Psychological vitality, part of psychological wellbeing, is the capability to interact in day by day duties with ample psychological power. It consists of issues like staying motivated, sustaining focus, pondering clearly, adapting to vary and dealing with stress (Logvinov & Loerzel, 2026).
Psychological vitality might be influenced by a variety of bio-psycho-social elements together with food regimen (Jongeneelen et al., 2025), and micronutrients, equivalent to vitamin C, have been linked to elements of it (Das et al., 2025). People who’re poor in vitamin C might expertise fatigue, decreased motivation, cognitive impairment and low temper (Plevin & Galletly, 2020), whereas supplementation can enhance a few of these signs (Yosaee et al., 2021). This has sparked scientific curiosity within the function of vitamin C supplementation in bettering psychological vitality.
Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that can’t be made by or saved within the human physique, so it will probably solely be obtained by way of dietary sources equivalent to fruit and veggies, or dietary supplements. Vitamin C is understood for its antioxidant properties that assist defend cells from free radical injury, contribute to immune defence and help neurotransmitter manufacturing that support nerve cell communication.
Past these capabilities, vitamin C might play a task within the intestine–mind–immune axis, an intricate community of interactions between the intestine, mind and immune system (Clarke G, 2023; Robinson S, 2025). Our food regimen shapes the micro organism that lives in our intestine, and these in flip can have an effect on the kinds of microbial metabolites (chemical messages) despatched from our intestine to our bodily programs, just like the mind and immune system. Then again, the kinds of micro organism that dwell in our intestine and the way they operate may have an effect on the way in which we reply to food regimen. This highlights the potential for utilizing tailor-made gut-focused approaches to reinforce psychological well-being. Nonetheless, this relationship has not but been clearly established within the context of vitamin C.
Sim and colleagues (2025) performed a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to research whether or not supplementing vitamin C in wholesome younger adults with suboptimal ranges (< 50 μM) can improve psychological vitality and whether or not that is accompanied by adjustments within the intestine microbiome, neural signalling and immune response. Additionally they explored whether or not the extent of intestine microbiome adjustments would possibly assist clarify the noticed results and determine responders and non-responders to vitamin C supplementation.
Vitamin C might play a task within the intestine–mind–immune axis and this examine explored whether or not supplementing vitamin C in wholesome younger adults might improve psychological vitality.
Strategies
Wholesome adults aged 20-39 years previous who had vitamin C ranges beneath 50umol/L, no acute or power ailments, and weren’t taking vitamin C dietary supplements have been recruited. Members have been randomly allotted to devour 500mg of vitamin C twice day by day within the type of a 100ml drink, or a placebo of the identical quantity, color and flavour, for 4 weeks. A medium navel orange sometimes incorporates 70mg of vitamin C.
Members attended two examine visits, the day earlier than beginning supplementation (baseline) and the day after finishing supplementation (week 4). Throughout these visits, contributors accomplished questionnaires to evaluate psychological vitality, which embody subjective consideration and fatigue (Guidelines Particular person Energy), work engagement (Utrecht Work Engagement Scale) and cognitive efficiency (Stroop color-word check.) Members additionally offered stool and fasted blood samples.
The authors examined between-group variations in change in neuroplasticity-related markers and assessed whether or not adjustments in psychological vitality differed in keeping with microbiome variations. Members within the vitamin C group have been categorised primarily based on adjustments in intestine microbial options that considerably correlated with psychological vitality indices. The brink for classification was set at a 1.5-fold lower or enhance in comparison with the imply fold change noticed within the placebo group.
Outcomes
Among the many 46 contributors who accomplished the examine, 40 (21 = vitamin C; 19 = placebo) have been included within the analyses. All contributors who acquired the vitamin C intervention achieved enough ranges of serum vitamin C at week 4.
Vitamin C on psychological vitality outcomes
Members supplemented with vitamin C demonstrated enhancement in psychological vitality. Particularly, vital enhancements in consideration, work absorption and cognitive efficiency have been discovered, and near-significant enhancements in fatigue and work engagement as in comparison with placebo.
Vitamin C on intestine outcomes
Vitamin C supplementation didn’t considerably alter microbiome range, however there have been vital adjustments in particular micro organism taxa. Particularly, relative abundance of Bacillaceae and Anaerotruncus (usually useful micro organism) elevated whereas Desulfovibrio (doubtlessly dangerous micro organism) decreased. Vitamin C supplementation additionally altered the intestine microbial exercise (i.e. what the microbes do) and circulating ranges of related metabolites (i.e. what the microbes produce). Lowered exercise was noticed throughout two microbial metabolic pathways (the polyamine and Entner–Doudoroff pathways), together with corresponding decreases in serum spermidine and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP). There have been vital correlations between adjustments in microbial pathways and adjustments in metabolite ranges, which can point out that microbiome operate is altered by vitamin C.
Vitamin C on immune outcomes
Vitamin C additionally suppressed inflammatory cytokine responses. Within the vitamin C group, anti-inflammatory IL-10 ranges remained secure whereas pro-inflammatory TNF-α considerably decreased.
Vitamin C and the gut-brain-immune relationship
Adjustments within the relative abundance of Desulfovibrio and microbial metabolic pathways considerably correlated with response instances within the Stroop check. Furthermore, adjustments in Desulfovibrio abundance have been considerably correlated with IL-10 ranges. This will likely replicate a connection between the intestine microbiota, cognitive functioning and the immune system, which might be influenced by vitamin C supplementation.
Responders vs non-repsonders
As Desulfovibrio discount was the one microbial characteristic that considerably correlated with psychological vitality indices, responders have been categorised as people who had a minimum of 1.5-fold discount within the abundance of Desulfovibrio in comparison with the imply fold change in placebo. Particular person variability in physiological responses (neural and immune) was discovered primarily based on the magnitude of Desulfovibrio discount. Vitamin C responders confirmed a major enhance in brain-derived neurotrophic issue (BDNF), stronger constructive correlations between adjustments in serum L-DOPA ranges (dopamine precursor) and work engagement scores, and skilled larger discount in some immune markers (classical monocyte frequencies and IL-10) in contrast with non-responders.
Vitamin C supplementation was linked to enhancements in consideration and work absorption, alongside particular microbial and immune adjustments.
Conclusions
This examine means that vitamin C supplementation can modulate intestine microbiota composition, significantly by decreasing Desulfovibrio abundance, with the quantity of discount correlating with psychological vitality enhancements and decreased irritation. Vitamin C supplementation could also be a promising method to enhance psychological vitality in wholesome people with suboptimal Vitamin C standing.
The authors concluded that their outcomes present:
insights into vitamin C supplementation as a essential dietary intervention, as it might modulate psychological well being by way of its affect on the gut-brain-immune axis.
Vitamin C supplementation might modulate psychological well being by way of its affect on the gut-brain-immune axis.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
The authors employed a rigorous examine design with acceptable blinding procedures and adherence monitoring. They investigated the impact of vitamin C supplementation on key organic mechanisms (i.e. the gut-brain-immune axis) which can be linked to psychological well-being. The authors included each subjective assessments and goal biomarkers to assist clarify the results noticed within the examine. Complete and complementary analyses have been used to discover the connection, together with analytical methods equivalent to 16S rRNA sequencing, purposeful pathway prediction and biomarker validation.
Limitations
The quick intervention length of 4 weeks limits our understanding of the long-term results of vitamin C supplementation on adjustments in psychological well being and the microbiome on account of their dynamic nature.
Secondly, the small pattern measurement of 40 contributors and the slim inhabitants traits consisting of wholesome younger adults ages 20-39 with suboptimal vitamin C standing, during which 85% are college college students, limits the generalisability of findings. People of older age, or those that have been identified with medical circumstances might reply in another way to a vitamin C intervention on account of physiological variations equivalent to immune profile, intestine microbiota composition and performance, or remedy use.
Not all potential confounding variables that may affect the outcomes have been measured (e.g. sleep, use of different dietary supplements or remedy) or mentioned (e.g. food regimen or bodily exercise), which can have an effect on the interpretation of the outcomes. As an illustration, with out capturing remedy or complement use aside from vitamin C, it’s difficult to establish whether or not the noticed adjustments within the intestine microbiome have been really attributable to vitamin C supplementation. As well as, although the researchers instructed contributors to take care of their bodily actions, exercise ranges have been solely measured at baseline, therefore it’s unclear whether or not contributors adhered to those directions. Moreover, the 2-day dietary document at baseline and finish of examine could also be too quick to seize day-to-day variation in recurring meals and nutrient consumption.
Lastly, although the authors have been rigorous in utilizing subjective and goal markers to measure associations, mechanistic research are nonetheless wanted to higher perceive causal results of microbiome adjustments with psychological well being outcomes. The technical limitations of 16sRNA may additionally be problematic because it offers an thought of which species of micro organism is there, however not the precise strains and what they do. As well as, the responder classification of 1.5-fold seems arbitrary and would require validation in bigger cohorts.
This was a well-controlled trial with wealthy organic measures, however its findings are restricted by measurement, length and generalisability.
Implications for observe
The examine means that vitamin C supplementation might enhance elements of psychological vitality by way of its impact on the gut-brain-immune axis. Nonetheless, you will need to observe that the examine was performed in usually wholesome younger adults with no medical circumstances who’re solely poor in vitamin C. Because of this whereas vitamin C could also be related for at-risk however in any other case wholesome teams (e.g. these with poor food regimen high quality and are fighting low power, motivation, or focus), the findings shouldn’t be generalised to older adults or people with bodily or psychological well being circumstances on account of doubtless variations in dietary necessities, physiological responses or microbiome composition.
Concentrating on the gut-brain-immune pathway could also be a promising method, and clinicians ought to think about using dietary methods that targets this pathway as a part of a holistic life-style method to help psychological well-being. This examine additionally highlights the significance of evaluating dietary adequacy, monitor nutrient standing and complement the place essential to enough ranges. Nonetheless, over-supplementation needs to be averted to stop potential opposed results.
Future analysis ought to validate these findings in broader populations (e.g. bigger and extra numerous samples) and make use of completely different final result evaluation instruments that incorporate each patient-rated and clinician-rated measures to seize a number of views on psychological vitality. Furthermore, mechanistic research and superior methods like shotgun metagenomics, metabolomics and neuroimaging may very well be used to realize deeper insights into the connection between food regimen, psychological vitality and the gut-brain-immune axis. Extra analysis on personalised diet primarily based on intestine microbiome profiles would even be priceless in contemplating what dietary methods might or is probably not efficient for various populations.
Early proof suggests vitamin C can enhance consideration and power in some younger adults, although broader scientific software just isn’t but established.
Assertion of pursuits
Delyse Tien’s PhD is supported by a Co-funded Monash Graduate Scholarship (CF-MGS).
Editor
Edited by Éimear Foley. AI instruments assisted with language refinement and formatting through the editorial section.
Hyperlinks
Major paper
Minju Sim, Sehwa Hong, Min Ho Jung, Eun Younger Choi, Geum-Sook Hwang, Dong-Mi Shin, Chong-Su Kim. (2025). Intestine microbiota hyperlinks vitamin C supplementation to enhanced psychological vitality in wholesome younger adults with suboptimal vitamin C standing: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Mind, Habits, and Immunity, 128, 179–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2025.03.032
Different references
Clarke, G. (2023). Intestine microbiome disruptions in despair: shifting the main focus to metabolic signatures in blood. The Psychological Elf.
Das, S., Banerjee, P., Jana, S., & Mondal, H. (2025). Unveiling the mechanistic nexus: How micronutrient enrichment shapes mind operate, and cognitive well being. Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, 12, 1623547. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmolb.2025.1623547
Jongeneelen, M. E., Wieringa, C. H. L. A., den Elzen, W. P. J., Langeveld, Ok., Gussekloo, J., & Drewes, Y. M. (2025). The definition of vitality—The views of Dutch older individuals. BMC Public Well being, 25, 383. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21458-4
Logvinov, I. I., & Loerzel, V. (2026). Vitality in older adults: A state-of-the-science evaluation. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 141, 106072. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2025.106072
Plevin, D., & Galletly, C. (2020). The neuropsychiatric results of vitamin C deficiency: A scientific evaluation. BMC Psychiatry, 20(1), 315. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-02730-w
Robinson, S. (2025). Is it a intestine feeling? How the microbiome might form perinatal psychological well being in ladies with increased physique weight, The Psychological Elf.
Yosaee, S., Keshtkaran, Z., Abdollahi, S., Shidfar, F., Sarris, J., & Soltani, S. (2021). The impact of vitamin C supplementation on temper standing in adults: A scientific evaluation and meta-analysis of randomized managed scientific trials. Basic Hospital Psychiatry, 71, 36–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2021.04.006
