What Vitamin D Is, And How It Affects Your Mood

Vitamin D is taken for granted and is assumed to be plentiful in a healthy diet. Unfortunately, very few foods naturally contain vitamin D, and only a few foods are fortified with vitamin D. This is the reason why vitamin D deficiency has become epidemic for all age groups in the United States and Europe. Vitamin D deficiency not only causes metabolic bone disease among children and adults but also may increase the risk of many common chronic diseases.

Vitamin D is required to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphate, that are in turn needed for the normal mineralisation of bone, muscle contraction, nerve conduction, and general cellular function in all cells of the body.

There are two types of vitamin D : one can be made in the skin by exposure to sunlight , and another -can be provided pre-formed in the diet.

Despite the name, vitamin D is actual not a vitamin. It’s a secesteroid which is a hormonal precursor.

Dozens of medical research studies leave no doubt that having enough vitamin D will provide strong protection against cancer, heart disease, diabetes, mental health issues, and diseases that collectively kill over 2 million Americans every year.

An estimated one billion people worldwide have vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency. Individuals at high risk for vitamin D deficiency, include those living far from the equator, those with medical conditions (such as obesity, liver disease, celiac and renal disease ), the elderly, and those with darker skin.

Deficiency of vitamin D has significant medical and psychological consequences. Every tissue in the body has vitamin D receptors, including the brain, heart, muscles, and immune system, which means vitamin D is needed at every level for the body to function.

In addition to its well-known role in calcium absorption, vitamin D activates genes that regulate the immune system and release neurotransmitters ( e.g., dopamine, serotonin ) that affect brain function and development. Researchers have found vitamin D receptors on a handful of cells located in regions in the brain-the same regions that are linked with depression.

The amount of research about vitamin D and depression, and other mental health problems, is growing. This is a complex research area and it’s only recently that large studies on vitamin D and depression have been carried out.

But the fact is - being exposed to direct/indirect sunlight ( daylight ), and taking foods that contain vitamin D, as well as vitamin D supplements, will enhances your mood and energy, and will help to ease the symptoms of depression.

For more information about the power of this amazing vitamin, check out "Vitamin D Revolution" by Soram Khalsa, M.D., where he reveals how to recognize signs of Vitamin D deficiency, and then shares insights from his Beverly Hills medical practice, where he normalizes his own patients’ Vitamin D levels for their optimal health.

This is an extraordinary, easy to read little book which will provide you with amazing information on the importance of vitamin D in the body. He explains why it is such a widespread & overlooked problem which can prevent as well as relieve so many health problems that have not, until just recently, been linked to Vitamin D deficiency.

He guides the reader step by step in understanding what is known of vitamin D, where it comes from, how to know if you are likely to have a deficiency, how and where to test, how to supplement, diseases that have already been found to have a direct relation to this vitamin, as well as health situations that are not necessarily a "disease" such as chronic fatigue, excess stress, moodiness, etc.