In the midst of the coronovirus pandemic, many of us are figuratively living in caves right now. Maybe you’re binge watching TV, daytime sleeping, or reading cheap trashy novels, (my fave). Maybe you’re even a little depressed and anxious.
Most likely you haven’t been spending much time outside.
In health terms, this duplicates the winter blues, the lack of exposure to the sun’s free source of life, and the depression that many of experience in January and February. Less sunlight, for whatever reason, means more health problems, including depression.
Do you notice you often feel blue or even deeply, darkly depressed after the winter holidays? It’s not just that the festivities of the holidays are over and we’re settling in to a cold, dark January.
It’s no coincidence that the January blues come three months after October, when in most parts of the US, the weather gets cold and we bundle up and stay indoors more.
Science has long linked low vitamin D levels to depression and even mental illness.
Vitamin D is a unique fat-soluble nutrient that actually acts like a hormone. Our bodies can manufacture it by exposing skin to sun. In the summer when we wear fewer clothes and expose lots of skin to the sun, most of us can manufacture enough, except extremely dark-skinned people. All it takes in summer is about 20 minutes of skin exposure in a bathing suit once a week to get all the vitamin D we need.
Our bodies can store vitamin D in slowly diminishing levels for about 90 days. What’s 90 days after October? You’ve got it! January!
By January, your vitamin D stores are depleted unless you’ve got a tropical vacation on your calendar.
Vitamin D researchers estimate that 95% of Americans are vitamin D deficient by January.
There are few food sources of vitamin D. Among them: fatty fish, beef liver, egg yolks, mushrooms. It’s hard to eat enough of these to make a difference. Vitamin D supplemented foods like milk products, cheese and orange juice may give you some D, but not enough to cancel out the unhealthy aspects of these foods. It’s nearly impossible to supplement your needs with food, so the easy answer is supplements.
Now is the time to stave off January blues by taking a vitamin D supplement unless you live in a climate where you can sunbathe year around.
A simple blood test will determine your current levels, although those won’t be sustained by January. The optimal level is 50 ng/mL.
How much to take and what form of D is best?
The government’s vitamin D RDA (these are always notoriously low) is 600 IU. Since there is no toxicity reported for vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) in dosages up to 20,000 IU per day, most enlightened health care professionals suggest 2,000-5,000 IU of D3 daily starting now. A blood test in January will tell you if that dosage is correct or you need more. You may not need any supplements in the summer months.
There’s more to come on on vitamin D, which is certainly in the top five nutrients for multiple body functions. It’s not just essential for mood regulation and brain health, but for bone health, immune function, regulating blood pressure, cancer prevention, regulate insulin and diabetes, improved lung function, colon and digestive system health and much more. Stay tuned.
