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Table 1. Summary of proposed causes and treatments for common mental health disorders
| Mental Disorder |
Proposed Cause |
Treatment |
References |
Type of Study |
| Major Depression |
Serotonin deficiency |
Tryptophan |
[15] [32] |
Human pilot clinical trial Double-blind, placebo controlled |
|
Dopamine/ No- radrenaline deficiency |
Tyrosine |
[30] [36] |
Double-blind, placebo controlled Randomized within or between subjects |
|
| GABA deficiency |
GABA |
[29] |
Clinical trial |
|
| Omega-3 deficiency |
Omega-3s |
[39] |
Clinical trial |
|
|
Folate/ Vitamin B deficiency |
Folate/Vitamin B |
[9] [13] |
Randomized controlled trial Clinical trial |
|
| Magnesium deficiency |
Magnesium |
[14] |
Cases studies |
|
| SAM deficiency |
SAM |
[37] |
Double-blind, placebo controlled |
|
| Bipolar Disorder |
Excess acetylcholine receptors |
Lithium orotate & taurine |
[50] |
Clinical trial |
| Excess vanadium |
Vitamin C |
[45] |
Double-blind, placebo controlled |
|
| Vitamin B/Folate deficiency |
Vitamin B/Folate |
[47] [71] |
Human pilot clinical trial Clinical trial |
|
| L-Tryptophan deficiency |
L-Tryptophan |
[72] |
Clinical trial |
|
| Choline deficiency |
Lecithin |
[73] |
Double-blind, placebo controlled |
|
| Omega-3 deficiency |
Omega-3s |
[21] [48] [74] [75] |
Double-blind, placebo controlled Clinical trial Clinical trial Double-blind, placebo controlled |
|
| Schizophrenia |
Impaired serotonin synthesis |
Tryptophan |
[53] |
Open-baseline controlled trial |
| Glycine deficiency |
Glycine |
[54] [55] [56] |
Double-blind, placebo controlled Human pilot open-label trial Clinical trial |
|
| Omega-3 deficiencies |
Omega-3s |
[59] [60] [65] |
Double-blind, placebo controlled Randomized, placebo controlled Open-label clinical trial |
|
| Obsessive Compulsive Disorder |
St. John's wort deficiency |
St John's wort |
[69] [70] |
Randomized, double-blind trial Double-blind, placebo controlled |
|
Lakhan and Vieira Nutrition Journal 2008 7:2 doi:10.1186/1475-2891-7-2 |
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