Can a Natural Supplement Really Make You Happier?
A great many of us have felt “not quite right” before, not had our heads in quite the right place. Not so depressed or desperate that we might jump off a bridge but certainly not happy either. Things that used to bring us such joy seem very blah right now and almost everyone we meet annoys us, upsets us or both.
Even worse perhaps we also start forgetting things, really simple things like our mother’s phone number or the name of our childs 5th grade teacher we have met a dozen times before. The old mental calculator seems to be slowing down a bit as well and we have to keep reaching for the mechanical alternative, although we never had to rely on one before.
So what is the answer? Do we pop down to the doctor’s office to pick up a prescription for a “wonder drug” like Prozac or Paxil? Quit our jobs and run off to a spiritual retreat somewhere to “find ourselves”? Or do we look to the world of natural supplements and Mother Nature herself to give us something to lift the gloom?
As long as you proceed with a little common sense and caution the third option should perhaps be the first one you explore. There are indeed some natural dietary supplements that have been found to help improve mood and mental clarity. Here is a little about some of the most common and for many people, the most effective:
SAM-e – SAM e supplements are actually a form of an amino acid found naturally in smaller amounts in the body. As a supplement it has been known for some time that a SAM e seems to help reduce depression symptoms and a number if research studies have found it to be more effective than the popular prescription drugs designed to do the same thing. It does not seem to be just for those suffering from severe depression though. As an overall mood balancer it seems to work very well.
Krill Oil – Krill are small shrimp type creatures that live deep in oceans all over the world. The oil that can be extracted from their little bodies has become one the hottest natural supplements on the market over the last few years. Initially people were interested in it because of its ability to reduce bad cholesterol and improve heart health.
Lesser known is krill oil’s ability to help relieve depression symptoms and improve mental clarity. In fact researchers have high hopes for krill oil as an aid to help prevent memory loss and age related dementia.
Krill Oil has also shown signs that it may help receive the more serious emotional problems and mood swings women who suffer from PMS have to deal with every month.
Vitamin D – Humble Vitamin D is another mood enhancer that is all natural. Ideally humans should get all the Vitamin D they need from the sun, the best source of Vitamin D on the planet. After all you have to admit most people feel happier in the summertime and not just because they get top go to the beach!
The difficulty is that most people – children included – are spending less time than ever out in the sun and so Vitamin D deficiency is an increasingly common problem. Not only is this bad news for your mood but for your bones as well. Rickets – a bone disease thought to have been almost wiped out in the Western world years ago -has made something of a comeback and the culprit researchers believe is that lack of Vitamin D.
None of these supplements are going to make your world a wonderful place overnight. They are all however worth giving a try before resort to prescription medications and have to deal with all the nasty side effects that come along with such things!
Bio
Elena runs site krilloilguide.org dedicated to krill oil and its benefits for health and beauty.
