Vitamin D and Depression (2020) • Hacker News Board

Re: Vitamin D and Depression (2020)

#31

Post by AlbertCory » Sun, May 08, 2022, 7:24 PM UTC

olah_1 wrote: post #10

carabiner wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I live in Seattle and have been depressed for a while. I had my Vitamin D3 levels checked via blood test, and they were really low. Started taking 5,000 IU per day, and I feel exactly the same as before.

I have never felt an affect from oral vitamins in any situation. Sitting in the sun however seems to do more than just “increase vitamin d levels”. The sensation is just overwhelmingly lovely. It seems to reduce cortisol, makes you feel tired in a euphoric way. Animals love to warm their fur in shafts of sunlight too. Perhaps we should be thinking more in terms of joyful activities in general and less trying to bioha…

> Animals love to warm their fur in shafts of sunlight too.

Indeed. My dog always lies in the sun for a while when he goes outside. Once he's warm enough, he moves to the shade. Animals know.

Re: Vitamin D and Depression (2020)

#32

Post by csdreamer7 » Sun, May 08, 2022, 7:29 PM UTC

juve1996 wrote: post #16

lordentropy wrote: post #12

Daily morning and afternoon exposure to bright light might actually be more important to reducing depression than direct vitamin D supplementation. Low vitamin D might just be an indicator that you are not getting enough sunlight. Sunlight also affects melatonin and serotonin levels, and synchronizes your Circadian rhythm. Not sure why that article doesn't talk about Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and how bright…

Anecdotally agree with this. I have vitamin D deficiency, was given 50,000 IU a week vitamin D to get it up. Never worked. Went to the beach one week and got blood tested again and my vitamin D levels climbed significantly. Now I make it a point to get outside and sunlight

> was given 50,000 IU a week vitamin D to get it up.

It should have gone up significantly. I wonder if your body has a problem with Vit D absorption. I was put on the same dose of vit d for a treatment and I felt it within 20 minutes.

Re: Vitamin D and Depression (2020)

#33

Post by annamargot » Sun, May 08, 2022, 7:36 PM UTC

lordentropy wrote: post #12

Daily morning and afternoon exposure to bright light might actually be more important to reducing depression than direct vitamin D supplementation. Low vitamin D might just be an indicator that you are not getting enough sunlight. Sunlight also affects melatonin and serotonin levels, and synchronizes your Circadian rhythm. Not sure why that article doesn't talk about Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and how bright…

Latitude matters though. The farther north you are the more time in the sun you’d need. In some far north places, the sun you do get is not strong enough to get any Vit D.

http://web.archive.org/web/20210302053343/https://jaoa.org/a...

https://www.grassrootshealth.net/document/sunshine-calendar/

Re: Vitamin D and Depression (2020)

#34

Post by thinkingemote » Sun, May 08, 2022, 7:38 PM UTC

annamargot wrote: post #33

lordentropy wrote: post #12

Daily morning and afternoon exposure to bright light might actually be more important to reducing depression than direct vitamin D supplementation. Low vitamin D might just be an indicator that you are not getting enough sunlight. Sunlight also affects melatonin and serotonin levels, and synchronizes your Circadian rhythm. Not sure why that article doesn't talk about Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and how bright…

Latitude matters though. The farther north you are the more time in the sun you’d need. In some far north places, the sun you do get is not strong enough to get any Vit D. http://web.archive.org/web/20210302053343/https://jaoa.org/a... https://www.grassrootshealth.net/document/sunshine-calendar/

Indeed, the UK which is further north than the majority of Canada's population has effective vitamin D from the Sun only from March to September. Spring Equinox to autumn equinox basically. The sun is too low even though it might be much warmer than lower latitudes!

Re: Vitamin D and Depression (2020)

#35

Post by KennyBlanken » Sun, May 08, 2022, 7:39 PM UTC

throckmortra wrote: post #2

My first winter in NYC was very rough and I didn't understand why at first. I got a blood test at the doc and he said my vitamin D was very low. I committed to walking in the sun at least a half hour a day, weather permitting, and I never really had issues again. Part of the issue was I was spending a lot of time walking outside but not in sunlight due to the tall buildings. Just my anecdotal 2c

In the northeast during wintertime, it's impossible to accumulate enough vitamin D from sunlight, especially not from such a short period of time, fully clothed.

Even if you were not fully clothed, there's so little UV making to you because of the sun's low angle and distance.

Re: Vitamin D and Depression (2020)

#36

Post by chrisco255 » Sun, May 08, 2022, 7:46 PM UTC

csdreamer7 wrote: post #32

juve1996 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anecdotally agree with this. I have vitamin D deficiency, was given 50,000 IU a week vitamin D to get it up. Never worked. Went to the beach one week and got blood tested again and my vitamin D levels climbed significantly. Now I make it a point to get outside and sunlight

> was given 50,000 IU a week vitamin D to get it up. It should have gone up significantly. I wonder if your body has a problem with Vit D absorption. I was put on the same dose of vit d for a treatment and I felt it within 20 minutes.

Is vitamin D fat soluble? If so, pretty sure it needs to be consumed with fat. That's partly why it's common in milk.

Re: Vitamin D and Depression (2020)

#37

Post by jghefner » Sun, May 08, 2022, 7:55 PM UTC

Vitamin D supplementation didn't affect my depression. Going for walks to get more sunlight made it worse.

I understand that not everything works for everyone and I wish those around me, including my doctor, did as well so they'd stop blaming me when their "cure" doesn't work on me.

Re: Vitamin D and Depression (2020)

#38

Post by alleskleber » Sun, May 08, 2022, 7:56 PM UTC

ralusek wrote: post #21

Sunlight and gardening have had such a dramatic impact on the way that I feel, it's unbelievable.

For me sunlight and some light exercise everyday were a game changer. I had tried Vitamin D supplements (1000 IU daily) before but there was barely any noticable effect.

Re: Vitamin D and Depression (2020)

#39

Post by noneeeed » Sun, May 08, 2022, 8:02 PM UTC

thinkingemote wrote: post #34

annamargot wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Latitude matters though. The farther north you are the more time in the sun you’d need. In some far north places, the sun you do get is not strong enough to get any Vit D. http://web.archive.org/web/20210302053343/https://jaoa.org/a... https://www.grassrootshealth.net/document/sunshine-calendar/

Indeed, the UK which is further north than the majority of Canada's population has effective vitamin D from the Sun only from March to September. Spring Equinox to autumn equinox basically. The sun is too low even though it might be much warmer than lower latitudes!

Yurp. I live in the south of England and even here I take vit D for pretty much that time period or I end up with little to no energy. I always make sure to go outside as much as I can, but when the sun is coming up at 8am and has gone down by 6pm it's pretty hard to get enough daylight and also work.

Re: Vitamin D and Depression (2020)

#40

Post by tkiolp4 » Sun, May 08, 2022, 8:03 PM UTC

I’m from Portugal. I’ve been living in Germany for 3 years. Last winter I was feeling very tired when walking, even dizzy. Doctor said I got very low levels of vitamin D. I never felt depressed, though.