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Like many of you I becoming very skeptical with all the new drugs being pushed for nearly every ailment we face. Many of these drugs cause a myriad of side effects, in some cases you have to ingest more medication simply to counteract the side effects. Depression treatments are no different, but I would like to suggest to you a link between Vitamin D and Depression.

"Vitamin D and depression symptoms were assessed in 441 overweight and obese people¹. In a randomised, placebo controlled fashion, subjects were then given either 20,000IU or 40,000 IU of vitamin D or a placebo for one year. Depressive symptoms were then reassessed over the course of a year.

Prior to treatment, those subjects with vitamin D levels less than 40nmol/L reported greater depressive symptoms. Among the two groups given vitamin D there was a significant improvement in depression scores measured one year later. No such changes were reported among those receiving a placebo.

The researchers concluded that there appeared a relationship between serum levels of vitamin D and symptoms of depression with those subjects supplemented with high doses of vitamin D experiencing improvements in depressive symptomatology."

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin that is either created in the body or ingested.
Vitamin D is mainly created in our bodies by exposure to the Sun's rays, UVB to be exact.Alternatively it can be produced by exposing lanolin to UVB rays and the refining into pill form for supplement use.
Between 80 and 90% of our Vitamin D3 levels are created by UVB rays and the other is eaten in foods such a milk.Vitamin D3 increases calcium absorption and decreases calcium loss through urination.

How Does Vitamin D help My Depression?

To keep things simple I will illustrate the process in the image below. The image shows how Vitamin D is converted to L-Tyrosine then to L-DOPA and then to Dopamine. Dopamine is used to create the neurotransmitters Nor-epinephrine and Epinephrine and they can alter our mood, focus, drive, and many other essential bodily functions.

You can see when UVB rays interact with Cholecalciferol(Vitamin D3) that L-Tyrosine is produced, which requires vitamin b6, copper, and folic acid to create L-DOPA to Dopamine and so on.

So If you are not getting enough vitamin d aka Cholecalciferol then you are hindering the production of L-Tyrosine all the way back to Dopamine which is required to synthesize Epinephrine and Nor-Epinephrine.

Simply put, if you are low on vitamin d it will cause a mood change among other bodily effects such a muscle pain and fatigue.

Vitamin D and its uses

Preventing and treating Rickets
Treats Osteoporosis
Treats High Blood Pressure
Treats High Cholesterol
Treats Diabetes
Obesity
Muscle Weakness
Rheumatoid Arthritis
COPD
PMS
Bronchitis
Asthma

Studies have shown that a more sedentary, indoor lifestyle can cause Vitamin D levels to decrease in the body. This causes depression and can cause muscular pain because of this deficiency.

In this video, a doctor form the Mayo Clinic reports his findings about Vitamin D and Pain.

Check it out!

After watching the video I felt somewhat relieved, I have had muscular pain that I could not seem to remedy, however I felt certain it was a vitamin or mineral issue, not a full condition as of yet.

References
Jorde R, Sneve M, Figenschau Y, Svartberg J, Waterloo K. (2008) Effects of vitamin D supplementation on symptoms of depression in overweight and obese subjects: randomized double blind trial. Journal of Internal Medicine. 264(6):599-609.