it out below.
Helps With Depression
One of the most common mental health problems we currently face worldwide is depression. Individuals suffering from depression were noticed to have a deficiency in both Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid.
If you have been experiencing depression lately, you might want to include Folic Acid and combine it with vitamin B12, as it could be the reason why your mental health is out of balance.
Some health providers conclude that Folate’s natural antidepressant property affects the concerned neurotransmitter in our brain, which results in the effectiveness of Folic Acid treatment for depression. Folic Acid might cost an estimated $41.71. But if you have a Folic Acid coupon, the Folic Acid average price: $7.77.
Assist in Dealing With Anxiety
Anxiety is another common mental illness that is a worldwide problem. It is often diagnosed alongside depression. Thus, folic acid and vitamin B12 deficiency is also one of the causes of anxiety that experts noticed.
That’s why if you are diagnosed or constantly experiencing severe anxiety, it’s best that you start taking Folic Acid regularly. You can start taking Folic Acid alone and observe your condition. If it starts to get better, then taking Folic Acid will be enough to help you manage your anxiety symptoms.
However, if you feel like there are only little to no changes, you might want to add some Vitamin B12 to your diet as you might as well experience B12 deficiency that causes your anxiety. You might also want to talk to your doctor about changing your medication, like switching to Xanax. If the cost is too much for you, consider using a Xanax Savings Offer so you can afford it along with your folic acid supplements.
Improves Cognitive Function
Aside from helping manage mental illnesses, Folic Acid is also good for improving your cognitive function. Cognitive function is the overall function of your brain. Studies show that folic acid supplementation helps improve cognitive function by reducing cytokine concentration that causes inflammation.
Folic acid therapy to improve cognitive function is even better to introduce to older adults. Giving folic Acid to aging individuals will help avoid dementia as much as possible. Dementia is the number one problem that older individuals face and is a mental condition that can’t be reversed but can be slowed down or prevented.
That’s why giving older adults folic acid supplements is essential, especially if they can’t acquire it naturally from the food they eat. Commonly, older adults are prohibited from eating a particular food or advised to minimize food intake due to illnesses they might suffer like diabetes or hypertension.
As a result, older adults can experience deficiencies from different vitamins and minerals, including folic acid, increasing their chance of impairment on the person’s cognitive function and never signaling the brain. If this happens, the risk of dementia and even death increases.
Enhance Memory
Another benefit folic acid can contribute to our brain is memory enhancement. Whether you’re a student who wants to improve your memory or an adult who wants to keep your memory sharp as you age, adding folic acid-rich food or supplements can help you maintain your body’s folic acid needs.
Moreover, as we age, diseases affect our brain function, which impacts our memory. Many individuals have been suffering from various diseases, increasing the number of people needing medical assistance.
This occurence has led experts to conduct a study on how folic acid enhances memory, intending to provide the public a solution to the increasing problem of memory loss. In the study conducted, it appears that folic acid doesn’t only help in enhancing memory but is also a good antioxidant that the brain needs to function correctly.
However, the study wasn’t conducted on humans but on rats instead. At the end of the folic acid treatment amongst the subjects, they have shown remarkable improvement in their brain functions. The subjects displayed an improved maze test.
Improves Mood
Everyone experiences mood swings occasionally, a natural part of our emotional rhythm. You have to keep in mind that our emotions are connected with our brain functions. That’s why we
must provide the proper nutrients our brain needs to ensure that we experience positive emotions.
Have you experienced being sensitive and getting easily mad because you are hungry? It’s because our brain is deprived of the nutrients it needs to function correctly. That’s why if you deprive your body of nutrients, especially folic acid, your mood will deteriorate.
The brain needs folic acid to synthesize dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. These are hormones that heavily influence mental behavior patterns. Moreover, both dopamine and serotonin are known to be feel-good hormones that give you the feeling of happiness, calmness, and focus.
Meanwhile, norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter and a hormone that plays a crucial role in your fight-or-flight reflexes. Therefore, if you are not getting enough folic acid, your mood might get affected negatively. That’s why, you must ensure that you are consuming enough folic acid and make yourself feel better.
Final Words
With the advancement of technology, more and more people have gained access to the right information about the significance of mental health. Thus, more and more people are now starting to look after their mental health. If you are one of these individuals, start by taking folic Acid.