SAD and vitamin D? Or light box?

[Fingerbobs]

Hello
My DP suffers from SAD, we have (finally, doh) realised. I really want to avoid another descent into full-on depression so i'm looking for advice.I've seen some fairly limited research that suggests vitamin d may help, but nothing reliable about dosage. Has anyone tried this? What worked? We've started takAlso has anyone found light boxes to help? How did you fit the time into your day?
Many thanks in advance.

Are you working for a supplement manufacturer, Ted?

If you know the first thing about assessing medical research, you will obviously understand that a study of 15 people doesn't prove anything very much, and that people are best off taking advice from properly qualified experts who are skilled in interpreting medical evidence.

yeah right, doctors cause heart disease and cancer...

So you reckon you are the best person to interpret medical evidence because doctors, who do actually know how to read medical research, are causing dementia?

I've got one of these. It works.

Sorry for stomping all over the nutritional posts. But SAD isn't just (or possibly even at all) about UV metabolism on the skin. You need full-spectrum light hitting the retinas of your eyes. It directly affects the pituitary gland (from memory) and various other neurological functions.

I would still be wary of high dose supplements without GP supervision. Yes, that supervision might well be crap, but if you are deficient and start supplementing with high doses, your serum calcium should be monitored, along with vit d levels, and you don't want them to be too high either or you start to get health problems. I had a bit of a nightmare with falling serum calcium levels on vit d supplements, altho to be fair it was 400 000 iu over 10 days, so a mega dose. I now aim for 20 000 iu weekly and that seems to keep my levels nice and high. Taking it weekly is easier to remember for me
Interesting about adding it to food too. Where do you get yours from for that price?
Depending on your area, GPs should now prescribe d3 form for deficiency then try to fob you off with adcal afterwards. Excess calcium is dangerous and most people don't need that part of the supplement - but it is cheap!

Actually, what is fascinating about the whole light/dark stuff is not melatonin per se, but the fact that we have a separate system of light-receptive cells within the eye, unconnected to vision but crucial in keeping our circadian rhythms going. Bugger-all to do with VitD (sorry Ted) but quite quite fascinating and v important too.

I write about this stuff. Come to that, I write about vitamins too from time to time.

Fans of that book seems to be claiming D3 cures everything. The only single product I've heard of that really fixes all ailments is snake oil ...

If it's that brilliant, how come citizens of very sunny countries aren't disease-free?

Daylight lightbulbs from amazon! Fit them everywhere and up your vitamins.

So snake oil's high in fatty acids, logically enough. This doesn't make it a miracle cure-all!

I can't even bring myself to respond to your point about urbanisation in tropical countries. You don't want to look at health issues in rural populations, so I'll only bore you with one fact. You know the native tribes living wholly natural lives in remote parts of the Amazon, using prolific herbal medicines (which are a genuine resource) and following peaceful traditions? Know what their average life span is? 39.

I have used a light box and it was a great help . 20 mins each day was enough to help

I have a light box, I used to find it useful when I lived in Manchester and got bad SAD. I had a strong one and put it on for 1/2 hr a day, it was a bit difficult to fit it in when you're going to and fro but fine on a day in front of the computer (for work).
But then I migrated to a bit of the south coast with much sunnier winters, and I don't really get SAD any more. that was effective, if a bit of a drastic life move, not everyone can do that.

This is a brilliant thread - thank you everyone.

Ted and all - this is the Vitamin D lamp I bought a while back:

www.androv-medical.com/product/243/dermfix-3000-uv-b-lamp-for-vitamin-d

Ted - I have got what I call a Tshirt tan. My legs are white as snow - should I aim at my legs for best effect then?

Separately, you mentioned cholesterol - mine is v high (the good stuff AND the bad stuff weirdly).

Thank so much. I have to ask, ted, how do you KNOW all this?

What Ted 'knows' is that he's apparently better qualified than a doctor to advise on health issues...

Well to be fair, docs cannot be experts on everything. If I went to my GP and asked him about how to increase my Vitamin D levels without taking supplements or through diet I don't think he would have a clue.

He would probably say: "You don't need to. But have these statins cos your cholesterol's way too high and I will get a bonus for putting you on them."

Irene

We have already had the cholesterol chat and I don't need to go on statins (yay) as I have loads of the good stuff to counterbalance.

But my Vit D is veeerry low. Thank you British summer.

I've not read entire thread so apologies if I'm duplicating or missing the point but my DH gets quite bad SAD but we found a supplement called "Happy Days" by healthspan which he takes from Sept until about Feb and he finds it a great help.

He started using a SAD light also last year not sure he found much benefit from that but I can honestly say that for past 2 winters he has been so much better.