by Dr. Wendy Zhou, ND
Naturopathic Doctor
Put Vitamin D on the counter to prevent SAD
As winter approaches, many people struggle with their energy levels and balancing their mood. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), key symptoms being feeling of sadness and loss of energy, is especially prominent around the winter months. Existing research has shown that vitamin D plays an important role to prevent and ease SAD.
Why We Test For Vitamin D
Famous for its role in calcium and phosphorus balancing in the human body, Vitamin D has been one vitamin/hormone that has been widely studied in recent years. Researchers in recent years have been exploring its other connection to the human body such as its role in optimizing immune function, as an inflammatory marker for metabolic syndrome, as a cancer marker, and for pregnancy health. It has also been a service for SAD.
As naturopathic doctors, we will be the first to say that you should get all your nutrients from food, and then supplement the gaps. However, vitamin D is a sun-based vitamin and only available in small quantities in certain natural foods: egg yolk, certain fatty fish, fish liver oil, and some fortified beverages. Most of our vitamin D is based on UV exposure from the sun.
Canadian Health Guidelines suggest 1000 IU of vitamin D per day for adults in order to prevent diseases such as rickets and osteomalacia. However, the average Canadian does not receive nearly enough sun exposure throughout the day, nor eats enough of the specific foods. Over time, the insufficiency builds up. Moreover, this suggestion of 1000 IU per day of vitamin D only applies to healthy individuals. It completely misses the individuals that are overweight, obese, have pre-existing heart disease, cancer, autoimmune, mental health and other chronic diseases that may require higher dosing of the suggested dose. Therefore, it is important to get serum vitamin D tested!
How Do I Know When I Have SAD?
Winter blues are real! For some individuals, once the days get shorter, they experience various symptoms:
□ Feeling sad
□ Feeling irritable
□ Crying more frequently
□ Feeling tired and lethargic
□ Having difficulty concentrating
□ Sleep more than normal
□ Lack of energy
□ Decrease activity
□ Lack of motivation
□ Withdrawing from social situations
□ Craving carbohydrates and sugar
□ Gain weight due to excessive eating
In the summer, those same individuals will have significantly less of the above symptoms. There is also a varying degree someone may experience the symptoms. Some people may experience the ‘winter blues’ mildly while others may be completely non-functional. Come and chat with the naturopathic doctors at Naturopathic Living if you recognize any of these symptoms!
During the winter months, research has shown that those living above 33 degrees latitude north or below 30 degrees latitude south of the equator are not able to synthesize vitamin D. SAD has been correlated with a significant deficiency in vitamin D levels, and taking vitamin D is able to may help with these symptoms. Furthermore, taking Vitamin D prior to the winter season may help prevent SAD symptoms – especially depression.
Sunlight plays a critical role in our health. However, we cannot always depend on the sun to be here especially for the winter months living in Canada. Therefore, we need to turn to other methods to help with our mood and energy. We want you and those you care for to stay healthy and happy this winter! Come in and speak to our Naturopathic doctors regarding what is right for you.
If you liked this article, there are other articles about improving your energy that you may look into [Link]
References
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American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), American Psychiatric Association, Arlington, Va, USA, 2013.
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M. F. Holick, “Vitamin D deficiency,” The New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 357, no. 3, pp. 266–281, 2007.
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A. R. Webb, L. Kline, and M. F. Holick, “Influence of season and latitude on the cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D3: exposure to winter sunlight in Boston and Edmonton will not promote vitamin D3 synthesis in human skin,” The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, vol. 67, no. 2, pp. 373–378, 1988.
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F. M. Gloth III, W. Alam, and B. Hollis, “Vitamin D vs broad spectrum phototherapy in the care of seasonal affective disorder,” Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 5–7, 1999.
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A. E. Stewart, K. A. Roecklein, S. Tanner, and M. G. Kimlin, “Possible contributions of skin pigmentation and vitamin D in a polyfactorial model of seasonal affective disorder,” Medical Hypotheses, vol. 83, no. 5, pp. 517–525, 2014.