Vitamin D Deficiency and Depression – Is There A Link?

This is a guest post from Steve Rourke. If you’d like to guest post for RevitaliseYourHealth.com, then please take a look at the Write For Us section. 

Numerous studies have been conducted in order to discover more about the connection between vitamin D deficiency and depression. Vitamin D is an important pro-hormone. It is produced in the skin when exposed to sunlight. If you are white-skinned, you will need nearly twenty minutes in the sun to have vitamin D synthesized in your skin. If you are dark-skinned, thirty minutes should be enough. Although sunlight is considered the best natural source of vitamin D, you can’t rely on it, unless you live in a country with plenty of hours of sunshine daily. Even then, you may be lacking in vitamin D.

Some people cannot produce vitamin D, despite spending a lot of time in the sun. Certain diseases and medications can prevent normal production of vitamin D, calcium and phosphorus.

Vitamin D is naturally found in foods like fish, eggs, dairy products, animal meat and fortified cereals. However, you can’t get your daily dose from these foods. You would have to eat enormous quantities, which would be unhealthy.

Vitamin D supplements remain the best source of this vitamin. Even if you are perfectly healthy, you should visit your doctor and see if you lack this vitamin. Keep in mind that vitamin D deficiency is asymptomatic in the beginning; you can feel perfectly well, and still be deficient in vitamin D.

What Are the Most Common Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency?

- Fragile bones

- Bone pain

- Muscle pain

- Muscle weakness

- Chronic fatigue

- Low energy levels

- Depression

- In children, vitamin D deficiency is the primary cause of rickets

What Is the Connection Between Vitamin D Deficiency and Depression?

In most cases, it is very hard to determine the true cause of depression. People usually relate depression to mental issues, rather than physical. For example, people who have been exposed to long-term stress, or have had an extremely stressful event (personal tragedy) often develop this condition. In such cases, the cause is easier to determine, because it is more obvious.

However, there can be cases where depression is related to physical factors. Vitamin D deficiency can be one such factor, but most people fail to relate depression with vitamin deficiency. The answer to the question “is there a connection between vitamin D deficiency and depression?” is – yes, there is.

Patients who suffer from severe vitamin D deficiency have reported chronic fatigue, low energy levels and negative moods. Anti-depressants are often not an effective treatment but restoring sufficient levels of vitamin D back into the body has been found to help alleviate depressive symptoms.

If you have been feeling depressed without any obvious reason, perhaps you should visit your doctor and undergo a blood test. These tests are very sophisticated, and they don’t take much time.

The above article has been contributed by Steve Rourke who writes about the Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency at his website. 

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