> pro-inflammatory drugs can induce people to become depressed, which suggests a causative link. In one seminal study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Miller and his colleagues conducted a double-blind study of 40 cancer patients undergoing treatment with interferon-alpha, an inflammatory cytokine.
> Though none of the patients had depression to begin with, the inflammatory agent had a striking effect: Many became depressed, a finding that has been consistently replicated.
However the causality is not clear. Inflammatory agents cause depression. And most depressed people have higher pro-inflammatory markers. It could also be the case that the inflammation is a result of something completely different.
I don’t believe there is any evidence that vitamin C reduces inflammation or helps with depression. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, not an anti-inflammatory agent.
There is evidence that things that reduce systemic inflammation help with depression. Fish oil, or more generally a balanced omega-3/omega-6 intake is one example. Curcumin is another. However the effects are modest, which is probably to be expected with a condition as diverse as depression.
„Vitamin C supplementation attenuates the oxidative stress (lipid peroxidation) and inflammatory response (IL-6) to a single bout of exercise.“[1]
Vitamin C is essential and gets consumed by the body and needs to be replenished. For example during sickness the Vitamin C consumption is higher which could lead quickly to low levels.
https://wapo.st/3xHLze1
> pro-inflammatory drugs can induce people to become depressed, which suggests a causative link. In one seminal study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Miller and his colleagues conducted a double-blind study of 40 cancer patients undergoing treatment with interferon-alpha, an inflammatory cytokine.
> Though none of the patients had depression to begin with, the inflammatory agent had a striking effect: Many became depressed, a finding that has been consistently replicated.