vitamin D

[Saldav]

How true is vitamin D deficiency a cause for depression? Is having low vitamin D levels a cause of my depression?

[PanicCured]

Put it this way, Vitamin D is involved in so many chemical processes in the body, that deficiency in it can cause lots of issues and your body can't work at optimum levels. You get Vitamin D from the sun or supplements, and that's it! Any Vitamin D in food such as Salmon is a low amount. Substantial amounts are only from the sun or supplements. I take 3000-5000 IU almost everyday unless I get good sign. There are some peopel who take way more than that. The thing with the sun is it depends what season, what time of day and where you are in the world. And of course, you have the negative effects of the sun such as skin cancer to worry about. Although, I am not sold on the sun causing skin cancer theory, unless it's a severe sunburn and even then I am not sure. That is my own personal belief though.

From what I have read, 10 AM- 3 PM is the optimum time for Vitamin D from the sun, Summer is most Vitamin D and Winter the least, and above the 37th parallel, the angle of the Earth to the sun, vitamin D becomes harder to achieve. I have a theory that humans developed lighter skin as they migrated North to be able to absorb more Vitamin D.

There have also been studies showing that Vitamin D deficiency and Autism show similar signs in the brain. You can Google that study easily. The supplement to take is D3. What happens is the sun UVB rays hits skin receptors and transforms the cholesterol into D3. That D3 is then converted in your liver to hydroxyvitamin D. So taking D3 orally is like you bypass that first stage. Now assuming it makes it to your liver intact, my assumption it is the same as if you got it from the sun. D3 from your skin or D3 from a tablet what's the difference? There may be, but I don't see what it would be other than it doesn't have to travel through your digestive tract to get there.

So that is my Vitamin D rant!

[jessed03]

If you're deficient, it'll almost certainly cause some kind of depressive state. Or anxiety.

You can get a simple blood test which will tell you for sure.

If you are, there's a really good thread in the Depression section addressing rebalancing D levels.

[jessed03]

Put it this way, Vitamin D is involved in so many chemical processes in the body, that deficiency in it can cause lots of issues and your body can't work at optimum levels. You get Vitamin D from the sun or supplements, and that's it! Any Vitamin D in food such as Salmon is a low amount. Substantial amounts are only from the sun or supplements. I take 3000-5000 IU almost everyday unless I get good sign. There are some peopel who take way more than that. The thing with the sun is it depends what season, what time of day and where you are in the world. And of course, you have the negative effects of the sun such as skin cancer to worry about. Although, I am not sold on the sun causing skin cancer theory, unless it's a severe sunburn and even then I am not sure. That is my own personal belief though.

From what I have read, 10 AM- 2 PM is the optimum time for Vitamin D from the sun, Summer is most Vitamin D and Winter the least, and above the 37th parallel, the angle of the Earth to the sun, vitamin D becomes harder to achieve. I have a theory that humans developed lighter skin as they migrated North to be able to absorb more Vitamin D.

There have also been studies showing that Vitamin D deficiency and Autism show similar signs in the brain. You can Google that study easily. The supplement to take is D3. What happens is the sun UVB rays hits skin receptors and transforms the cholesterol into D3. That D3 is then converted in your liver to hydroxyvitamin D. So taking D3 orally is like you bypass that first stage. Now assuming it makes it to your liver intact, my assumption it is the same as if you got it from the sun. D3 from your skin or D3 from a tablet what's the difference? There may be, but I don't see what it would be other than it doesn't have to travel through your digestive tract to get there.

So that is my Vitamin D rant!

Talking of Vitamin D, it's noon here. Time to go get my dose.

[PanicCured]

Talking of Vitamin D, it's noon here. Time to go get my dose.

What latitude are you and which hemisphere? To get optimum Vitamin D you should show as much skin as possible. Freeball it!

[jessed03]

What latitude are you and which hemisphere? To get optimum Vitamin D you should show as much skin as possible. Freeball it!

Lol. Northern hem. Wind was brutal today. Had to wear a hoodie out. There goes my vit D.

[Nowuccas]

"If you have a neurologic problem that is severe enough to see a neurologist, you probably do not heal your body in sleep as perfectly as you once did. Most of us who have headaches, tremor, balance difficulties, vertigo, burning in the feet, depression, body pain, or memory loss have abnormal sleep and, surprisingly, fixing the sleep can fix the neurologic problem. From 2005-2009 I performed sleep studies on most of my patients and used medications or sleep masks to try to help their sleep. In 2009 I accidentally discovered that most of my patients had abnormal sleep because they were vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D deficiency is probably why you are coming to see me today even though you don’t know it. Though we might end up talking about vitamin D I am not really as interested in vitamins as I am in sleep".

The above is from the handout by Dr. Gominak at vitaminDwiki, in the section on sleep; she recommends optimising vitamin D levels at 60 ng/ml to 80 ng/ml, and I suggest that you read it in full, then navigate to the section on depression, where there are 102 items, and enter anxiety in the searchbar. Dr. John Cannell at vitaminDcouncil is now recommending 10,000 IU daily of vitamin D3 (not vitamin D, which is vitamin D2) for people suffering from depression. You may want to sign up for their regular, free Ezine, and watch the 1hr video on vitamin D from Dr. Mercola; Google it, and anything in the above you are unsure of. In order for vitamin D to be taken up and utilised, adequate levels of its co-factors need maintaining. They are: zinc, boron, vitamin K2, and magnesium. To generate vitamin D by exposure of unprotected skin to full sunlight, your shadow should be shorter than you are tall.

You could enhance your microbiome (both the beneficial and harmful bacteria in your digestive tract, which produce a large proportion of your neurotransmitters, and some vitamins) by regular consumption of fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, tofu, soy sauce, or natto, and take a probiotic, preferably one with an enteric coating. Perform an internet search for supplies.
Adopt a diet with minimal sugars and / or highly processed grain products, with more non starchy vegetables, protein, some complex carbohydrates, such as legumes, (beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas) and brown rice, some sourdough rye bread or seed and nutloaf, and 2, or 3 pieces of fruit, as well as probiotic yoghurt.

[Nowuccas]

People with the lowest levels of vitamin D are 11 times more likely than average to be suffering from depression. Whether the relationship is a causal one still remains unclear, although there is certainly a strong correlation; perform an internet search for the terms: "vitamin D deficiency; depression cause; evidence".
There are at least seven known causes of depression, including deficiencies in vitamins and minerals, adverse reactions to medications, such as Advil, or reactive (situational) depression.
If the cause can be identified and treated, the depression may depart.

There are many treatments for depression, both conventional, natural, and alternative, with more than a dozen collated at your-mental-health.weebly.com on pages 1, b, and 3.
A sensible approach is to consult a doctor and have a blood test and try to eliminate thyroid dysfunction, which can mimic the symptoms of depression, as well as to pinpoint any deficiencies in vitamins and / or minerals, and find out about what treatments allopathy (modern Western medicine) has to offer, such as antidepressants, cognitive behavioural therapy, and ElectroConvulsive Therapy, the natural ones, such as omega 3 fatty acids, 5-htp, SAMe, St. John's Wort, regular daily exercise, and the alternative ones, such as relaxation exercises like progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, Yoga Nidra (a series of easily performed mental tasks; no bodily flexibility required) or acupuncture.

Then weigh the risks in a considered fashion, with regard to your own circumstances (only you know how depressed you really feel) before deciding.
You could even check out what around 1,500 depressed people say helped them, at curetogether.com/depression/ig/treatment-effectiveness-vs-popularity