This blog post is the beginning of a series of monthly posts, which provide a recap of the content on nutraceutical products that we have produced in the past month. Our October content focused on various types of supplements used to provide physical and mental health benefits. We focused again on vitamin d, turmeric, and magnesium, narrowing our focus on specific health issues such as diabetes and blood health. In the mental health space, we wrote about lithium supplements for the very first time and focused on how low-dose lithium supplements could be used to treat milder mental health issues. We also wrote about turmeric yet again and noted how turmeric could potentially help delay the onset of diabetes and also help relieve some of the symptoms of diabetes. Our newer content also focused on SAMe and NR supplements, both of which have a plethora of physical and mental health benefits.
How Nutraceutical Products Can Improve Mental Health
Consumers have been increasingly turning to nutraceutical products to improve their mental health or improve their cognitive abilities. According to Grandview Research, the global brain health supplements market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8% through 2028, resulting in total market size of $13.4 billion. Meanwhile, the mental disorders drug market is currently valued at $36.8 billion and is projected to reach $58.9 billion by 2030. For comparison purposes, the global brain supplements market in 2028 will still not be larger than the current size of the antidepressant market alone if it grows as projected at 8%. Will nutraceutical products significantly grow at the expense of traditional pharmaceutical products and start overrunning this space? This is not very likely in our view, and it appears that both spaces are poised for respectable and similar growth moving forward. However, what is very apparent is that there is a need for alternative, holistic approaches to mental health, and various types of nutraceutical products can most certainly fill in these gaps. We focused on lithium and magnesium, which are perhaps two of the best nutraceutical products in this space.
Lithium
Lithium has been approved by the FDA for decades for the treatment of major mood disorders, including bipolar disorder. Lithium is also effective for treating patients with milder forms of mood disorders, or various types of personality disorders that are much harder to resolve with medication. What strikes us as interesting is the ample potential for low-dose lithium supplements to help alleviate the symptoms of mild mental health issues and to improve cognitive function in older people. We searched and were able to find several psychiatrists who saw how amazing lithium was, and decided to start prescribing it in lower doses. Lithium also has comparatively fewer side effects as compared to traditional medications ( antidepressants, antipsychotics, and other mood stabilizers), especially when taken in smaller doses. One of the most noteworthy positive impacts of lithium was its ability to reduce suicidal ideation in patients. In lower doses, lithium may also be ideal for the entire population, which already consumes trace amounts of lithium on a daily basis.
Magnesium
In our view, magnesium is not quite as significant as lithium in the mental health space, and the data is a bit hazier. We will address some common questions associated with magnesium supplements below, which are also summarized in this article.
Do I really need to take magnesium supplements? This largely depends on your diet and age. It is definitely possible to get enough magnetism naturally from your diet. Issues such as alcoholism, older age, and diabetes can also impact your magnesium levels. In brief, if you are older, have health issues, or are not consuming enough magnesium naturally, you should definitely consider magnesium supplements.
Do Magnesium supplements really improve mental health? Magnesium deficiency is a serious issue, which can cause a plethora of physical and cognitive health issues. Your mental health can be negatively impacted by lower magnesium levels. However, there is not ample research in this space, and a lot of the studies focused on the wrong types of magnesium supplements ( lactate and oxide). It’s crucial to ensure you choose the right type of magnesium supplement if you are going this route. To further complicate things, magnesium levels can’t be accurately monitored via blood tests as they can with lithium.
Is magnesium overhyped? Not really. Magnesium deficiency can cause serious health issues, both physical and mental. Magnesium supplements are useful for many types of people, especially older people. In our view, there should be more research focused on how supplements such as magnesium glycinate impact mental health. For the time being, it’s best to do everything you can to avoid magnesium deficiency in order to reap the current crystal clear health benefits.
Turmeric for Diabetes
We have been writing about turmeric a lot lately, and plan to focus on some of the relatively unknown health benefits of turmeric. Our next blog post on turmeric will focus on how turmeric could potentially help with depression. Be on the lookout for this, and eventually, a white paper highlighted virtually all of the health benefits of turmeric, backed by heaps of reports and studies.
Last month we focused on how turmeric can help with diabetes. Lots of nutraceutical products aim and claim to alleviate symptoms associated with diabetes, so we thought we would take a look at some of the studies and share our thoughts.
Turmeric is useful because it can help drop blood glucose levels in patients. NCBI published several studies on how turmeric was responsible for potentially preventing or delaying the onset of type 2 diabetes. However, once someone is diagnosed with diabetes it becomes a bit trickier to manage with turmeric and other nutraceutical products. Notably, turmeric can help with blood sugar management and can also help with general health ( weight loss/reduced inflammation/etc), which could prove to be useful.
While some of the research on this topic was very interesting, it is definitely clear that turmeric is not a one-stop-shop in the nutraceutical industry. The main appeal of turmeric lies in the diverse nature of its health benefits. Simply put, everyone should include turmeric in their diet, as it is bound to help you out in at least one way. Be on the lookout for other articles focusing on the health benefits of turmeric.
Vitamin D and Bone Health
After completing a primer on the health benefits of vitamin D last year, we decided to focus on how vitamin D impacts bone health. Vitamin D became very popular with consumers several decades ago, which resulted in consumers flocking to vitamin d supplements, even when it was unnecessary. Furthermore, some of the claimed health benefits did not check out. However, it has been clearly demonstrated that vitamin D has a very positive impact on your bone health. Research has indicated that both calcium and vitamin d are crucial in maintaining favorable bone health. We also outlined some of the common types of food that have adequate levels of vitamin d. It’s possible to get enough vitamin d from your diet and from the sun, but we still believe vitamin D supplements are useful. The risk of vitamin d toxicity and unpleasant side effects from taking too much vitamin D is very low. The diverse health benefits of vitamin D are another appeal, as vitamin D can also boost your immune system. Click here to read more.
Two New Nutraceutical Articles: Nad+ and SAMe
We also wrote about two new nutraceutical products, which are relatively unknown in the nutraceutical space. We will continue writing about Nad+ and SAMe in the future, as they both offer a plethora of health benefits.
SAMe
SAMe is a type of nutraceutical product, usually taken in supplement form, that provides a unique number of physical and mental health benefits. SAMe can be used to treat depression and has often been pitched as a relevant alternative to traditional antidepressants. However, SAMe can interact with other medications used to treat depression, so it is definitely worth noting this if you are considering SAMe. Other studies have shown that SAMe can be useful in assisting with health issues such as osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, and various liver issues.
NAD+
What is NAD+ and how do you increase your NAD+ levels? NAD+ helps to fight against some of the negative impacts of aging and boasts a large number of health benefits including increased cognitive function, higher energy levels, and reduced risk of heart issues. Your body can produce NAD+ naturally, but this becomes harder as you age and/or take on unhealthy lifestyle choices. Luckily, consumers can take NR supplements to help boost their NAD+ levels, to help fight back against aging ( as much as you can anyway).
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