The LEVITY Program  Inside the LEVITY Program  About the Vitamins in the LEVITY Program

The Science Behind the LEVITY Vitamin Formula

The Levity® Mood Elevating Formula was tested as part of the LEVITY Study -- ground-breaking research just released December 2001 in Women & Health, a peer-reviewed academic journal. In the study, conducted under the auspices of the University of Washington, a program of light, exercise and vitamins was tested on 112 women spanning the ages from 19-78. In just 8 weeks, tests showed that the women had experienced a remarkable turn around. They felt more energetic, better able to cope with stress, less anxious, more joyful, less reliant on food for comfort, less angry, and more confident in their own abilities.

There is substantial research that suggests that inadequate intakes of B vitamins can result in low mood or other depressive conditions. B vitamins, which are water soluble, are some of the safest of all vitamins and their benefits have been proven for decades.

For example, studies suggest that about a third of depressed persons are at least mildly deficient in thiamine (Vitamin B-1). In a particularly well-known study, researchers studied 120 female college students given 50 mg per day of thiamine or a placebo. After just two months the students who took thiamine more than doubled their previous psychological test scores on clear-headedness and mood while students taking the placebo showed no change. Those taking thiamine also increased their quickness on a reaction time test, while the placebo group was unchanged (Benton, 1997).

America's most common vitamin deficiency is riboflavin, otherwise known as Vitamin B-2 (Mindell). Women on oral contraceptives must be particularly mindful of this deficiency since the "pill" can intensify the deficiency making the need for riboflavin even more important. Low levels of both riboflavin and pyridoxine (Vitamin B-6) are typically found in high percentages of clinically depressed individuals. In a British study, patients who were admitted to a psychiatric hospital were studied for vitamin deficiencies, and researchers found that those with mood (affective) disorders were virtually all deficient in both riboflavin and pyridoxine (Carney, 1982).

A 1995 double-blind study measured mood in over 120 healthy adults, half of whom were taking select vitamins including riboflavin and pyridoxine on a daily basis, and the other half taking a placebo. Most of the subjects taking the vitamins reported improved mood, with researchers identifying riboflavin and pyridoxine as the primary factors for the improvement in mood (Benton).

Low mood and PMS (premenstrual syndrome) are commonly linked. A connection between PMS and pyridoxine deficiency was demonstrated in a study published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine. Supplementation of the vitamin was shown to help correct the deficiency, and "at the appropriate dosage, to improve the symptoms of premenstrual tension" (Stewart, 1987).

Perhaps the strongest evidence of a connection between B vitamins and depression involves the B vitamin known as folic acid (or "folate"), which has substantial scientific evidence linking a nutritional deficiency to depression. The Journal of Psychiatric Research published a study that identified folate deficiency as common in depressed individuals (Abou-Saleh, 1986), while Nutrition Reviews published a 1997 study suggesting that folate deficiency most likely manifests in the form of depressive symptoms (Alpert). A double-blind study in 1991 proved that folic acid supplementation "significantly improved clinical and social recovery" in depressed patients (Procter).

Vitamin D and selenium also have clinically proven mood-enhancing properties. It is recommended that visitors read When Your Body Gets The Blues (Brown & Robinson, 2002, Rodale Books) as an excellent source of more information on all of the 6 nutrients in the LEVITY formula.

A Note About the Levity Mood Elevating Formula

The formula used in the LEVITY study is produced by Geneva Health & Nutrition. It is available in health food stores, drug stores and online. Visit our Resources page for more information.

References

Abou-Saleh, M.T., Coppen A. (1986). "The biology of folate in depression: implications for nutritional hypotheses of the psychoses". Journal of Psychiatric Research, 20(2):91-101.

Alpert, J.E., Fava, M. (May, 1997). "Nutrition and depression: the role of folate". Nutrition Reviews, 55(5):145-9.

Benton, D., et al. (January, 1997). "Thiamine supplementation improves mood and cognitive functioning." Psychopharmacology (Berlin) 129: 66-71.

Benton, D., Haller, J., Fordy, J. (1995). "Vitamin supplementation for one year improves mood." Neuropsychobiology, 32:2, 98-105.

Brown, M.A., Goldstein-Shirley, J., Robinson, J. and Casey, S. (2001). "The Effects of a Multi-Modal Intervention Trial of Light, Exercise, and Vitamins on Women's Mood." Women & Health Vol. 34(3)

Carney, M.W., Ravindran, A., Rinsler, M.G. and Williams, D.G. (1982). "Thiamine, riboflavin and pyridoxine deficiency in psychiatric in-patients." British Journal of Psychiatry 141: 271-272.

Mindell, E., Mundis, H. (1999). Vitamin Bible for the 21st Century. New York: Warner Books, Inc.

Procter, A. (August, 1991). "Enhancement of recovery from psychiatric illness by methylfolate". British Journal of Psychiatry 159:271-2.

Stewart, A. (June, 1987). "Clinical and biochemical effects of nutritional supplementation on the premenstrual syndrome". Journal of Reproductive Medicine, 32(6):435-41