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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Twinleaf on August 9, 2014, at 13:42:52
As people drink less milk and protect themselves from the sun so effectively, there is apparently an epidemic percentage of very low Vitamin D levels. Low levels have been implicated in depression and the development of Alzheimer's, so it is a great thing to detect and prevent at any age.
Posted by Phillipa on August 9, 2014, at 17:35:17
In reply to Do you know your Vitamin D levels?, posted by Twinleaf on August 9, 2014, at 13:42:52
Just checked at internists was still high 50's. Didn't know implicated in Alzheimers. As always worried about it due to loss of taste and smell which is. Phillipa
Posted by Tomatheus on August 9, 2014, at 23:00:41
In reply to Do you know your Vitamin D levels?, posted by Twinleaf on August 9, 2014, at 13:42:52
My vitamin D level was 21.9 ng/mL before I started supplementing. I currently take 2,800 IU of vitamin D3 and have been taking it for more than six months now, but I haven't had my vitamin D level tested since my initial test at an orthomolecular treatment center. Taking the vitamin (or hormone, which is what it really is) seemed to help boost my energy and concentration at first, but I don't think that the D3 is helping in those areas anymore.
I think that you're right, Twinleaf, in saying that low vitamin D levels have been implicated in depression. As I understand it, there seem to be some studies that support the idea that vitamin D levels are disproportionately low in patients with depressive disorders, and there seems to be mixed evidence that vitamin D3 supplementation may help with depression. As far as I can tell, cause and effect in the relationship between vitamin D levels and depression has yet to be established. So, maybe having a vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency can cause depression, but it might also be the case that individuals with depressive disorders spend a disproportionate amount of time indoors and consequently get less sunlight and less vitamin D.
But regardless as to what causes what, it does seem that optimizing our vitamin D levels would be a good thing to do health wise.
Tomatheus
Posted by Twinleaf on August 10, 2014, at 7:43:38
In reply to Re: Do you know your Vitamin D levels?, posted by Tomatheus on August 9, 2014, at 23:00:41
Your summary was much more accurate than mine. It's my understanding, also, that, while there is an association between depression and low Vitamin D levels, a cause and effect relationship is unproven.
I included it, along with possible degenerative illnesses in later life, like Alzheimer's and (I should have added) osteoporosis, because it is such a risk-free supplement to take. Low D levels apparently don't cause any symptoms, unless further research strengthens the tie to depression, so one does need a blood test to detect it. People with depression usually try so many problematic medications that it's reassuring to take a problem-free vitamin which may have important preventive benefits!
Posted by herpills on August 10, 2014, at 16:09:48
In reply to Re: Do you know your Vitamin D levels? » Tomatheus, posted by Twinleaf on August 10, 2014, at 7:43:38
>
> I included it, along with possible degenerative illnesses in later life, like Alzheimer's and (I should have added) osteoporosis, because it is such a risk-free supplement to take. Low D levels apparently don't cause any symptoms, unless further research strengthens the tie to depression, so one does need a blood test to detect it. People with depression usually try so many problematic medications that it's reassuring to take a problem-free vitamin which may have important preventive benefits!
>
>That's the way I see it too. I hope they continue the research, but is it a priority if there isn't big $$ to be made from a new med? Maybe they could come out with "Vitamin d XR"
Posted by SLS on August 11, 2014, at 10:13:01
In reply to Re: Do you know your Vitamin D levels? » Twinleaf, posted by herpills on August 10, 2014, at 16:09:48
Conclusion: Our results confirm that vitamin D deficiency is associated with a substantially increased risk of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer disease. This adds to the ongoing debate about the role of vitamin D in nonskeletal conditions.
http://www.neurology.org/content/early/2014/08/06/WNL.0000000000000755.short
- Scott
Posted by Tomatheus on August 11, 2014, at 15:19:29
In reply to Re: Do you know your Vitamin D levels? » Tomatheus, posted by Twinleaf on August 10, 2014, at 7:43:38
> Your summary was much more accurate than mine.
Twinleaf,
I liked what you wrote in both of your posts on this thread about vitamin D, and I thought that everything that you wrote was accurate. So, I don't think that I'd say that what I wrote was more accurate than what you wrote. I was just adding some more information about vitamin D to the thread, as I sometimes tend to do on this board. What you wrote was helpful, accurate (at least to my knowledge), and consistent with my understanding of vitamin D.
Tomatheus
Posted by Chris O on August 13, 2014, at 15:19:20
In reply to Do you know your Vitamin D levels?, posted by Twinleaf on August 9, 2014, at 13:42:52
Mine are always hovering at or below 30. They've been as low as 11. And I'm in the southern California sun. A lot. Something weird going on. But I meditated on this with other babblers a while back.
Chris
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