April Showers, Right? What About Vitamin D and Depression?
It's raining again and I'm still loving it. Wells are filling, reservoirs are filling, and the flowers are going to be stunning. This year California is getting record rainfall. According to California's water resources index, 90 inches so far in the Sierra Nevadas. Rainfall is great but that means it has to rain and that means people don't get out in the sun and get their vitamin D.Vitamin D is also called Cholecalciferol.You get Vitamin D from the sun. Your skin converts the ultra violet rays to Vitamin D. I know I haven't been outside with this rain. The sun only peeks through the clouds once in a while. The best time to expose yourself to sunlight is at 12 noon for half an hour as much skin as possible to the sun, ideally naked. A lot of people have trouble with that conversion. If you always wear sunscreen, have darker skin or never go in the sun, are pregnant or obese you may be deficient.
Vitamin D is most commonly known for protecting your bones. When children don't have enough Vitamin D they could develop Rickets. A condition of severe bowed legs, because you can't get the calcium into the bones without D. . Vitamin D plays a role in a wide range of ailments such as osteoporosis, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes.(3)
Low levels of vitamin D is associated with depression. Several studies show that a deficiency in D will also affect cognitive function. In these studies, participants scored lower and slower in tasks having to do with memory and concentration. An estimated 26% of adults suffer from depression in the U.S. in any given year. There are vitamin D receptors identified in the brain, especially in the Amygdala. The Amygdala is the part of the brain that emotions and behaviors.
One therapy that has shown to be effective in helping people with depression that are deficient in Vitamin D is light therapy. In a peer reviewed study a home UV light box was used and shown to increase circulating Vitamin D levels. They used a Sperti table top type of unit. I do not have any experience with this therapy but would love to try it. If you use this product, please comment and let me know your results. Another way is eat foods high in Vitamin D such as fatty fish,beef liver, nuts and egg yolks. Supplementing in Vitamin D can be very effective. Knowing your levels from a blood test will be the best determiner of how much you should take. When you do supplement please take D3. That's the type that can be absorbed without being converted by your body for use.
Please leave me a comment and let me know you were here, and if you learned something.
1)Serum vitamin D concentrations are related to depression in young adult US population: the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey
- Vijay Ganji
- ,
- Cristiana Milone,
- Mildred M Cody,
- Frances McCarty and
- Yong T Wang
2)DOI: 10.1186/1755-7682-3-29
The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, Volume 14, Issue 12, Pages 1032-1040
Consuelo H. Wilkins, Yvette I. Sheline, Catherine M. Roe, Stanley J. Birge, John C. Morris
© Ganji et al. 2010
Received: 21 September 2010
Accepted: 11 November 20103
Published: 11 November 2010
Am J Clin Nutr December 2004 vol. 80 no. 6 1678S-1688S
Sunlight and vitamin D for bone health and prevention of autoimmune diseases, cancers, and cardiovascular disease1,2,3,4
- Michael F Holick
- 4)Chandra, P., Wolfenden, L. L., Ziegler, T. R., Tian, J., Luo, M., Stecenko, A. A., Chen, T. C., Holick, M. F. and Tangpricha, V. (2007), Treatment of vitamin D deficiency with UV light in patients with malabsorption syndromes: a case series. Photodermatology, Photoimmunology & Photomedicine, 23: 179–185. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0781.2007.00302.x
this was of particular interest to me since my doc has been concerned about my Vit. D levels. thank you
ReplyDeleteVitamin D is so important and not enough attention is paid to it. I'm glad you are working on it.
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