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Vitamin D supplement? utritional Medicine  Nutritional
Approaches to Mental Health  © Hyla Cass MD    • Folic acid
(folate). Folic acid, another B vitamin, helps assist in the
creation of many neurotransmitters. It is also essential to the
production of hemoglobin, the oxygen-bearing substance in red
blood cells, so deficiencies often lead to anemia. Studies have
shown abnormally low levels of this vitamin in from a quarter to
a third of all depressed persons. Other symptoms include
fatigue, lower-extremity problems, and dementia. Orthomolecular
psychiatrists have used folic acid supplements for many years to
reduce the frequency of relapses in their patients. Poor dietary
habits contribute to folic acid deficiencies, as do illness,
alcoholism, and various drugs, including aspirin, birth control
pills, barbiturates, and anticonvulsants. It is usually
administered along with vitamin B12, sin