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NOW Foods Mood Support – An Honest Review

The great thing about amino acids and natural supplements is often times when you get back on track you don’t need them anymore and there is no withdrawal. After taking NOW Foods Mood Support for almost a month, I don’t have to take it everyday anymore. I take it every now and then when I need it. It helps bring me back to where I need to be, and then I can coast without it and still feel great.

Topics Discussed:

0:23 – Getting High Off Mood Support
0:41 – Ingredients in Mood Support
1:04 – Calm Confidence
1:42 – Pros and Cons
2:14 – Who Should Try It

I’ve had a consistently positive mood. Not just mediocre, but actually positive and optimistic.  Along with great sleep, eating healthy, and exercising, I feel great.  I actually had the time of my life the other night just playing a ping pong tournament, meaning those pleasure chemicals were working away!

I take a St. John’s Wort in the morning and NOW Mood Support at night.  I always swore I could feel something with the Mood Support, but you never know if it is a placebo or not.

I didn’t take it for two days and continued taking just the St. John’s Wort alone (Mood Support has St. John’s Wort in it).  Instead of taking one St John’s Wort in the morning and a Mood Support midday, I replaced the Mood Support with another St. Johns Wort.  The first two days I was more irritable, less friendly, and more negative.  On the third day I was noticeably depressed.  Even after a heavy weight lifting session I was becoming cynical.  It’s that feeling where everyone rubs you the wrong way and you are slightly angry for no reason.

On the third day I popped one capsule out of my Mood Support bottle  before I ate any food and continued on my day.  About a few hours later, I noticed I was calm and had generous feelings.  I regained that calm sense of confidence, had less anxiety, and was more  motivated.

I can tell you 100%  that this supplement has an effect on me, and it works regardless of whether or not I take it with food.  In fact, I accidentally got high off the supplement when I took a larger dose to test if it was a placebo or not.

Amazon Reviews

I’m always skeptical of Amazon reviews.  There are  people who are paid to write reviews.  If you look at the best sellers, the first 4 or 5 reviews are generally written like a sales letter or marketing message.  It can be hard to tell which reviews are legit.

When looking at NOW Moods Support, it has 23 Five-Star Reviews.  There is 2 One-Star reviews and a handful of Two- and Three-Star reviews.  Most are reviews that say “Amazon Verified Purchase” which is what convinced me to buy it in the first place.

For some people it worked amazing, others it didn’t work at all, and a few people it worked for a few weeks and then stopped working.

In other words, we know it works for some people.

Ingredients

B-Vitamins

There are accounts of people curing their depression solely by taking large doses of B-Vitamins alone. B-Vitamins are involved in numerous processes within the body and brain, among them being responsible for being the catalysts for converting amino acids into neurotransmitters like serotonin. The B-Vitamins in Mood Support at the very least will provide your body with greater nutritional value, and at the most will assist your brain in the process of producing more of the neurotransmitters that will aid your mood and make you feel better.

All B-Vitamins help the body produce energy. B-Vitamins are water soluble, meaning that if you take too much your body can excrete the excess without it becoming toxic.

Thiamin 4mg

Otherwise known as Vitamin B-1, thiamin can have anti-stress effects on the body.  It strengthens the immune system. It cannot be produced by the body and needs to be eaten regularly.  The nervous system needs a sufficient supply of thiamin to function.  Without it the brain doesn’t work right, the heart can enlarge, and it can cause digestive problems such as constipation.  A deficiency in Thiamin can cause depression.

Niacin 25mg

I’ve taken niacin before to help detox and feel good.  I’d take the kind that gave me the “niacin flush.”  I strangely noticed that every time I took niacin, I felt more relaxed, and on a few occasions, it actually brought me out of my depression by taking niacin alone.

25mg is just enough to help your brain metabolize amino acids into feel-good neurotransmitters without even getting close to giving you the often uncomfortable “niacin flush.”  Niacin is Vitamin B-3 and is involved in helping convert Tryptophan into Serotonin.

Taking niacin can give people a feeling of relaxation and ease.  It is had been studied extensively and used to even cure disorders such as schizophrenia, such as outlined in the textbook Orthomolecular Psychiatry by Linus Pauling and David Hawkins.

Vitamin B-12

If you search “Vitamin B-12 Depression” in Google you get a plethora of results.  A study conducted by the Linus Pauling Institute of Oregon State University showed that up to 30% of people who were hospitalized because of depression had a Vitamin B-12 deficiency.

Vitamin B-12 has many functions within the body, including making our genetic material and producing red blood cells.

Pantothenic Acid

I take pantothenic acid every day to help with acne.  I used to get acne all the time, but when I cleared up my diet and started taking pantothenic acid after I read all the rave reviews on amazon, I haven’t had an acne problem since.

Is it because of the Pantothenic acid?  To be honest I wouldn’t be able to say.  Corellation doesn’t prove causation.  All the reviews on Amazon.com says it has helped other people with their acne, but acne aside pantothenic acid is Vitamin B-5 and acts as an antioxidant.

Pantothenic acid is responsible for the production of several enzymes and breaking down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.  It affects many aspects of functioning and can improve the immune system and reduce stress levels.

Minerals

Magnesium

I don’t even know where to begin with magnesium.  It plays a massive role in the body.  I probably didn’t even get close to giving it enough credit in my sleep post.  Just look at all the results that come from searching “magnesium depression“.  In Amazon there is a huge array of books with 5-Star ratings about curing depression and anxiety with the use of magnesium alone.

I’ve used magnesium to sleep which has done wonders for my depression.  Actually, I just ran out of magnesium a week ago and I like it so much I ordered 3 different kinds just to test which one is the most effective.

Magnesium is a vital nutrient that is often deficient in our modern diet. Magnesium deficiency could cause depression, behavioral disturbances, headaches, muscle cramps, seizures, ataxia, psychosis, and irritability.

If you aren’t sure if you are deficient in magnesium, this is a mineral you have to try.

Zinc

Zinc is involved in over 100 enzymatic reactions throughout the body.  In the 1920’s health practictioners started experimenting with zinc  to see how it affected people mentally and emotionally.  It is critical for maintaining  effective neural communication in the body.

Manganese

Manganese helps reduce fatigue, can improve memory, and is important for proper food digestion.  Manganese works with all the B-Complex vitamins to combat depression and anxiety.  This means that putting this in with all the B-Vitamins listed above helps everything work together more efficiently to defeat your anxiety and/or depression.

Amino Acids and Herbs

St. John’s Wort Extract 450mg

I’ve used St. John’s Wort with great success in helping beat depression. One problem with taking St. John’s Wort is it can make some people sensitive to sunlight and in certain cases you have to be careful not to eat certain foods like fermented cheese and drink beer. I’ve never personally had a problem with sunlight and eating a variety of foods while taking St. John’s Wort but your body may react differently.

Holy Basil Extract 100mg

I take this at night to help me sleep.  Great for anxiety control without affecting your brain neurotransmitters like traditional drugs.  It is an adaptogen and doesn’t seem to cause dependence. I used to bring some to my work when I first started. Whenever I would get stressed or had anxiety, I would take one and it took the edge off the anxiety.

Valerian Root 50mg

I keep a vial of this handy in case I need extra assistance to fall asleep.  It is also amazing for when you wake up in the middle of the night.  If I wake up in the middle of the night, I simply walk to the kitchen and put a third of a dropper of Valerian Root in some water and it puts me back to sleep within 10 minutes.

I’ve also used this a few times before going out at night if I have weird anxiety for no reason.  It is great for curbing anxiety, and 50mg is just enough to take the edge off of your anxiety without having a large psychological effect.

5-HTP 20mg

5-HTP is converted into serotonin.  This is especially awesome if your depression is linked to low levels of serotonin.  If you have ever been on an SSRI, 5-HTP is worth a shot. It was one of the first amino acids I started experimenting with and it helped me get off of my antidepressant.

GABA 250mg

This is the neurotransmitter that calms your body down, [get more info!]

Taurine 125mg

Taurine has been used as a natural way to alleviate anxiety and stress. Some people have had success with using taurine to combat insomnia. Taurine is the sort of amino acid that can help you unwind after a stressful day at work.

L-Theanine (Suntheanine) 50mg

L-Theanine is found in Green Tea.  It is why when you drink Green Tea, the caffeine makes you alert and productive yet you don’t get jittery.  Some people take L-Theanine by itself to curb anxiety or to help them sleep.  Suntheanine is the best kind of L-Theanine.  Some people claim it is the only kind of L-Theanine that works.

How to Take

Mood Support is basically an army of ingredients that will work together to curb your anxiety and depression.  How I take it is I take regular St. John’s Wort in the morning, then I take a Mood Support mid-afternoon with food if I need it. I don’t need to take it everyday anymore, I only take it when I need it.

Pros and Cons

That is a  LOT of ingredients in it, so if you happen to be sensitive to just one, it might not affect you positively.  It has 16 ingredients total.  It looks like they just threw a big cocktail of ingredients that could make you feel good in there and hoped for the best.  If you haven’t experimented with the supplements individually it may be hard to tell which one is giving you a boost.  Before I bought it I thought it would give my brain an overload.

It has B-Vitamins AND 5-HTP in it.  Some people believe that if you take B-Vitamins with 5-HTP, it causes the 5-HTP to be metabolized in other areas of your body before reaching your brain.  People say that it is converted into serotonin in your stomach or even your heart.  However, I haven’t seen any credible study that claims this is the case, only posts on forums which can always just be opinion.  If you take it with food, I highly doubt there is any risk, especially since it is a low dose (only 20mg) of 5-HTP.

Tt’s hard to tell if this would work if other areas of your life aren’t handled yet.  I eat extremely healthy, exercise, and make sure to handle my sleep. A supplement will only take you so far if you are sleep deprived, chronically stressed, or in the middle of a divorce.  Again it is a supplement.  Definition of supplement: something that completes or enhances something else when added to it.

They are supposed to SUPPLEMENT what you are already doing. However, for me, it is the last step of the way to bring me to that state of positivity and enjoyment out of life :).

To Try or Not to Try

Should you take this supplement?  That is up to you. All I can say is it really did work for me, and I know it for sure. It’s hard to tell if a supplement will work, and I certainly have had my share of  duds.

Is NOW Mood Support going to solve all your problems? No, it won’t.  It puts me in the state of mind that allows me to be able to solve my problems, but I could still be depressed while on it if I didn’t take care of myself.  All I know is I get a distinct boost in mood to where things like basketball, ping pong, hanging out with family, etc. actually FEELS good. The sunset looks more beautiful, and in other words it takes me from the step of mild-depression to a positive mood. I approve of every single ingredient found within NOW Foods Mood Support and have taken most of them individually in the past in my pursuit of a stable mood.

For my particular brain, it works amazing.  It gives me a sense of calm confidence.  It doesn’t make me happy, but it gives me the ABILITY to choose happiness.  A more internal sense of happiness.

In a nutshell: It curbs my anxiety and helps give my mood a positive boost to where I can handle life.

With supplements it is hard to tell what will work for YOU and your body.  It took me a while of experimentation until I found this supplement.  You might order it and spend your hard earned money only to find out that it doesn’t work… But what if it does?

 

You can click HERE to order from Amazon or find it at a local store (I get about 36 cents if you order through my link).