Below are some commonly encountered supplements used for well-being, in addition to important fact sheets on herbs, dietary supplements, and botanicals. Supplements can be a part of your mental healing process but can also have side effects, like prescribed medications, or interact with medications you are currently taking. Discuss any supplements you are currently taking with your prescriber/provider and talk to your doctor before you start taking a new dietary supplement:
Dietary Supplement Fact sheet: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/list-all/ This is a searchable database of dietary supplements and other information from the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements.
The NIH “Herbs at a Glance“: NCCIH Herbs at a glance provides fact sheets and additional information for commonly used herbs and botanicals.
DHEA: https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-dhea/art-20364199 DHEA is a hormone that is produced by your body. Normally, DHEA functions as a precursor to male and female sex hormones, including testosterone and estrogen in your body. DHEA production declines with age and is sometimes supplemented through the diet by purchasing the synthetic tablet form.
Inositol: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/inositol#what-it-is Inositol can be found in beans, nuts, and some fruits and vegetables. As a supplement, it has been examined for its potential benefit in depression and anxiety studies: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9169302
L-Methylfolate: L-methlyfolate (L-MF), a medical food, can be obtained by prescription or over-the-counter through specific distributors. In patients who have pharmacogenomic testing results indicating severely reduced folic acid conversion, a 3-month trial is a standard treatment approach. Many published trials that demonstrated a response, did so at doses of 15 mg daily. Product labeling: https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=76386336-417d-4f90-8171-1f745198ded2 L-MF in Treatment resistant depression and other trials: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23212058, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2933841/, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3036555/
L-theanine is an amino acid found most commonly in green tea leaves, black tea. As a supplement, it is studied for it’s effect on well-being and promoting a sense of calmness: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324120.php
NAC (N-acetyl-cysteine) in psychiatry: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3044191/ Several studies have investigated NAC for the treatment of anxiety and depression. NAC is synthesized from the amino acid cysteine and your body makes it as part of a metabolic pathway. Theoretically, it works in an antioxidant pathway in your body. It’s also used the emergency room to prevent damage of certain organs after overdose: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5241507/
Omega 3-Fatty Acids have been studied for both its cardiovascular benefits and potential effect on mood. As a dietary supplement, products that contains 450 milligrams of EPA and 100 milligrams of DHA daily have the most support. There are also vegan forms available. Talk to your doctor to see if this supplementation is right for you. As for current guidelines on Omega 3 Fatty acids, NIH has a nice write-up here: Omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil, alpha-linolenic acid , as does Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/what-are-omega-3-fatty-acids-from-fish-oil/art-20232583
SAM-e (S-Adenosyl methionine) is a chemical that your body makes. As a supplement, SAM-e is studied for depression and other conditions. In some European countries, it is available as a prescribed medication: https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-same/art-20364924 and https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-786/same and https://nccih.nih.gov/health/supplements/SAMe