Been searching online but it gives me plenty of options, it seems.
Is it true that a low vitamin-D deficiency can make you feel a bit down in the weather, so to speak?
i fucking love lions mane. rub that shit in butter and cook it in a pan, its so fucking good
Instead of taking Vitamin D pills when no sunlight is available in the appropriate wavelength, you may want to consider eating more culinary mushrooms as a better method of obtaining Vitamin D during the winter: mushrooms are full of fascinating compounds, are strongly cytoprotective, and have beneficial effects on mood and cognition. Compounds such as ergothioneine, a (currently little-known) super-antioxidant specific to fungi that accumulates in tissue, especially the brain, vital organs, and bone marrow, and is so important for health that humans have evolved a specific "ergothioneine transporter" in the gut in order to better absorb the molecule; see also the chitin monomer n-acetyl-glucosamine, which appears to be extremely important, or perhaps even rate-limiting, for myelination and re-myelination of axons... these are but a few among thousands of beneficial compounds in a serving of mushrooms, amounts depending upon the species.
I know people don't like it when I bring this up but be careful with lions mane. Please don't take it with anti-depressants because it can cause serotonin syndrome and you should likely avoid cooking with it since there is no way of knowing the dose you will end up getting (usually in a culinary setting it's under-extracted, but you only need to fuck up once to rot your brain).
I had not heard of this. I don't think Serotonin Syndrome is necessarily what's happening, but yes, anyone taking anti-depressions should be careful with food and drug interactions!
Oh shit hell yeah I just ate some spaghetti with a handful of chopped crimini mushrooms 💪
Vitamins are a very tricky thing and there's a lack of good quality research on them (and they aren't regulated in the same way that pharmaceuticals are so this complicates the matter.)
Vitamin D is important for brain function and being deficient in it could well have impacted your mood but the same can be said for B vitamins. There's less research on magnesium and zinc but it's possible (I'd say probable) that deficiency in these could impact your mood. The other thing that I'd be considering is iron deficiency because it's really pernicious and while it may or may not have a direct impact on your mood the symptoms of iron deficiency can absolutely mirror the symptoms of depression.
Supplementing iron in the case of deficiency usually takes a couple of weeks for its effects to be noticed so if it was only a matter of days and you found a significant improvement in your mood then I'd be inclined to rule out anaemia unless there are other symptoms which indicate it.
As per this study (Novel Targets for Fast Antidepressant Responses: Possible Role of Endogenous Neuromodulators), if your multivitamin contains vitamin C then this could be having a positive impact on your mood as Vitamin C appears that it may be a fast-acting agent that works similar to antidepressants (speaking in broad terms here). (Also note that magnesium is an NMDA antagonist as well so that could be causing the same effect.)
What'd be really difficult to determine is whether it's just one vitamin/mineral that's having this effect or whether it's a combination.
Noted as well! And thanks for linking to an actual study! I'll save this comment, thank you very much. And yeah, Vitamin D (and I guess B) are the ones that everyone agrees on, but usually not C.
I live at a fairly northern latitude and get depressed (any season but winter is often worse), and I wouldn't say I swear by vitamin d supplements but I have been taking them the last like 5 winters and feel like they do help. could be placebo but I'll take it
anecdotally my doctor recently recommended I take a shitload of vitamin D because I'm a troglodyte, and I do think I feel a little better lately
this was while it was still summer too, and I have whatever the opposite of SAD is so it wasn't just the onset of fall making me feel better
I believe the link between vitamin d levels and seasonal affective disorder is confirmed, but afaik doctors usually prescribe light therapy with a sun lamp to stimulate bodily vit. D production, not supplements. I've seen studies saying supplements seem to work, and studies where they had no effect, so its inconclusive but worth a shot.
The vitamin d thing is true.
However that is not everyone’s problem who is depressed. I tried vitamin D and it did nothing.
I need something stronger: wellbutrin/burproprion. After like 15 years of battling it without meds, the last few years have been a total 180 since i got on that pill. I am sad about all the time i lost and the life i could have led if depression didn’t keep interrupting my life.
"Lost time." I get that. It certainly feels like that. But don't worry, things will get better, like they already have.
But don't worry, things will get better, like they already have.
they won't for me
If you decide to take a Vit D supplement be sure and take it with food. It's one of the fat soluble vitamins so you'll get better absorption.
vitamin d is big deal, esp for brown folks in cloudy and cold weather. i was very surprised to learn that my friend who had been dealing with lifelong seasonal depression wasnt aware of this, i informed him of taking vitamins in the winter and he calls me every winter season saying im a good-vibes witch
Most people are vitamin D deficient, and so should be taking supplements. Vitamin D is synthesized by sunlight hitting our skin, but in our modern lifestyles and places we live, we hardly get any direct sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency is the reason that there was such strong evolutionary selection pressure to lower melanin production in people's skins as early populations of people migrated away from areas with consistent sunlight - the danger of sun damage to skin was far outweighed by the need to produce enough vitamin D. And while you can get some of it form food, it's not nearly enough (vitamin D infused milk isn't enough!) You should be taking the large 5000IU (125 mcg) doses every day, and even that is on the low side of what your body would normally produce if you worked outside for a living.
Sorry, I'm the pastiest cum goblin alive that never goes outside and my vitamin d is stellar 😎
Decided to quit drinking for at least a few months (not for any dramatic reason, just noticed I was no longer enjoying booze).
Realized I was low on B12 and B1. Started supplementing, feels good.
It's also called Thiamine/thiamin. If you drink regularly, you might be low on it because alcohol inhibits your body's ability to absorb b1 and b12 which are both important for nerves and stuff.
Those two b vitamins are both water soluble too, so it's very hard to take too much of them (not that I'd recommend trying to). At worst your stomach might be bothered.
Edit: if you're already doing a multivitamin, that should have both, you probably only need to supplement more if you have a deficiency
It's also called Thiamine/thiamin. If you drink regularly, you might be low on it because alcohol inhibits your body's ability to absorb b1 and b12 which are both important for nerves and stuff.
Those two b vitamins are both water soluble too, so it's very hard to take too much of them (not that I'd recommend trying to). At worst your stomach might be bothered.
I take omega-3 as fish oil and it improves my mood. If you end up taking it - I suggest not buying the cheapest fish oil. Instead you google to find a brand that's high quality.
Omega-3 fatty acids for mood disorders - Harvard Health
How might omega-3s improve depression?
Different mechanisms of action have been proposed. For example, omega-3s can easily travel through the brain cell membrane and interact with mood-related molecules inside the brain. They also have anti-inflammatory actions that may help relieve depression.
More than 30 clinical trials have tested different omega-3 preparations in people with depression. Most studies have used omega-3s as add-on therapy for people who are taking prescription antidepressants with limited or no benefit. Fewer studies have examined omega-3 therapy alone. Clinical trials typically use EPA alone or a combination of EPA plus DHA, at doses from 0.5 to 1 gram per day to 6 to 10 grams per day. To give some perspective, 1 gram per day would correspond to eating three salmon meals per week.
Meta-analyses (research that combines and analyzes results of multiple studies) generally suggest that the omega-3s are effective, but the findings are not unanimous because of variability between doses, ratios of EPA to DHA, and other study design issues. The most effective preparations appear to have at least 60% EPA relative to DHA. While DHA is thought to be less effective as an antidepressant, it may have protective effects against suicide. Recent work at Massachusetts General Hospital and Emory University suggests that depressed individuals who are overweight and have elevated inflammatory activity may be particularly good candidates for EPA treatment.
Children and adolescents with depression may also benefit from omega-3 supplementation. At Harvard, there is a large study underway examining whether omega-3 supplementation (alone or in combination with vitamin D) can prevent depression in healthy older adults.
Omega-3s as fish oil, eh? Buy it quality-made. Gotcha.
Thanks for the study link, btw.
I was seeing a shrink for depression and it was our third session and she said "I'd like you to take..." And my respect for her went to zero. I thought to myself "She's going to put me on meds!?" And then she said "omega 3" and I was very pleased with her. My facial expressions must have been funny.
Omega 3 has health benefits too but I didn't investigate those much. A google hint is:
triple strength omega 3.Just to chime in, studies have shown that nearly all fish oil sold in pill form is rancid at the time of consumption. Flax seed oil it's a non-gross alternative with high omega 3.
Do you think Costco fish oil is good enough? Is aldi a bad quality one?
I don't use vitamin supplements often, but I've been taking hangover pills with DHM (Dihydromyricetin) B1, B6, B12, and magnesium after I drink, and it's definitely improved the day after immensely. DHM promotes alcohol-clearing enzymes in the liver so you metabolize all the poison faster. Highly recommended if you drink, but it can heighten your tolerance if you take it beforehand.
I can't find B6 and B1 anywhere in my grocery store. I wonder why... Even so, thanks!
