River: The connection I needed?

[mdlbear]

Is this the causal link I was looking for to explain my mood shift?

It seems that coeliac disease is linked to vitamin D malabsorption (also calcium and vitamin B12, which I've been taking supplements for), which in turn is linked to SAD and depression.

OK, vitamin D supplements and no more gluten. We'll see if those work. Thanks to all the friends who helped me make the connection, especially dormouse_in_tea and mia_mcdavid.

Comments

[angharads-house.livejournal.com]

absolutely concur with this choice: shortage of Vitamin D prevents your body from using the extra calcium: osteoporosis clearly is a risk for XY's like you as it is for XX's like us!

Vitamin D shortage also exacerbates MS (like my belovedest has) and MG (which I have). Probably also intensifies many other conditions, too.

Be well, and be warm.

[mdlbear]

Thanks! It'll be an interesting experiment.

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

Good luck! I hope it works!

[mdlbear]

Thanks!

[tibicina.livejournal.com]

I haven't noticed taking vitamin D making me less depressed, but I /have/ noticed a marked drop off in the frequency of headaches since I started taking it regularly.

[brmj.livejournal.com]

You may be on to something here. It seems to fit the facts as I understand them. Good luck. Hopefully you can get that good mood back.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

I have recently read that the average American doesn't get enough vitamin D any more. We don't spend enough time out in the sun, for one thing. And, although all milk products are required to have supplemental vitamin D added, Americans don't drink nearly as much milk as they did when that regulation was enacted. They are now talking about increasing the RDA of vitamin D in multivitamins, and/or recommending that people take extra vitamin D. (Of course, you have to be careful about that, because vitamin D is one of the ones that are toxic if you get too much.)

[mdlbear]

*nod*

Another data point is that it's been cold enough in the mornings for me to wear a long-sleeved shirt, so the amount of skin exposed to UV last week was considerably lower than it has been recently.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[mdlbear]

Except that the RDA is thought to be way too low, that skin production declines with age, and unless you happen to have a condition that interferes with vitamin D absorption.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[mdlbear]

*nod* my current dose as of a couple of days ago is 1200 IU: 400 from daily vitamins, and the rest from 400IU tablets taken morning and evening.

I've seen tablets up to 1000IU in Safeway.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

I need to check what's in my multivitamin... I hate milk, except as an ingredient, and how much vitamin D would I get if I baked a cake containing 1 cup of milk and then ate a slice of cake? And I don't get very much sunshine - the Purple-Haired Fruitbat's habits are entirely nocturnal.

[jilara.livejournal.com]

Let's hear it for vitamin D! I also heard that they are upping the recommendations for vitamin D, because the average American doesn't get enough, and they were pretty low anyway.

Do more walks in the sunshine with a short sleeve shirt.

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

Vitamin D is important.
I wonder about the gluten thing though. I have a feeling Gluten is the New Milk. Remember when Milk was the source of All Problems? Well, that's faded and now they are blaming Gluten for everything wrong with us.
Considering our systems DID develop with Tons of Gluten, farming gluten grains was our first sign of civilization, it would be weird for it to be Bad for Us.
But more Vitamin D is always a good thing. So do more walks in the sunshine with a short sleeve shirt. The best way to get that D Stuff.

Re: Do more walks in the sunshine with a short sleeve shirt.

[mdlbear]

I know people with full-bore coeliac disease -- it's very real. Basically an auto-immune disease triggered by a similarity between gluten and some protein in the intestines. Which in turn leads to things like the D malabsorbtion and so on.