Vitamin D significantly improves mood and helps relieve depression.

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http://69.6.195.87/Vieth's%20Study%20on%20Depression.htm

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

July 28, 2004

 

For Immediate Release

 

The Vitamin D Council

 

9100 San Gregorio Road

 

Atascadero, CA 93422

 

805 462-8129

 

http://www.cholecalciferol-council.com

 

jjcannell

 

Dr. Reinhold Vieth and his colleagues at the

University of Toronto have given hope to millions of

people across the world who are suffering from the

debilitating symptoms of depression.

 

In a paper published this week, Vieth and co-workers

showed that vitamin D significantly improves mood and

helps relieve the symptoms of depression in patients

with vitamin D levels most doctors would mistakenly

consider to be normal.

 

Vieth studied a total of 130 patients with summertime

vitamin D blood levels less than 24 ng/ml (61 nmol/L)

from an endocrinology clinic in two separate studies.

During the winter, they treated half the patients with

4,000 units of cholecalciferol a day while treating

the control group with 600 units a day (this lower

dose is the one recommended officially, by the Food

and Nutrition Board, for the elderly). Ethical

considerations prior to the study were, that the

medical literature is now so clear on the dangers of

vitamin D deficiency that no one selected for research

because of low vitamin D levels should be denied

vitamin D treatment.

 

Other authors have called for an end to placebo

studies on people who are likely to benefit from a

treatment. However, Vieth is the first vitamin D

scientist to risk studying vitamin D using an active

agent in the control group instead of placebo.

Studies using active agents as controls are much less

likely to show positive differences between treatment

groups, thus the researcher risks getting negative

results. As usual, Vieth, who started the current

vitamin D renaissance with his masterful 1999 paper

dispelling the myths surrounding vitamin D toxicity,

Vitamin D supplementation, 25-hydroxyvitamin D

concentrations and safety , remains on the forefront

of the revolution.

 

Vieth measured various symptoms of depression before

and after treatment in both groups of patients using a

rating scale that contained typical questions

assessing depression, such as:

 

 

1. Has your general energy level been less than

average lately?

 

2. Has your mood been less than average lately?

 

3. Have you had problems sleeping, either too much or

too little?

 

4. Have you lost interest or pleasure in things you

normally enjoy doing?

 

5. Have you had a decrease in your ability to

concentrate?

 

6. Have you lost/gained weight?

 

7. Has your general health been less than average

lately?

 

8. Have you felt less rested upon waking from sleep

lately?

 

9. Have you experienced a down feeling or

inappropriate guilt?

 

10. Have you felt less socially active lately?

 

11. Have you been indecisive lately?

 

12. Have you felt less productive or less creative

lately?

 

13. Has your appetite increased or decreased?

 

14. Have you experienced any cravings for

carbohydrates

 

(bread, pasta, rice, sugary foods), more than normal?

 

15. Has it been more difficult to deal with daily

stress?

 

16. Have you felt irritable or anxious lately?

 

Both groups of patients improved with treatment. Those

taking 4,000 units of vitamin D improved more than

those on 600 units. As expected, 600 units a day left

a number of patients vitamin D deficient while the

patients taking 4,000 units a day for six months ended

up with acceptable vitamin D blood levels. There were

no signs of toxicity and none of the patient’s blood

tests showed any ill effects from the treatment. In

fact, the treatment lowered parathormone levels (PTH)

– a good thing because high PTH is associated with

bone loss. Most importantly, the patients felt much

better.

 

Vieth’s important work adds to the growing possibility

that many patients suffering from depression, or just

not feeling well are, in fact, simply suffering from

undiagnosed and untreated vitamin D deficiency. For a

more thorough review of vitamin D and depression, see

one of our previous newsletters at:

http://www.cholecalciferol-council.com/Depression.pdf

 

Dr. Vieth’s paper can be accessed in its entirety at

http://www.nutritionj.com/content/pdf/1475-2891-3-8.pdf

 

John Cannell, MD

July 28, 2004