New Depression Study Shows Vitamin C is Not Just for Colds

More and more people are experiencing depression. A growing body of research is suggesting that increasing a very safe, simple nutrient can help. This new study just convincingly added to the evidence.

The latest science is revealing that the causes of depression are more complicated than were once believed. Oxidative stress is now believed to play an important role in depression. It contributes to a decline in the function of neurotransmitters, which contributes to depression. People with depression have higher levels of oxidative stress than people who are not depressed.

Antioxidants fight oxidative stress, and vitamin C is a very important antioxidant. In addition to helping depression by preventing neurotransmitter dysfunction as an antioxidant, vitamin C may also help through its role in the synthesis of neurotransmitters.

A 2022 meta-analysis of 25 studies showed that dietary vitamin C was lower in people with depression and that people who had the most vitamin C in their diet were a significant 28% less likely to be depressed (Front Nutr. 2022 Apr 7:9:857823).

The new study compared serum levels of vitamin C to prevalence of depression in 3,404 people between the ages of 20 and 80.

It found that depressed people have significantly lower levels of vitamin C than non-depressed people: 42.97 VS 52.97 μmol/L. And it found that, as serum vitamin C went up, rates of depression went down from 12% to 5.4%.

The researchers then matched the people with depression with people without to better control for other factors and isolate the role of vitamin C.

There were 299 people in the depression group and 1,107 in the control group. The correlation between higher levels of vitamin C and lower levels of depression was significant. People with the highest levels of vitamin C were between 51% and 58% less likely to suffer from depression.

This study concludes that there is “a significant association between higher serum ascorbic acid [vitamin C] levels and a lower prevalence of depression.” It highlights the possibly valuable role of something as safe, simple and inexpensive as vitamin C in the prevention and treatment of depression.

Front Nutr. 2024;11:1324835.

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For much more on treating depression naturally, see our book The Family Naturopathic Encyclopedia.

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