Hedonia

The brand name of HedoniaUSA Inc.’s medical food for the dietary management of nutritional deficiencies associated with depression. From the Greek for pleasure. Not connected to the Hedonia mental health app, Hedonia Clinic in the UK, or the clinical term anhedonia.

Medical food

A regulatory category defined in the United States: a food formulated for the dietary management of a specific disease or condition with distinctive nutritional requirements, intended for use under the supervision of a physician. A medical food is neither a drug nor a dietary supplement, and the requirement for physician supervision is part of the definition rather than a caution added afterwards.

Dietary supplement

A separate regulatory category in the United States, covering products intended to supplement the diet. Supplements may make general structure and function claims and carry a standard disclaimer stating that they are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. Hedonia is not a dietary supplement.

SAMe

Short for S-adenosyl methionine, a compound the body produces itself and one of the three nutrients in Hedonia, supplied as Adonat® Premium. SAMe acts as a methyl donor in methylation, a process involved in producing several of the neurotransmitters associated with mood.

Methylation

A biochemical handover in which a small chemical group, a methyl group, is passed from one molecule to another. It is one of the steps involved in producing several neurotransmitters linked to mood, among many other roles throughout the body.

L-Methylfolate

Folate in the form the body can use directly, without needing to convert it first. One of the three nutrients in Hedonia, supplied as Quatrefolic®. On the label it appears as two figures, the amount of the branded ingredient and the amount of the active form (L-5-MTHF) it delivers; both describe the same thing.

MTHFR

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase, an enzyme that converts 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate into 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, the main form of folate found in the blood. Variations in the gene coding for this enzyme are common: around 15% to 25% of people are estimated to carry two copies of the most common one, which makes the conversion slower. This is the reason Hedonia uses L-methylfolate, which requires no conversion. Carrying an MTHFR variant is not a diagnosis, and no genetic test is needed to take Hedonia.

EPA

Eicosapentaenoic acid, a long-chain omega-3 fatty acid found in oily fish and one of the three nutrients in Hedonia, supplied as OmegaTex®. Omega-3s are incorporated into cell membranes, including those of brain cells. In depression research, the studies that have found an effect have used formulations in which EPA makes up most of the omega-3 content, rather than DHA, the other commonly discussed omega-3.

DHA

Docosahexaenoic acid, the other long-chain omega-3 most often discussed alongside EPA. It is frequently grouped with EPA as though the two were interchangeable, though depression research has not treated them that way.

Anhedonia

A clinical term meaning a reduced ability to feel pleasure, used in psychiatry as a symptom description. It is a word, not a brand, and it is not connected to Hedonia the medical food. People searching for this term are usually looking for the medical literature rather than a product.

RELATED

• Which Hedonia? → /which-hedonia/
• The research behind the three nutrients → /science/
• Questions and answers → /faqs/