Nutritional therapy can reduce the burden of depression management in low income countries: A review

Abstract

Depression is a serious mental and mood disorder with global health and economic burden. This burden may be overwhelming in low income countries, although there are insufficient data. Most antidepressant formulations are predicated on the monoamine, neuroendocrine and neuro-inflammation hypotheses, with little or no cognizance to other neurochemicals altered in depression. A nutritional strategy with or without conventional antidepressants is recommended, as nutrition plays vital roles in the onset, severity and duration of depression, with poor nutrition contributing to its pathogenesis. This review discusses nutritional potentials of utilizing omega-3 fatty acids, proteins, vitamins, minerals and herbs or their phytochemicals in the management of depression with the aim of reducing depression burden. Literature search of empirical data in books and journals in data bases including but not limited to PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Science and Google Scholar that might contain discussions of sampling were sought, their full text obtained, and searched for relevant content to determine eligibility. Omega-3 fatty and amino acids had significant positive anti-depression outcomes, while vitamins and minerals although essential, enhanced omega-3 fatty and amino acids activities. Some herbs either as whole extracts or their phytochemicals/metabolites had significant positive anti-depression efficacy. Nutrition through the application of necessary food classes or herbs as well as their phytochemicals, may go a long way to effectively manage depression. This therefore will provide inexpensive, natural, and non-invasive therapeutic means with reduced adverse effects that can also be applied alongside clinical management. This nutritional strategy should be given more attention in research, assessment and treatment for those with depression and other mental illness in low income countries, especially in Africa.

Exploring micronutrient supplements in disease conditions: are they effective?

“…Micronutrients are in two forms: vitamins and minerals [2,3,10]. Vitamins are a group of organic substances designated as A, B, C, D, E, and K. Of these vitamins, A, D, E and K are generally classified as fat-soluble, while B and C are classified as water-soluble [3,16].…”

“…Micronutrients are in two forms: vitamins and minerals [2,3,10]. Vitamins are a group of organic substances designated as A, B, C, D, E, and K. Of these vitamins, A, D, E and K are generally classified as fat-soluble, while B and C are classified as water-soluble [3,16]. Functionally, vitamins A, C and E are considered as major non-enzymatic antioxidants known to protect against oxidative stress associated with several metabolic disorders [2,3,8].…”

“…However, these nutrients are not present in sufficient quantities or proportions in foods. This leads to malnutrition and thus to a variety of adverse health problems and poor developmental processes [3][4][5][6][7].…”

“…Two very important nutritional components are vitamins and minerals [2]. As these are highly effective, they are only needed in minute quantities and so-called micronutrients [3]. These micronutrients are essential for the normal metabolic activities of the body and are mainly obtained from fruits, vegetables and nuts, as well as dairy products, seafood, poultry, meat, fortified processed products and supplements [8][9][10][11][12].…”

“…These and other reasons have led to an increase in the use of dietary supplements [2,9,12,13]. As important as these micronutrient supplements are for supporting health and combating diseases [3,14,15], can they also help protect against diseases or their pathogens? The literature on this topic is far from exhaustive.…”