Impact Of Vitamin D Deficiency On Mental Health
The body transports the vitamin to the kidneys and liver, where it converts into an active hormone. In this form, it assists the body in absorbing calcium. Your body acquires vitamin D through sun exposure.
Other health problems that can arise from the deficiency includ.
Who’S Getting Too Little Vitamin D?
To find out if you’re low in vitamin D, you’ll need to get a blood test. African-Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, American Indians, and Asian Americans are more likely to be lactose intolerant than people of European descent.
People who are obese (Greater amounts of subcutaneous fat traps vitamin D, possibly interfering with how much of the vitamin can circulate in the body.). (You may be getting this amount already if you take a multivitamin.). But before you take anything, be sure to speak with your doctor.
If you do need extra vitamin D, either D2 or D3 will work, and you may need 1,500 to 2,000 IU daily. “In order for vitamin D to be well absorbed, it needs to be taken with a source of fat,” Moore notes. When it comes to increasing your time in the sun, the ODS says there’s no clear answer about how to balance exposure with cancer risk but points out that most people don’t need much sunlight exposure to make enough vitamin D. And while sunscreen is essential in helping prevent skin cancer, keep in mind that it also blocks some of the sun’s UVB rays, which your body needs to make vitamin.
Vitamin D And Depression
Likewise, researchers have found possible associations between depression and low vitamin D levels in people with gout, chronic spinal cord injuries, stroke, and multiple sclerosis Some small, high quality studies have noted that various groups of people experience improvements in symptoms of depression after they start taking vitamin D supplements However, this potential benefit isn’t completely clear.
Several other studies have also found that taking vitamin D had no effect on depression Because findings are so mixed, more research is needed to determine how vitamin D deficiency and depression may be linked, as well as how taking vitamin D supplements might affect symptoms of depression. Summary Many people who have depression may also have low circulating levels of vitamin D in their blood.
More research is needed.
Vitamin D Deficiency And Depression
However, that doesn’t mean getting more Vitamin D alone can prevent or treat depression. Vitamin D deficiency and depression
A vitamin D deficiency may contribute to depression.
Low Vitamin D levels may impair cognitive function because there are vitamin D receptors in areas of the brain that are responsible for mood and behavior, including the development of depression.