Vitamin D and Mental Health - The Sunshine Vitamin

Have you ever noticed your mood plummets in winter?

Vitamin D, sometimes known as the sunshine vitamin, is an essential nutrient we get from exposure to sunlight. In this day and age our lifestyles often lead to vitamin D deficiency - from working indoors all day and driving around in cars from point A to point B, many of us struggle to maintain adequate levels.

During winter our levels naturally drop due to the low angle of the sun in the sky (vitamin D is best absorbed when the sun is directly overhead) and shorter days, so if you feel your mood plummet know that you aren’t alone!

There are also various conditions that can lead to vitamin D deficiency such as IBD, obesity, and gastric bypass surgery.

What are food sources of vitamin D?

We can also absorb it from certain foods such as:

- fatty fish (sardines, salmon, swordfish, etc)

- egg yolks

- beef liver

- sun-exposed vitamin D mushrooms (put in sun before cooking)

- butter and ghee

- foods fortified with vitamin D (some milk products)

If you have low levels of vitamin D you may consider supplementation to bring raise your vitamin D to an optimal level, however this should be done with supervision from a practitioner.

How does vitamin D affect mood?

Vitamin D plays many roles in your body:

- mood regulation via the vitamin D receptors in the brain

- anti-inflammatory (inflammation is common in people with brain fog, depression, and poor mood)

- neuroprotection

- cognitive performance

Other ways vitamin D status can affect how you’re feeling*

Immune function: Vitamin D is heavily involved in the proliferation and function of immune cells - if you’re getting sick over and over it could be a sign of vitamin D deficiency.

Muscle weakness: Vitamin D is involved with ATP (energy), phosphate, and creatinine levels in skeletal muscle, all of which help with muscle strength, so if you’re feeling weak in your arms or legs it’s a potential sign of vitamin D deficiency.

Fatigue: Vitamin D is important for mitochondrial function, AKA where energy is made. When you are deficient in vitamin D the production of ATP is inhibited, causing higher levels of fatigue.

*Please note that these symptoms can be caused by any number of factors and should be discussed with your GP.

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Harvard. (2023). Vitamin D. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-d/

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Nowak, A., Boesch, L., Andres, E., Battegay, E., Hornemann, T., Schmid, C., Bischoff-Ferrari, H. A., Suter, P. M., & Krayenbuehl, P. A. (2016). Effect of vitamin D3 on self-perceived fatigue. Medicine (Baltimore), 95(52). https://doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000005353

Reddy, A. M., Iqbal, M., Chopra, H., Urmi, S., Junapudi, S., Bibi, S., Gupta, S. K., Pangi, V. N., Singh, I., & Abdel-Daim, M. M. (2022). Pivotal role of vitamin D in mitochondrial health, cardiac function, and human reproduction. Experimental and Clinical Sciences Journal, 21, 967-990. https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2022-4935