Vitamin D & The Brain

Vitamin D deficiency has hit an epidemic level. Not only are intakes devastatingly low, but also exposure to the sun has become increasingly limited for fear of contracting skin cancer. In his June 23, 1011, newsletter at Newsmax Health, Dr.Russell Blaylock educates his readers when he states that vitamin D3 is actually a hormone rather than a vitamin, and that a deficit of this compound may result in undesirable consequences in the brain, including depression.

Dr.Blaylock is a renowned neurosurgeon with a keen desire for people to take some control over their own health.  He implies that supplemental vitamin D3, “…lowers risk of infections, which would reduce the incidence of brain inflammation.”   He adds that research can place behavioral disorders in the lap of vitamin D deficiency, and  suggests that all of us get a vitamin D blood-level test to find out where we stand, noting that current accepted values are too low to be any benefit.   About the conditions, Dr. Blaylock says, “…depression, anxiety, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder, suicide risk, and even criminal behavior…can be traced to chronic brain inflammation.”  The good doctor would like to see blood vitamin D levels between 70 and 100 nanograms per milliliter.  That means that most of us need to take at least 2000 IU of vitamin D3 a day, with as much as 10,000 IU for severe deficiency.

The body needs cholesterol to make vitamin D from the sun’s ultra-violet radiation.  When the resulting chemical mix gets to the liver it becomes vitamin D3, the active form of the hormone, which the body uses to help maintain bone integrity, to increase neuromuscular function, and to modulate the immune system.  There has been considerable support over the past decade for the role of vitamin D in brain development and function.  It was noted by Kesby and colleagues at Australia’s Queensland Brain Institute that, “…this vitamin is actually a neuroactive steroid that acts on brain development, leading to alterations in brain neurochemistry and adult brain function.”  (Kesby. 2011)  Deficiencies have been related to depression, as well as to Parkinson’s disease and cognitive decline.

Of particular interest to American researchers at the U. of South Carolina is the relationship of vitamin D deficit to postpartum depression as one of the several mood disorders studied in 2010.  Using a moderate sample size at the outset, scientists found that low levels of vitamin D are associated with increased postpartum depression, as measured by evaluation on the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale. (Murphy. 2010)  Even though larger studies are encouraged, the outcomes are likely to be the similar.

When the immune system abandons its competence because of nutritional deficit, inflammation ensues, often with a mighty wrath.  Such is the case with deficit of vitamin D in various maladies that include diabetes and multiple sclerosis, as well as depression.  Depression is a family affair characterized by feelings of hopelessness, despair, anxiety, irritability and restlessness.  Depression understandably accompanies degenerative disease, in part by the hopelessness is may engender.  If vitamin D is able to address depression, might it also be able to help get a handle on these conditions?   Whatever the cause of vitamin D deficiency, levels lower than 30 nanograms per milliliter have been associated with heart disease, type 2 diabetes, infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders, and neurological conditions. (Nimitphong. 2011)

MAIN ABSTRACT Dr. Blaylock Up Vitamin D3 for Your Brain Thursday, June 23, 2011 10:11 AM

SUPPORTING ABSTRACTS Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2011 Jun 1. The effects of vitamin D on brain development and adult brain function. Kesby JP, Eyles DW, Burne TH, McGrath JJ. Source Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Qld 4076, Australia.

J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc. 2010 May;16(3):170-7. An exploratory study of postpartum depression and vitamin d. Murphy PK, Mueller M, Hulsey TC, Ebeling MD, Wagner CL. SourceMedical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA, murphypa@musc.edu.

Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2011 Jan;14(1):7-14. Vitamin D, neurocognitive functioning and immunocompetence. Nimitphong H, Holick MF. SourceSection of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2011 Apr 12. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2011.01705.x. 'D' for depression: any role for vitamin D?: 'Food for Thought' II. Parker G, Brotchie H. SourceSchool of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, and Black Dog Institute, Randwick, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2011 Jun;215(4):733-7. Epub 2011 Jan 29. Exploring the relationship between vitamin D and basic personality traits. Ubbenhorst A, Striebich S, Lang F, Lang UE. SourceDepartment of Physiology, University of Tuebingen, Gmelinstr. 5, 72076, Tuebingen, Germany.

FASEB J. 2008 Apr;22(4):982-1001. Epub 2007 Dec 4. Is there convincing biological or behavioral evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to brain dysfunction? McCann JC, Ames BN.