Winter Blues Be Gone:  You Need Vitamin D!

Many of my clients struggle with seasonal depression, fatigue, and low mood. A number of factors like reduced daylight (and low thyroid!) can contribute to this trend.  A major common element for all New Englanders in autumn and winter is Vitamin D deficiency.  Actually a hormone, Vitamin D is critical to many body functions and, like other hormones, controls a significant number of genes in our body.   As a result, low Vitamin D influences many chronic illnesses including cancer, diabetes, autism, heart disease, hearing loss, macular degeneration, and rheumatoid arthritis. More immediately, low Vitamin D can drive a higher incidence of colds and flu as well as depression.   If you're prone to colds and flu or if you've got the winter blues, I highly recommend you start to strengthen your immune system now and lighten your mood with Vitamin D supplements.

During warm, sunny months, our skin makes Vitamin D for us automatically.   Intense sun radiation interacts with the cholesterol in our bare skin and makes up to 20,000 IUs of Vitamin D in about 20 minutes (but only if you're not wearing sunscreen). Radiation from the sun in New England, however, is only intense enough to generate Vitamin D on our skin for five months of the year.   This means that from September through May, almost all of us need to take a Vitamin D supplement in order to remain healthy and vibrant year-round.   I recommend almost all my clients take at least 2000 IUs/day this time of year; however, some adults need as much as 5000 or 10,000 IUs per day to maintain a therapeutic level. Remember not to forget about your kids too!

The best way to know your Vitamin D level is to ask your doctor for a blood test; be sure it's testing for 25(OH)D (25-hydroxyv type) to measure the amount of active Vitamin D. Most labs will say that a level of at least 30 ng/ml is normal, but remember that "normal" and "healthy" or "optimal" are not the same things. If everyone is deficient, do you really want to be mathematically "normal" ?

I have received many questions from readers about the recently raised Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for Vitamin D.   Confusion abounds.   The commission rightfully concluded that deficiency is rampant and that minimal levels need to be raised. However, I believe their conclusions are woefully conservative in light of the data. Plus remember that DRIs (on any nutrient!) are never to be taken as optimal amounts; technically, they are the minimal amount needed to avoid what our government calls "deficiency diseases".   In the case of Vitamin D, their recommendation will ensure you don't get rickets. Of course, there's a long road of opportunity between "don't have rickets" and "feel spectacular"!

Actual medical research suggests you want your Vitamin D levels to be 50-60 ng/ml.  And even a bit higher can be protective.   At these levels, research shows significant reduction in the incidence of diseases such as type 1 diabetes, most cancers, multiple sclerosis, bone fractures, and much more.  Even a level of at least 45 ng/ml reduces the incidence of many cancers by a third!   I find in my practice that extra Vitamin D in the winter often improves or eliminates mild depression. When taking a vitamin D supplement, make sure it's the active D3 form (not the synthetic D2 form typically used in most commercial milk fortification). If you need more information, please feel free to email me.  For my medical practitioner audience, you can find a crisp, technical scrutiny of the new (but still too low) DRI recommendations here, including comments on the interaction of Vitamin D and calcium. 

In Their Own Words - Client Testimonials  

"I can't say enough good things about how Tracy has helped me.  Based on how we've changed my diet and my awareness of food, I have more energy and feel better about myself.  She put me on to nutrition solutions that I didn't know existed and wouldn't have thought to look for.

What made it particularly work for me is that she's so smart and knows her subject so well. I'm not someone who wants to master all the information.  For years I've found it so confusing how varied and conflicting the theories of healthy diet are that I long since threw up my hands.  With Tracy I felt very confident about just following her directives, and I'm very pleased with the results."
                                                                                        Jeremy R.
                                                                                        Weston, MA