How Much Vitamin D Is Needed to Fight Depression?

How much vitamin D is needed to fight depression? If a person has too small of an amount of vitamin D (aka is found to be vitamin D deficient), he can be dosed with 100,000IU of vitamin D a week. This can help to stave off health problems, including depression.

Knowing the amount of vitamin D needed to fight depression is important. Vitamin D3, which can be homeopathically created by exposure to direct sunlight, has been linked to different aids in the fight against depression through numerous studies performed by a number of psychiatric researchers.

Depression is caused mainly by a deficiency of serotonin, a naturally occurring chemical in the brain which is mainly responsible for the brain’s maintenance of a consistent mood state.

In order for the proper serotonin levels to be produced, the brain and body must have an ample supply of vitamin D3, among other things. When an individual is found to be vitamin D deficient, he or she may be prescribed a high-dose treatment of vitamin D3, usually taking at least 100,000IU (International Units) per week in order to bring the levels of vitamin D3 in the brain up to a sustainable level.

Complimenting any dosage rate of vitamin D with a moderate amount of direct sunlight has often proved beneficial for those who have been deemed both clinically depressed and vitamin D deficient.

Where Does Vitamin D Come From?

So, now that you know how much vitamin D is needed to correct a deficiency and fight depression, you may wonder where you get vitamin D. Vitamin D can be produced within the body through exposure to natural light, as a generated response to the exposure through synthesis.

Vitamin D can also be absorbed into the body through digestion of foods that are rich in vitamin D, such as salmon and other fish, especially in their skins and liver oils. Beef liver and egg yolks, as well as vitamin D fortified dairy products are also good food sources of vitamin D, though the amounts a person would have to consume of these foods in order to produce a healthy level of the substance may make the foods themselves unhealthy to consume.

When obtained from reliable sources, vitamin D supplements are perhaps one of the most beneficial ways to increase vitamin D levels, as they don’t include the caloric value associated with most vitamin-rich foods. 

What Can a Vitamin D Deficiency Cause?

When an individual has been deficient in vitamin D for a prolonged amount of time, the body begins to suffer effects such as:

• Digestion issues, especially in calcium-rich foods
• Osteoporosis due to the lack of necessary bone growth.
• Bones can become brittle and weak, even misshapen when an individual is vitamin D deficient.
• The deficiency of this vitamin in the brain is also linked directly to conditions such as clinical depression, seasonal mood changes, and even rickets in cases where children are found to be vitamin D deficient.

You can work to avoid all these health consequences by knowing how much vitamin D is needed to fight depression and by making sure you get your fill of vitamin D.