D is for Depression, Vitamin D is for Depression Treatment
Amitriptyline, imipramine, lithium; these are what sufferers would consider as depression treatment. Drugs; medicine; something your physician gives out prescriptions for. Sure, they have side-effects - the dizziness, drowsiness, headaches and weight gain - but all depression treatments, all medicines, have some kind of side-effect associated with them. But what about vitamins? Can they be an effective treatment for depression? Can Vitamin D, something that your body makes itself, be used as an anti depression treatment?
Well first, we have to get one thing straight. Any anti-depressant is only defined by whether it actually treats depression. Not on if it is prescribed, or whether it is made in a pharmaceutical company, or if it has fancy sounding chemical name; only the results matter. Actually, the biologically active form of Vitamin D is sometimes called calcitrol, so those who like their depression treatments to have a pharmaceutical sounding name should still be happy. For those who don't care about that, only remember this: Vitamin D has a number of properties that make it an effective treatment for depression.
Benefits of Vitamin D in Depression Treatment
Vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin, is found in food, but also can be made in the body with the help of sunlight. The liver and kidney help convert Vitamin D into its active hormone form, calcitrol. The main function of Vitamin D is to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus, and maintain strong bones. However, it can also play an important role in treating depression.
Supplementation of Vitamin D has been found to help patients suffering from depression and improve their condition. So what is it about Vitamin D that makes it an effective anti depression treatment?
Vitamin D and Serotonin
Vitamin D stimulates the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter important for the emotional health of a person. Serotonin has been shown to reduce aggressiveness when given to animals, and has a positive, mood-enhancing affect on humans too.Vitamin D and Emotional Stability
Vitamin D is an effective anti depression treatment by being involved in the production of neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, dopamine, and epinephrine, which are and the chemical messengers responsible for sending electrical signals through the nerves. An imbalance in these neurotransmitters is one of the main causes of depression, so Vitamin D is an important in treatment.
Vitamin D and PMS
Because of Vitamin D's role in promoting emotional stability and restoring hormonal balance, it also helps in reducing the risk of premenstrual syndrome in women.
What all these benefits have in common is a connection between neurotransmitters/hormones and Vitamin D as an anti depression treatment. Not only is Vitamin D a natural vitamin produced in the body, but it also treats depression through natural means: by restoring hormonal balance.
Now You Get It, How do You Get It?
That is, now that you understand how Vitamin D can be an effective anti depression treatment, how can you get hold of Vitamin D? As mentioned before, Vitamin D can be found in the diet, though often not as much as it used to due to intensive farming methods. The body can also produce Vitamin D through the action of sunlight on the skin. Relying on the sunlight is fine if you live in Los Angeles, but for many a lack of sunlight can lead to Vitamin D deficiency and therefore depression.
The so-called seasonal affected depression (SAD) may occur in people who either live in cold climate, where the daylight hours are significantly short, or in people who always work inside due to urbanization and industrialization. In both the cases their body is unable to produce adequate amounts of Vitamin D. Therefore, depression treatment is best done through supplementation of Vitamin D, rather than relying on nature alone.
Prescriptions by Dr. Balch
