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SUPPLEMENTS

 
Levity
 
Newsday, 3/23/04

WHAT'S IN THE BOTTLE
A PILL DESIGNED TO MAKE YOU HAPPIER

by Jamie Talan

THE PRODUCT AND WHAT IT IS MARKETED FOR: Levity is intended for just what the name implies: as an "all-natural" mood enhancer. It is actually five vitamins and one mineral rolled into one tablet. The six -- B1, B2, B6 and D, folic acid and the mineral selenium -- were chosen because each has been shown to enhance aspects of mood and well-being.

WHERE IT WAS CREATED: Marie- Annette Brown is a professor in the school of nursing at the University of Washington and sees patients at the hospital's women's clinic. About five years ago, she began wondering what she could do to improve the mood and energy level of her patients. The complaints of sluggishness and irritability seemed to echo through the examination rooms. Working with colleagues, she pored through the literature and identified three ways that people seemed to get over the blues. Thus began her program, which she dubbed Levity. The first three letters describe the three components to the program: light, exercise and vitamins.

WHAT'S KNOWN: There is growing research that vitamins have beneficial effects on the mind and body. When Brown came up with her list of vitamins she searched out a supplement that she could use to test whether they would work to enhance mood. She asked a local vitamin company to make the pill.

Brown said that studies have shown that these vitamins change brain chemistry. Vitamin B6 has been shown to increase serotonin, a brain chemical involved in mood and behavior, and improve blood flow. Vitamin B1, or thiamine, improves sleep and has been shown in some studies to increase energy. B1 has also been shown to enhance the effectiveness of antidepressant medicines. B2, riboflavin, was chosen because it improves mood and thinking. It also helps metabolize protein calories and carbohydrates, Brown said, and also may alter serotonin. Folic acid is involved with the body's production of a natural chemical called SAM-e, which is thought to have antidepressant effects. It also increases serotonin in the brain. Vitamin D also releases serotonin. Receptors that use vitamin D are abundant in skin and the brain. Finally, selenium enhances dopamine, another brain chemical that regulates the intricate pleasure pathways.

THE STUDY: She and her colleagues screened 493 women to find people with mild mood symptoms -- complaints of feeling blue, irritable and sluggish. People with major depression were not enrolled in the study. They finally enrolled 112 women, and half were randomly assigned to light exposure 20 minutes a day, daily exercise for 20 minutes (a brisk walk) and the vitamin supplement. The other women received a placebo.

THE RESULTS: At the end of eight weeks, the women took the depression test again and the scores between the two groups were compared. The scores in the active group had returned to normal. By contrast, fewer women in the control arm had their scores normalize.

Brown said that women in the Levity program did better on tests that rated mood. They also lost more weight than those on the placebo, who were also not exercising. They scored higher on a test that measures general well-being, and they said they felt better than those in the control arm. (The fact that women were not part of a monitored exercise regimen makes it hard to evaluate whether the positive effects were because of the supplement, exercise or light or the combination of any one of these treatments.)

The results were published in the journal Women and Health in 2001. Brown went on to co-author a book on the Levity Program with Jo Robinson, a science writer. Then, the company decided to sell the once-a-day pill that was designed for the study. They called it Levity, but she said that she has no financial stake in Geneva Health, the company that makes it.

Researchers at Toronto Western Hospital are also testing the supplement in an ongoing study on mood.

BOTTOM LINE: "When I tell people about our findings, I just let them know about the supplements that show a benefit," Brown said. "Whether they take them as six separate pills or one makes no difference."

She never tells people that they should do something because it is good for them. Instead, she explains the science behind each of the vitamins and the mineral and then about the benefits of outdoor light. "Even on a cloudy day, it is 30 times brighter on the outside than in the most brightly lit office," she said. She even offers people a convenient two for one: do your exercise outside - 20 minutes of moderate intensity walking, "like walking fast to catch a bus," she said.

OTHER OPTIONS: As Brown points out, any supplement that carries these ingredients would have the same effect. Levity contains 50 milligrams of vitamins B1, B2 and B6; 400 micrograms of folic acid; 400 units of vitamin D; and 200 micrograms of selenium.

The Levity supplement can be bought at Eckerd for $14.95 for a two-month supply. You can also read about the program and the study in Brown's book: "When Your Body Gets the Blues," (Rodale Press, $22.95).

"The vitamin Bs are involved with carbohydrate metabolism, and are a prime source of energy," said Audrey Cross, a nutritionist on the faculty at Columbia University School of Public Health. She said that the vitamins that are in Levity are all safe and important for body health. "Once you consume the amount of vitamin your body needs, the excess is excreted in the urine. They are very safe."


Copyright 2004, Newsday, Inc.