Depression can be caused or worsened by insufficient blood levels of a B vitamin called Folic Acid (also referred to as Folate). It has received a lot of media attention lately. This attention is a response to the fact that if Folic Acid is not consumed in high enough amounts by pregnant mothers, the unborn can have heart disease, stroke, and brain or spinal cord defects. The dangers of low Folic Acid in the blood are:

• Increased risk of depression and Alzheimer's Disease

• Unborn fetuses can have heart disease, stroke and spinal cord defects

• Standard Depression drugs will not work, The drugs that will fail to relieve Depression caused by deficient Folic Acid are Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Elavil, and Imipramine (or potentially any other currently available anti-depressant).

We learned that the correct treatment of any disease depends on proper diagnosis of the cause or causes. When a person does not respond well to anti-depressant medication, a blood test for Folate content may reveal why there has been no improvement. Raising the Folic Acid level by diet will typically cure this form of depression.

It has been found that a low blood Folate level not only increases the risk of Depression but also increases the risk of Alzheimer's Disease.

I have found that a Folic Acid (or Folate) deficiency is a much more common cause of depression in meat-eaters than in vegetarians. (People with an Omega-3 deficiency seem to have similar depression rates whether they are meat-eaters or vegetarians). The RDA recommended daily allowance for Folate is 400 micrograms.