N-A-C for Depression and Anxiety

Why are people depressed and anxious?

Anxiety and other mental challenge have two components – physical and psychological. (This is a false dichotomy, as you’ll soon understand.)

The psychological components of anxiety come from cultural brainwashing. Most of the “problems” we have in the West were taught to us. For example people feel anxious about growing old. In other cultures age and wisdom are celebrated. Some people obsess over their looks, becoming depressed when they lose them, and fail to build character.

Shame is the only sin in the modern West.

We are also taught to let haters control us. For example, any article about a supplement – even one that is clinically proven – will be met with nasty comments.

• “Hey gorilla man is selling supplements.” (I don’t sell N-A-C.)
• “There’s no such things as toxins!” (False. Run a PubMed search for “oxidative stress,” and its causes.)
• “Snake oil!” (N-A-C is well-studied, and is the opposite of an unproven or ineffective product.)

People often refuse to take action because they are afraid of what haters will say. When you refuse to take action to improve your life, you continue the spiral of depression and anxiety, because you’re not living the life YOU want to live.

Mindset training gets you past the societal bullsh-t, but there is an actual physiological basis for many depressive mental conditions.

Could mental illness be caused by oxidative stress?

Top clinicians and researchers are exploring the role role oxidative stress plays in mental illness. There are several studies to peruse on PubMed.

A Meta-Analysis of Oxidative Stress Markers in Depression (PubMed):

Studies have suggested that depression was accompanied by oxidative stress dysregulation, including abnormal total antioxidant capacity (TAC), antioxidants, free radicals, oxidative damage and autoimmune response products. This meta-analysis aims to analyse the clinical data quantitatively by comparing the oxidative stress markers between depressed patients and healthy controls.

There’s more.

See, Is depression associated with increased oxidative stress?

A systematic review and meta-analysis. (“This meta-analysis finds that oxidative stress, as measured by 8-OHdG and F2-isoprostanes, is increased in depression. Larger-scale studies are needed to extend the evidence on oxidative stress in depression, and examine the potential impact of treatment.”)

And, The efficacy of adjunctive N-acetylcysteine in major depressive disorder: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial (PubMed.)

“These data implicate the pathways influenced by NAC in depression pathogenesis, principally oxidative and inflammatory stress and glutamate, although definitive confirmation remains necessary.”)

See also, The Glutathione System: A New Drug Target in Neuroimmune Disorders (PudMed.)

Glutathione depletion and concomitant increase in oxidative and neurological stress and mitochondrial dysfunctions play a role in the pathophysiology of diverse neuroimmune disorders, including depression, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome and Parkinson’s disease, suggesting that depleted GSH is an integral part of these diseases.”

On and on it goes.

 Markers of Oxidative Stress and Neuroprogression in Depression Disorder (PubMed).

Oxidative stress plays significant role in pathophysiology of major depression via actions of free radicals, nonradical molecules, and reactive oxygen and nitrogen species

The research is ongoing, of course, but when I found it, the choice to try a $15 a month supplement was a no-brainer.

N-A-C changed my life. I haven’t had anything close to an “anxiety attack,” despite attacks on me that would crush 99.99% of other people, in over a decade.

N-Acetylcysteine (N-A-C) has been clinically proven to help treat symptoms of anxiety, depression, and bipolar.

N-Acetylcysteine is a powerful nootropic with still many unstudied benefits. N-A-C has been used by visionary doctors to help treat intractable depression and anxiety.

Why haven’t you heard about the magical effects of N-A-C? Simple. Go on Amazon and see how much a bottle of N-A-C costs. There’s no profit in this stuff, even though there is solid science supporting its use.

According to N-acetylcysteine in psychiatry: current therapeutic evidence and potential mechanisms of action (PubMed):

There is a growing body of literature exploring the use of NAC in the treatment of psychiatric illness. There is provisional evidence of the potential benefit of NAC in a wide range of disorders. Many of these disorders have limited treatment options or suboptimal outcomes with current treatments.

See, N-acetyl cysteine for depressive symptoms in bipolar disorder–a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled trial (“NAC appears a safe and effective augmentation strategy for depressive symptoms in bipolar disorder.”) (PubMed.)

See also, N-acetyl cysteine as a glutathione precursor for schizophrenia–a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. (“These data suggest that adjunctive NAC has potential as a safe and moderately effective augmentation strategy for chronic schizophrenia.”) (PubMed.)

Why does N-A-C help treat depression?

Acetylcysteine is a glutathione precursor, which means acetylcysteine is converted into glutathione.

Glutathione is an antioxidant that used by your to reduce oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is associated with depression, anxiety, and other more severe conditions.

See, Invivo antioxidant status: a putative target of antidepressant action (PubMed):

Oxidative stress is a critical route of damage in various psychological stress-induced disorders, such as depression.

How much N-A-C should you take?

That would be medical advice, which I don’t give. However, participants in the studies usually used between 1 and 2 grams daily.

I personally take 2 grams a day of time-released NAC

What brand of N-A-C is best?

I personally use Jarrow’s form of N-A-C Sustain, which is time released.

Do you sell N-A-C?

No. Although N-A-C is a must-have product for me, it’s inexpensive. It’d cost me more to private label and deal with the logistics of selling it than it would bring in profit.

Also, Gorilla Mind is a separate company that I invested in. Gorilla Mind has fantastic products, but this isn’t a plug for any of them.

This is a plug for N-A-C.

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