Groundbreaking research has identified specific dietary minerals that can significantly influence your likelihood of developing mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety.
Major Study Reveals Mineral Impact on Mental Health
A comprehensive study led by researchers at Xi'an Jiaotong University in China, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, has uncovered how twelve different minerals affect six mental health disorders. The team analysed data from nearly 200,000 participants from the UK Biobank, all without diagnosed mental illnesses at the study's outset.
Scientists tracked these individuals for an impressive thirteen years, asking them to complete multiple 24-hour dietary questionnaires to estimate their average daily mineral intake. They then cross-referenced this nutritional data with participants' health records for mental health diagnoses.
Which Minerals Help and Which Harm?
The analysis produced striking results about how different minerals affect mental wellbeing. Higher consumption of iron, magnesium and selenium was associated with substantially lower depression risk—by 12%, 9.5% and 12% respectively.
Conversely, researchers discovered that higher calcium intake was linked to a 10.4% increased risk of depression and a worrying 15.4% higher risk of anxiety.
Other significant findings included manganese lowering suicide risk by an impressive 33%, while high zinc intake decreased the risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder by 57%.
Gender, Age and Health Status Matter
The protective effects of several minerals showed notable variations between different groups. The study found that the depression-fighting benefits of iron, potassium, magnesium, zinc and selenium were more pronounced in women than in men.
Age also played a role, with the connections between potassium, magnesium and copper intake and reduced depression risk being stronger in participants aged 55 or younger.
Perhaps most importantly, the researchers discovered that existing chronic illness may influence how dietary minerals impact mental health risk. When they excluded people with pre-existing chronic conditions from their analysis, some initial findings—including the link between calcium and depression—were no longer statistically significant.
The researchers concluded: 'High intakes of iron, selenium and manganese may reduce common mental disorders risk, while high calcium intake may increase depression and anxiety risk, highlighting the need for balance.'
They added that ensuring adequate intake of magnesium, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese at recommended levels may provide a practical approach to reducing mood disorder risk.
However, the team cautioned that further research is needed to confirm their findings, noting limitations including that participants were predominantly white and healthier than the general population.
