There are many herbs and nutrients that have been tested in relation to mood improvement, and many of these supplements are believed to have a role to play in treating a mood disorder. Unfortunately, most doctors are not as familiar with these natural mood treatment options as they should be. I hope the information I have provided here, and plan to update regularly, will offer some hope to those who have low mood, and also serve as a way for physicians to learn more about these alternative treatments for a better mood.

There are several supplements, herbs, and vitamins used as mood medication
Exercise, proper diet, relaxation techniques, and yoga can help fight a mood disorder. If you have moderate or severe mood problem, or are currently taking pharmaceutical medicines for a mood disorder, discuss with your doctor before adding any supplements. Some of these supplements can be quite powerful and may interact with medicines.
        Also consider Mind Power Rx which has mood support properties in addition to overall mind enhancing qualities. See below after this list. Here is a list of nutrients and herbs for depression:

5-HTP may sometimes start working within hours. 5-HTP converts into serotonin, and important brain chemical involved in mood, appetite, and impulse control. 5-HTP suits those whose mood disorder is associated with anxiety, restlessness, or racing thoughts.
SAM-e a powerful nutrient that starts working within hours. A recent study found SAM-e was helpful even in those with low mood who did not respond well to Prozac and other SSRIs. SAM-e is best suited for those whose mood disorder is associated with low energy, low motivation, and no anxiety. For those whose depression is associated with anxiety, 5-HTP is a better option. There is a risk for overstimulation with SAM-e use, hence dosage should be kept low and it would be good to take a day or two off when one notices overstimulation. SAM-e is not advised for manic depression.
St. John's wort is an herb used for mood enhancement, usually takes a few days to work.
Acetyl-l-carnitine can lift mood and enhance mental activity. It is found in Mind Power Rx.
B vitamins including pantothenic acid have a mild but pleasant influence on mood
Fish Oils have mood balancing properties. Their effect is mild. I am not sure about krill oil and mood.

               

Acetyl-L-carnitine
Carnosine
Choline
DMAE
Trimethylglycine (TMG)
Tyrosine
Vinpocetine

Methylcobalamin
Pantothenic acid
Ginkgo Biloba leaf extract, Mucuna Pruriens extract, Ashwagandha extract, Bacopa monniera extract, Gotu kola extract, Reishi extract, Ginseng extract, Fo-ti extract, and Rhodiola extract.

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Does Food Affect Mood?
Certainly. Food has an influence on mood in the short term and the long term. I find eating fish improves mood and eating lots of junk food may improve mood temporarily but over the long run can lower mood.

Menopause and Mood
The menopausal transition period is marked by hormonal fluctuations, and may be accompanied by vasomotor complaints, sleep disturbances, changes in sexual function, and increased risk for osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. In addition, some women have an increased risk for developing a mood disorder.

Estrogen and Mood
Women are at higher risk throughout their reproductive lives than are men for mood disorders. Numerous molecular and clinical studies have pointed the finger to estrogen - endogenous, bio-identical, or synthetic - in modulating brain function including that related to mood. Sudden estrogen withdrawal, fluctuating estrogen, and sustained estrogen deficit are associated with significant mood disturbance. Clinical recovery from depression postpartum, perimenopause, and postmenopause through restoration of stable/optimal levels of estrogen has been noted.

Sleep Problems and Mood
If I were to choose one factor that has the most influence on mood, it would be sleep. Many sleep problems can lower mood, including, for instance, obstructive sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a common disorder in adults and children, which is characterized by repetitive transient reversible upper airway obstructions during sleep. Due to disrupted sleep architecture and intermittent hypoxemia, OSAS leads to impaired daytime functioning in various neuropsychological and affective domains. The most common abnormalities are executive dysfunction, impaired vigilance, low mood, and possibly anxiety and, in children, hyperactivity.

Treating a Mood Disorder during Pregnancy
Mood disorders in pregnancy may have a negative effect on self care and pregnancy outcome that affects the mother directly and the child indirectly. Thus, some women may require pharmacological treatment. Pharmacotherapy of mood disorders during pregnancy implies specific considerations. There are many different psychotropic drugs, including with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), other antidepressants, benzodiazepines, lithium, carbamazepine/valproic acid, lamotrigine and novel antipsychotics. However, the existing knowledge on the use of antidepressants and mood stabilising agents during pregnancy is hampered by a lack of results from randomised controlled trials. SSRIs and TCAs have not been associated with an increased risk of major malformations, but poor neonatal adaptation has been described. Benzodiazepines used in the first trimester have been associated with orofacial clefts. Mood stabilisers such as lithium, carbamazepine and valproic acid (sodium valproate) are associated with an increased risk of fetal malformations. Both benzodiazepines and lithium may cause adaptation problems in the newborn. In utero exposure to novel antipsychotics has not been associated with congenital malformations; however, the data are still limited. The knowledge about long-term neurobehavioural effects in the offspring is still limited for all agents and requires further investigation.
     The use of natural mood lifters during pregnancy has not been evualed thoroughly enough to make any definite recommendations. Possible adverse effects of fetal exposure must be balanced against the adverse effects of an untreated maternal mood disorder.

Cognitive Therapy and Mood
Cognitive therapy is a treatment process that allows patients to correct false self-beliefs that can lead to negative mood and behavior. Since thought can precede a mood, learning to substitute healthy thoughts for negative thoughts will improve a person's mood, self-concept, behavior, and physical state. Cognitive therapy appears to be an effective treatment for mood enhancement and when practices by an experienced therapist, can be comparable in effectiveness to antidepressants and interpersonal or psychodynamic therapy. The combination of cognitive therapy and mood enhancing drugs has been shown to effectively manage severe or chronic mood disorders. It is quite likely that cognitive therapy in addition to natural supplements, such as SAM-e, 5-HTP,  that improve mood, may work quite well, too.

Mood and Substance Abuse
Mood and anxiety disorders commonly co-occur with substance use disorders. Exploration of the neurobiology of substance use disorders and mood and anxiety disorders have found that the neural circuitry in mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders is clearly overlapping. These discoveries have encouraged the exploration of a number of drugs in the treatment of co-occurring mood, anxiety, and substance use disorders. The SSRIs have been investigated to a large extent.

Mood and Multiple Sclerosis
While some symptoms remain relatively stable over time in depressed patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), mood symptoms are significantly more variable. Lifetime prevalence estimates of depression in MS patients are high, typically falling around 50 percent.

Improve Mood Research
Modulation of mood and cognitive performance following acute administration of single doses of Melissa officinalis (Lemon balm) with human CNS nicotinic and muscarinic receptor-binding properties.
Neuropsychopharmacology. 2003 Oct;28(10):1871-81.
Melissa officinalis (Lemon balm) is a herbal medicine that has traditionally been attributed with memory-enhancing properties, but which is currently more widely used as a mild sedative and sleep aid. In a previous study it was demonstrated that a commercial Lemon balm extract led to dose-specific increases in calmness, and dose-dependent decrements in timed memory task performance. The cognitive and mood effects of single doses of the most cholinergically active dried leaf were then assessed in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, balanced crossover study. These results suggest that doses of Lemon balm at or above the maximum employed here can improve cognitive performance and mood and may therefore be a valuable adjunct in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The results also suggest that different preparations derived from the same plant species may exhibit different properties depending on the process used for the sample preparation.

Mood Enhancement Questions
Q. Which of these mood enhancement nutrients is the best, lipoic acid or acetylcarnitine?
   A. Actually, I prefer a combination of small amounts of different nutrients as opposed to a high amount of just one. I don't see much of an effect on mood by lipoic acid, and there may be a little bit of mood improvement with acetylcarnitine but alc is more of a mental enhancement nutrient.

Q. Does kava help with low mood?
   A. Kava may temporarily help for a couple of hours to relax and relieve tension, but it is not really appropriate to treat low mood.

Q. I drank alcoholically from about 35 to 50 years old. I stopped in 2005, with no relapses. Hooray for me! However, during my active addiction, I spent years medicated on SSRIs and Wellbutrin, hypertension meds, and a beta blocker for a heart rhythm problem. And, a couple of years on Glucophage. I'm off all meds now, having dropped 40 pounds, exercising regularly, and no booze. My question is in regard to my mood. There's a fragility of mood, e.g. easily discouraged, withdrawn, cry easily (not boo-hoo, but tear up), that was not true of me before recovery. Not one to overlook the obvious, I wonder to what extent I've damaged my brain during the years of ETOH and psych meds. I'm not having much success in finding research on this, and my hope is that you can refer me to resources. I want to understand what I've done to myself, and I very much want to learn paths to recovery and healing. I think I'll write a book, or at least an article, once I figure this out.
   A. Congratulations for all the self-improvement you have made, we are certain it was not easy. You may wish to read some ideas on natural methods and supplements on the depression page.

Q. For mood support- raising dopamine levels to be precise- is SAM-e or L-tyrosine considered to be more
effective? is it a question of getting what you pay for- L-tyrosine is a fraction of the price, does that translate to a difference in effectiveness? or is it a matter of trying both supplements and seeing which supports mood best for the individual?
   A. SAM-e is usually more effective but each person is different in which supplements improve or support mood enhancement.