TriVita Research & Focus

Winter Blues Linked to Brain Chemical Levels
Toronto, Canada 

Using positron emission tomography (PET) technology, researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto found that levels of serotonin (a mood-altering brain chemical) may be lower in the fall and winter. Because serotonin helps regulate mood and energy levels, this may help researchers understand seasonal affective disorder and other seasonal mood changes.

Study author Jeffrey Meyer said that this discovery is “an important lead in understanding how season changes serotonin levels. This offers an explanation for why some healthy people experience low mood and energy in the winter, and why there is a regular reoccurrence of depressive episodes in fall and winter in some vulnerable individuals. The next steps will be to understand what causes this change and how to interfere with it.”

Source: TriVita VitaJournal December 2008 pg 21.

Beating The Winter Blues

Seasonal Affective Disorder and B-12: The mood connection
by Dr. Scott Conard

For some people, the winter months bring mood changes that are seasonal but have little to do with the spirit of the holidays. These people may seem sad because they have SAD: seasonal affective disorder. Also called seasonal depression, this condition is often blamed on exposure to less sunlight during shorter days and colder winter temperatures.

While studies continue to find the causes and treatments for SAD, one thing is clear: People who have this mood disorder show symptoms that are very much like depression.

Does SAD affect someone you know?

Symptoms of SAD, according to the American Psychiatric Association, can include:

• Excessive sleeping, overeating and weight gain during the fall/winter months
• Extreme fatigue or inability to keep up a normal schedule
• Feelings of sadness, loss of feelings, apathy and irritability.

That last item is especially interesting to medical professionals like me who pursue the connections between mood troubles and B vitamins. As you may know, studies

indicate that people with a B-12 deficiency can experience symptoms including mood swings, mental confusion, forgetfulness and even psychotic behavior, like seeing and/or hearing things.

For some time, evidence indicated that it was older adults who tended to have Vitamin B-12 deficiencies, but now we know more. As I wrote in the VitaJournal last month, one study showed that people as young as 26 may be just as lacking in B-12 as some people over 65! This study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, went on to say that regardless of age, those who didn’t supplement with Vitamin B-12 were twice as likely to be deficient as those who did.

A disorder that favors women and younger people

Given the new evidence about young people and B-12 deficiency, it’s important to know one more thing about SAD: it tends to affect more women than men, more younger people than older ones. So if you or someone you know tends to experience depression-like symptoms in the winter months, check with your healthcare provider to see if the problem might be SAD, or a B-12 deficiency.

Treatments for SAD can include spending more time outdoors or sitting near special fluorescent lamps.

Is it “holiday blues” or SAD?

Since many people experience stress and sadness during the holidays, it’s worth considering whether or not SAD might be a factor. Since SAD and the holiday season both occur during the shorter days of winter, the “holiday blues” might be undiagnosed SAD. Especially at this time of year, I urge you to consider whether or not you’re getting enough Vitamin B-12. Since B-12 has such an impact on mental energy and mood, I often recommend B-12 supplementation with TriVita’s quality products. My best wishes for a healthy holiday season filled with joy.

Source: VitaJournal December 2008 pg 6.