The Link Between Diet and Anxiety: Micronutrients and Mental Health

In May 2024, Ebony Dupas’ anxiety intensified to the point where clinicians weighed several psychiatric diagnoses, including generalized anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Referred by her doctor, she began seeing multiple psychiatrists, most of whom urged medication. One clinician ordered bloodwork to look for nonpsychiatric causes, and the results showed a depletion of magnesium. That finding helped guide a treatment approach that combined supplements with a small dose of an SSRI. Within a couple of weeks, Dupas reported she felt clearer, could focus, and no longer felt paranoid that people were coming after her.

The case reflects a broader, growing interest in how what we eat may influence mental health. While most people with anxiety or depression receive psychotherapy and medication, researchers are increasingly examining nutrition’s role in brain function. The gut microbiome and micronutrients such as magnesium, B vitamins, vitamin D, omega-3s, choline, and L-theanine have been linked to mood and anxiety in laboratory and observational studies. The brain and the rest of the body are connected through neurotransmitter production and inflammatory processes, offering a biological basis for how diet could affect mental health. The field is evolving, but robust clinical trial data on micronutrient supplementation for mental health remain limited, complicating clear treatment guidance.

The limited evidence has not stopped researchers from exploring specifics. A 2024 review suggested that supplemental magnesium is likely useful for treating mild anxiety and insomnia, particularly in people with existing magnesium deficiency. However, results across trials are inconsistent, in part because magnesium comes in many forms — citrate, malate, glycinate, oxide, chloride, and more — and how efficiently each form delivers magnesium to the brain is not yet well understood. Alexander Rawji, a psychiatrist and lead author on related work, notes that the body’s ability to utilize magnesium varies by form and individual factors, so supplements should be viewed as part of a multipronged treatment rather than a standalone remedy for anxiety.

Similar uncertainties exist for other micronutrients. Deficiencies in B vitamins, vitamin D, omega-3s, choline, and L-theanine have been associated with mood disturbances in some research, but robust clinical trials showing definitive mental-health benefits from supplementation are scarce. The field emphasizes that mental health disorders arise from complex biological and environmental factors, making nutrition one important but not solitary piece of care. Another complicating factor is testing: blood panels can fail to reveal low magnesium stores even when serum levels appear normal, complicating decisions about supplementation and monitoring.

Healthcare providers increasingly view nutrition as part of a comprehensive treatment plan. Some experts argue that clinicians should routinely assess diet and nutritional status, especially for patients with multiple health conditions or medications that could affect nutrient balance. Although nutrition can yield meaningful benefits, most clinicians caution that supplements should not replace evidence-based therapies such as SSRIs or benzodiazepines. When patients pursue dietary changes to support mental health, the guidance is to emphasize balanced, whole-food sources rather than high-dose supplements, and to do so under medical supervision.

Practical dietary guidance commonly focuses on foods that supply key micronutrients. For magnesium, green leafy vegetables, nuts, and legumes are good options; B vitamins come from dairy products, eggs, and whole grains; choline is plentiful in eggs, beans, and cruciferous vegetables; vitamin D can be found in fatty fish and fortified foods; and L-theanine is present in green tea. In framing these nutrients, experts emphasize that such dietary patterns should complement, not replace, standard mental-health care. As Uma Naidoo, director of nutritional and lifestyle psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, has emphasized, the brain and mental health are not separate from the body’s broader systems.