Table 2

List of possible causes and treatments for bipolar disorder including specific doses as well as supplementary information

Mental Disorder
Proposed Cause
Treatment
References

Bipolar Disorder
Food allergies
Avoid foods that elicit an allergic response
[76, 77]

Caffeine
Avoid coffee and other caffeinated beverages
[78]

Inhibition of lithium from alkalizing agents
Avoid alkalizing agents like bicarbonates
[79]

Vitamin B6 deficiency
100–200 milligrams/day
[72, 80]

Vitamin B12 deficiency
300–600 mcirograms/day
[71, 81–83]

Vitamin C deficiency
1–3 grams taken as divided doses
[84–86]

Folate deficiency
200 micrograms/day
[9, 13, 71, 82, 83, 87, 88]

Choline deficiency
10–30 grams of phosphatidyl form in divided doses
[73, 89]

Omega-3 or -6 deficiency
500–1000 milligrams/day
[10, 11, 21, 39, 74, 75, 90–94]

Phenylalanine deficiency
Initially 500 milligrams/day; can increase to 3–4 grams/day
[95, 96]

Tryptophan deficiency
50–200 milligrams taken as divided doses
[97–100]

S-Adenosyl-L-Methionine (SAM) deficiency
800 milligrams
[101–103]

Melatonin deficiency
3–6 milligrams at 9 pm
[104–106]

Phosphatidylserine deficiency
100 milligrams with food
[107]

Lakhan and Vieira Nutrition Journal 2008 7:2   doi:10.1186/1475-2891-7-2