Not Just For Bones: Why Does Vitamin D Matter So Much For Mental Health?
Are you getting enough vitamin D?
If not, you’re not alone.
Almost a billion people have inadequate levels of vitamin D.
Also known as the sunshine vitamin, there’s a close link between vitamin D and mental health.
But even if you live here in sunny Sacramento, you might not be getting enough sunshine to get your fill of vitamin D.
After all, how much time do you actually spend outdoors?
Many of us spend most of our days inside, which means we won’t get exposed to that sunshine we need to get enough vitamin D.
But research shows that vitamin D has an important role to play in managing depression and regulating your mood.
As a holistic mental health naturopathic doctor here in Sacramento, I often talk to my clients about the importance of vitamin D.
Today, we’ll take a closer look at vitamin D, and why it’s so useful for your mental health.
What is Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin.
What that means is your body stores what it doesn’t use right away in the fat cells of your body.
Contrast this with water soluble vitamins like vitamin C.
Your body flushes out whatever you don’t use in your urine.
Vitamin D promotes bone health, cell growth, immune function, and can have an overall effect on mental health and stabilizing your mood.
If also acts like a hormone in your body, turning on 200 different genes.
And because of vitamin D’s role in regulating the immune system, it potentially is playing a significant part in autoimmunity.
In short, this is one important vitamin!
What’s The Link Between Vitamin D and Depression?
If you’re dealing with depression, anxiety, burnout, or mental health issues in general, it could be related to vitamin D.
Research shows that vitamin D can play an important role in regulating mood and managing symptoms.
A 2020 meta analysis reviewed 25 different trials exploring vitamin D's relation to depression.
They found vitamin D supplementation had a positive effect on major depressive disorder.
They also found that patients with poor mental health were more likely to have low vitamin D levels.
More research is required, but the data is promising so far.
Furthermore, a 2020 study explored postpartum depression, and identified thirteen different contributing risk factors - one of which was vitamin D deficiency.
Another large, high quality study, however, found that vitamin D supplementation didn't make a difference in depressive symptoms for people 50 and older.
Of course, there may be other reasons to turn to vitamin D if you’re in this age group, primarily to promote strong bones.
So as you can see, the research is mixed, and more needs to be done.
However, there’s no question that getting enough vitamin D is important for your overall health.
Who’s At Risk Of Vitamin D Deficiency?
Vitamin D deficiency has a number of different risk factors.
Let’s look at some of them.
Not Getting Enough Sunshine
Vitamin D is produced from cholesterol in your skin by being exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) rays from the sun.
RELATED: Why You Should Pay Attention To Cholesterol Early
But this only happens if you expose a large part of your body to the sun for a significant amount of time.
But if you work indoors all day, you might not be getting enough sunshine to produce the vitamin D you need.
This is also the case if you:
Work a night shift
Have a chronic illness that makes mobility difficult
Have skin cancer or another condition where you need to avoid direct sunlight
Live in an area that doesn’t have a lot of sunshine
But here’s the problem too – sunscreen blocks UVB rays.
So even if you spend the entire day at the beach, you won’t get enough vitamin D if you’re covered in sunscreen.
Don’t misunderstand – I’m not saying sunscreen is bad.
Sunscreen is important to protect yourself.
But the good news is you don’t need to spend that much time in the sun to get enough vitamin D.
Dr. Robert Ashley, MD at UCLA Health mentions it’s different in different parts of the world and at different times.
As a rule of thumb, your skin begins to produce vitamin D once you start feeling a layer of sweat.
But if you spend 15 minutes in the sun at noon with at least 25% of your body uncovered during the spring and summer, that should give you what you need.
Otherwise, it’s a good idea to supplement.
And no, sitting near a window doesn’t count unless it’s open.
This is because the glass will filter out UVB rays.
Poor Diet
Diets high in processed foods tend to be deficient in most nutrients, and that’s true of vitamin D as well.
But if you’re not able to get enough sunshine, being mindful of your diet can help.
If you’ve read this blog before, you already know I’m a big proponent of the Mediterranean diet.
And as you’ll see, many of the dietary sources of vitamin D can be found there.
Let’s take a closer look.
Dietary Sources Of Vitamin D
Salmon
Mackerel
Tuna
Cheese
Cod liver oil
Fortified milk
Fortified yogurt
Beef liver
Sardines
Egg yolk
Shrimp
For vegetarian based diets, consider the following vitamin D food sources:
Mushrooms
Fortified plant based milk
Fortified fruit juices
Fortified cereals and oatmeal
If you’re wondering how to get more vitamin D in your diet, here are a couple of my favorite recipes:
Golden milk (with vitamin D fortified milk)
Being Higher Weight
Although vitamin D absorption is affected by where we live, weight can affect it as well.
As a result, it’s even more important to make sure you’re getting enough vitamin D.
Poor Liver Health
Vitamin D is activated by your liver.
If you have a chronic liver disease like cirrhosis, your body will have a harder time activating vitamin D.
As a result, you’re more likely to be deficient.
In addition, certain medication can interact with the liver and breakdown vitamin D more quickly and contribute to low levels.
Examples include:
Symptoms Of Vitamin D Deficiency
Some symptoms of vitamin D deficiency include:
Chronic fatigue
Bone aches
Muscle and joint pain and weakness
To confirm, it’s a good idea to get a 25-OH vitamin D blood test.
I like to see levels in an ideal range of 50-80 ng/mL.
On the other hand, it’s rare to have too much vitamin D, but you don’t want to overdo it.
Symptoms of too much vitamin D include:
A metallic taste in your mouth
Nausea and vomiting
Muscle and joint pain and weakness
Frequent urination
What About Vitamin D Supplements?
When you’re looking at vitamin D supplements, there are two different types: D2 and D3.
Vitamin D2 is ergocalciferol, which is more readily available in plant based sources.
Vitamin D3 is cholecalciferol, which you get from animal products.
Vitamin D3 is the superior form.
As well, because it’s fat soluble, it’s a good idea to take your vitamin D3 supplement with a fatty meal.
This will provide for better absorption.
Other Health Benefits of Vitamin D
We talked about vitamin D’s benefit for mental health – but what about its other benefits?
It’s good for bone health, first of all.
It helps promote calcium absorption, as well as regulating calcium and phosphorus levels in your body.
It also plays a role in regulating your immune system.
Vitamin D can also benefit heart health.
Initially, researchers found that those who had higher vitamin D levels were less likely to have heart disease.
Although, when we supplement it doesn’t seem to prevent heart disease or stroke.
It might be that vitamin D is helping because those who exercise outdoors tend to have more sun exposure, so the exercise is helping and vitamin D travels along.
Vitamin D could also be influencing inflammation which affects chronic conditions like heart disease.
Like we talked about near the start; this is one important vitamin!
It’s important to make sure you’re getting enough.
Also worth noting, most benefits come from having enough and more isn’t always better.
But if you’re not sure where you stand, it’s a good idea to...
Book Your Appointment With Wild Lemon Health Today
If you’re dealing with mental health struggles, knowing your vitamin D status is part of the strategy to feeling better.
At Wild Lemon Health, we believe in taking a whole body mental health approach. Interested in learning more?
Book your FREE 15 minute introductory call at Wild Lemon Health today.
You’ll get the chance to ask questions about naturopathic medicine, talk about your health issues, and explore the next steps.
