Worried? Try eating marmite: High levels of B vitamins can prevent bad thoughts, research claims –

If you want to get rid of the blues, coating your toast with Marmite can help.

The researchers say that vitamin B6, which is abundant in the controversial spread, may reduce feelings of anxiety and depression.

Tests suggested that vitamin B6 could prevent bad thoughts by interfering with brain chemistry.

However, the mental health benefits were only achieved by consuming very high doses compared to the levels seen in supplements.

Although academics at the University of Reading believe that lower doses of B6 found in the ‘love it or hate it’ distribution may work less well.

The vitamin is also found in other foods such as tuna, chickpeas, leafy greens, oranges, and bananas.

The graph shows that anxiety levels were reduced by 13% in the B6 (dark blue) areas each day, compared to just 4.8% in the placebo group (light blue).

While previous research has linked high levels of B vitamins and less stress, this was the first study to pinpoint exactly which type is to blame.

The study tested the effects of B6 and B12 supplements on more than 300 college students, many of whom struggled with anxiety or depression.

Some volunteers were given 100 mg of B6 tablets, 70 times the recommended daily dose, to be taken with food every day for one month.

One serving of marmite contains much less, although its nutritional value does not indicate exactly how much.

The spread, made from yeast extract, also contains 8.9 micrograms of B12, which is 76 percent of the recommended daily intake, the other B vitamin tested.

Others were given 1 mg of B12 pills per day – 416 times the daily amount.

Another group took sugar pills, according to research published in Clinical and Experimental Human Psychopharmacology.

Participants were given anxiety and depression questionnaires at the beginning and end of the 30-day period to see how levels of both changed.

Questionnaires commonly used in psychiatry asked them about their symptoms, such as irritability, whether people like them, and heart rate.

The results showed that those in the B6 had significantly lower rates than the placebo group.

Anxiety levels were reduced by 13% compared to only 4.8% in the placebo group and 6.1% in the B12 groups.

Meanwhile, depression levels slightly increased in the placebo group, decreased in those in B6 and remained stable in those in B12.

Lead author Dr. David Field says, “Many foods contain vitamin B6, including tuna, chickpeas, and many fruits and vegetables.

“However, the high doses used in this study suggest that supplements are necessary to have a positive effect on mood.”

The effect of B6 on depression was quite small compared to regular drugs, said Dr. Area.

However, diet-based interventions produce far fewer troubling side effects than medications and so people may opt for them as an intervention in the future.

“One possible option would be to combine B6 supplements with talking therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, to increase their effects.”

Vitamin B6 increases the body’s production of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which prevents brain overload.

The chemical has a calming effect on the brain by reducing nerve signals.

Tests measuring the vision of participants who were also affected by GABA, showed that those who took B6 supplements had significantly elevated levels of the chemical.

Dr. Field said: “Brain functioning depends on the delicate balance between excitatory neurons that carry information around and inhibitory neurons that prevent uncontrolled activity.

Recent theories have linked mood disorders and some other neuropsychiatric disorders to a disturbance in this balance, often in the direction of increased brain activity.

“Vitamin B6 helps the body produce a specific chemical messenger that blocks impulses in the brain, and our study associates this calming effect with reducing anxiety in participants.”

Around 8 million adults suffer from anxiety in the UK, while 40 million in the US.

It can cause digestive and sleep problems, as well as debilitating panic attacks that affect people’s ability to work and socialize.

Patients normally receive cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), where psychiatrists discuss their problems and help them change their thinking.