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Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

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Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#391

Post by Aurornis »

Roark66 wrote: post #386

I used to take a supplement with 10k vit D units. Made by a reputable company here in Europe. I did a blood test for vit D metabolites (oh 25 or something). It turned out I was deficient. The doc gave me 8k units as a prescription drug. In theory weaker. After 2 months I was no longer defiecient (kinda borderline). After 4 months the doc decided to go down to 4k iu. Now I wonder why some experts are telling people to…

> Now I wonder why some experts are telling people to take 10k iu?

Taking 10K per day is a bad idea. I went into the excess Vitamin D range with half that dose even in winter with an indoor job.

More is not always better.

Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#392

Post by Aurornis »

ibeckermayer wrote: post #352
nikolatt wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for the comment. This is not in my area of expertise, so I hope you can clarify - how does one test that "mitochondria and other energy-related biochem phenomena work as expected"?

There are tests out there like https://www.chrismasterjohn-phd.com/mitome (No affiliation, just have been subscribed to the founder’s substack for a while)

Chris Masterjohn is a noted quack. He takes bits of actual science and research and weaves them together into narratives that make it sound like he has everything figured out with his unique protocols, but it doesn’t hold up to actual scrutiny. People spend years following his ever changing protocols without getting anywhere (beyond placebo effect and a large bill for supplements)

I know I won’t convince the parent commenter but hopefully I can convince other readers not to go down this road or invest any money in anything related to him.

Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#393

Post by quotz »

isoprophlex wrote: post #43

Because it's common to hate on antidepressants, I've always personally had a bias against them. For the past 15-20 years, november thru february are basically a writeoff due for me due to seasonal affective disorder. Cold showers, exercise, no alcohol, strict sleeping rituals. Vitamin d. I can still sleep 11 hours and feel like reheated cat shit. Enter citalopram. "It will take up to six weeks to dial in" they said.…

Have you tried SAD lamp light therapy? But not those lamps you get on amazon or other marketed SAD lamps, those are a scam. Just buy a 2 floodlights that are pretty powerful, say 100 watt each. Works like a charm. 15-30 mins a day its all it takes

Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#394

Post by Geee »

You might want to take magnesium with Vitamin D, because taking vitamin D depletes magnesium. Not sure if it's strictly necessary, but if you're already low on magnesium it might be an issue. I once got tinnitus (which lasted a few months) when supplementing Vitamin D, the only explanation I've figured is that my magnesium was very low, which can cause tinnitus. Might be something else too, who knows.

Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#395

Post by Roark66 »

arghwhat wrote: post #318
paufernandez wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agree. But sometimes there is no "root cause", the brain is still a mystery. If you had been depressed even when you knew there was nothing to worry about, you would see it differently, because then you deduce that the black cloud is produced within. Chemistry trumps psychology. Good enough chemistry enables cognitive treatments. But to fix the wrong chemistry you need chemistry.

> Chemistry trumps psychology To nitpick: The mind is applied biochemistry. Psychology intervenes in the chemistry, like many other activities do. The goal of that is to solve the root cause so that your future levels will be maintained at the right level, instead of just forcing the level by sourcing the respective chemicals externally. A good rule of thumb in biology and particular any kind of hormone production an…

>A good rule of thumb in biology and particular any kind of hormone production and balance is "use it or lose it" - if you start regularly receiving something externally, internal production will scale back and atrophy in response, in many cases permanently.

There are ways to "hack it".

For example, ~6 months ago I started trt (testosterone replacement). It was the best decision health wise ever. I feel way better psychologically, first time in my life I managed to stick with cardio training for so long (before 3 months was the most). There are other benefits too.

So what about the "loose it" part? Well there is a hormone called HCG one can take a twice a week to trick one's balls into producing some natural testosterone. Its use prevents atrophy and infertility.

Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#396

Post by pseudalopex »

johnisgood wrote: post #262
tefkah wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

why do you think the reason for them becoming vegan has something to do with B12 levels? likely they became vegan for different reasons, became much more aware of the importance of B12 and started taking a supplement. every vegan should supplement b12, so they probably do too

> All my nutrient numbers improved when I became vegan because nearly every one in the US/UK is deficient in VitD, Omegas and B12.

> Fortunately today’s vegan communities are much more aware of this so I started taking these supplements right up front and all my blood markers improved dramatically since when I consumed meat/dairy.

Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#397

Post by dec0dedab0de »

Roark66 wrote: post #386

I used to take a supplement with 10k vit D units. Made by a reputable company here in Europe. I did a blood test for vit D metabolites (oh 25 or something). It turned out I was deficient. The doc gave me 8k units as a prescription drug. In theory weaker. After 2 months I was no longer defiecient (kinda borderline). After 4 months the doc decided to go down to 4k iu. Now I wonder why some experts are telling people to…

I think the general idea is that the stats labs use to decide what is normal is not necessarily ideal, and like everything else will vary per person.

Too much Vitamin D3 can be toxic, so doctors are reluctant to tell you to go over published guidelines. but if you don't have other issues, and stick to what you can get OTC from a normal vitamin brand and follow the instructions, you're probably safe. There was a story a while ago about a woman who died from too much D3, but it turned out she was taking a whole bottle's worth every day for years.

Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#398

Post by nerdsniper »

throwforthings wrote: post #378
isoprophlex wrote: post #43

Because it's common to hate on antidepressants, I've always personally had a bias against them. For the past 15-20 years, november thru february are basically a writeoff due for me due to seasonal affective disorder. Cold showers, exercise, no alcohol, strict sleeping rituals. Vitamin d. I can still sleep 11 hours and feel like reheated cat shit. Enter citalopram. "It will take up to six weeks to dial in" they said.…

The things that keep me away from SSRIs are the potential for addiction and not being able to take psychedelics. I had a friend on SSRIs not tell us they were on them when they hit a DMT vape pen at a party years ago and they got serotonin syndrome. Had I known I would have warned them not to.

It's more "dependency" than "addiction". No one's waking up jones-ing for another hit of their SSRI. Dependency works well because some people are dependent on it like I am dependent on glasses/contacts.

Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#399

Post by lotsofpulp »

lazide wrote: post #174
hypeatei wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> like if we took sleeping pills every time we had trouble sleeping Yes, that's normal in the US. I have multiple family members who take Ambien (zolpidem) before bed every night.

Which knowing the side effects of Ambien is pretty bonkers.

I know zero people that have ever taken Ambien.

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db462.htm

Seems like daily users would be less than 10%.

Re: Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

#400

Post by anthonyrstevens »

raffael_de wrote: post #338
isoprophlex wrote: post #43

Because it's common to hate on antidepressants, I've always personally had a bias against them. For the past 15-20 years, november thru february are basically a writeoff due for me due to seasonal affective disorder. Cold showers, exercise, no alcohol, strict sleeping rituals. Vitamin d. I can still sleep 11 hours and feel like reheated cat shit. Enter citalopram. "It will take up to six weeks to dial in" they said.…

Bessel van der Kolk also mentions in his excellent book "The Body keeps the Score" that the effect of antidepressants is correlated with the source of the depression. If the depression is a comorbidity from early childhood trauma then antidepressants are limited due to trauma-related reshaping of how the brain is organized. Cases like yours or those that a related to traumatic experiences as an adult are more the res…

>> "The Body Keeps The Score"

Such a great book. Highly recommended.

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