By Denny Watkins
Sure, you can blame your grumpy January mood on the post-holiday blues, the dreary weather, or your local NFL franchise not making the playoffs. Another possible culprit: Not enough vitamin D may be what’s making you depressed, according to a study from the University of Texas.
In what is probably the largest study on vitamin D and depression ever conducted, researchers examined more than 12,500 patients over 4 years. The findings: The lower the levels of the vitamin in someone’s blood, the greater their chances were of suffering from clinical depression.
Before this, scientists were split on the link between vitamin D and depression, with some studies seeing a clear correlation, while others were inconclusive. “We found the strongest relationship between vitamin D and depressive symptoms in people who already had a history of depression, so those studies that didn’t show a link may have had fewer people with a prior diagnosis,” says study author Sherwood Brown, M.D., Ph.D.
While Dr. Brown’s study doesn’t prove that a lack of D triggers depression, based on what we know about the vitamin’s role in the brain, it might. Vitamin D is believed to play a role in maintaining the brain’s signaling pathways and reducing inflammation. Not enough D, the theory goes, and inflammation degrades brain cells in a way that leads to depression symptoms—feeling tired all the time, an inability to enjoy your favorite things, and even thoughts of suicide. (For what it’s worth, vitamin D doesn’t just help the brain regions that keep you happy—a deficiency is also associated with other neurological disorders such as dementia.)
Since serious depression can have grave consequences, anyone who’s mood has bottomed out should see a doctor. Fortunately, a test for vitamin D deficiency is relatively routine, Dr. Brown says, and most primary care physicians can order one for you.
Getting your D-levels back up to spec can take months, but a study at the University of Massachusetts found that older women who took at least 800 IU of vitamin D pills a day lowered their risk of developing depression by 31 percent. You can also eat more salmon, tuna, and vitamin D-fortified milk, and spend more time in the sunshine to boost your vitamin D and potentially shake off your winter doldrums.
Photo Courtesy of Men’s Health
