Vitamin D: Mood, Immunity, Inflammation + the Gut

Vitamin D commonly referred to as the sunshine vitamin, is well recognised for its role in bone health but did you know it is involved in your mood, immunity, inflammation and your gut health ?

Vitamin D is an essential fat-soluble vitamin obtained through diet, supplementation, and is made within our body via exposure to sunlight.

Vitamin D has a variety of crucial roles in the body and research sheds light on it’s broader impact on your overall health through the following functions ;

  • promoting healthy cell growth and differentiation

  • supporting strong immunity

  • bone health and bone re-modelling

  • supporting healthy anti-inflammatory responses

  • support of mental health

  • support of gut health

Unfortunately, vitamin D deficiency affects approximately 42% of the western world adult population and is commonly identified in my clinic.

Vitamin D supports cellular health as it alters the expression of some genes, meaning the way they communicate with each other to keep you healthy. This involves how cells grow, mature and differentiate.

Studies have demonstrated adequate levels of Vitamin D are associated with a 20% lower risk of certain cancers including colo rectal, breast and prostate cancer. This ground breaking study was prospective and over 16 years. Conducted by Japan Public Health, involving over 33,000 patients aged 40 to 69. (Harvard Health publication 2018)

Vitamin D is an important factor in immunity.

Vitamin D helps to regulate white blood cells called macrophages and monocytes that are critical to your immune respones. Vitamin D can be considered an anti inflammatory support as it supports this regulation of immune response.

Vitamin D deficiency can present similar symptoms to those of depression.

Research on the potential association between vitamin D and positive mood health is growing :

  • Vitamin D receptors are distributed in several areas of the brain including the limbic system, cerebellum, and cortex, which are involved in emotional processing

  • Vitamin D may promote mood health and healthy stress responses by supporting a healthy gut microbial environment

  • Vitamin D may support hormonal balance (including serotonin synthesis), alter inflammatory responses and support circadian clock regulation and healthier sleep cycles

  • Finally, the results of clinical trials suggest that the sunlight exposure aiding vitamin D production may help promote overall mood .

    You know this when you go on a warm and relaxing summer holiday !

Although there are conflicting results of some of these reports, several systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and cross-sectional studies have revealed that a low vitamin D status may be associated with various mental and neuropsychiatric disorders, including mood disorders in women who are pregnant or postpartum.

Reports from Guzek and colleagues and Hoffman and colleagues suggest that patients with diabetes who are taking vitamin D supplements may experience improved mental health and quality of life.

Authors, Vellekkat and Menon, Shaffer and colleagues and Spedding, all suggest that individuals receiving vitamin D supplements may experience positive effects on their mental health. Cheng and colleagues concluded that individuals consuming vitamin D supplementation may exhibit reduced negative emotions.

Recent reserch highlights the potential benifits of supplementation for IBS patients.

A sytematic reveiw and four randomised placebo controlled trials involving 335 participnts revealed significant improvements in IBS severity and quality of life following supplementation. A previous study had also supported these findings. A study from the University of Sheffield reveiwed all available research on Vitamin D and IBS, finding a high prevelance of deficiency amongst IBS patients, regardles of ethnicity. The researches suggested that Vitamin D supplements could help ease and be supportive of symptoms like abdominal pain,, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation.

FOOD SOURCES of VITAMIN D

Maintaining optimal vitamin D status through dietary consumption can be challenging as few foods naturally contain vitamin D .

Fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines, fish liver oils, eggs from hens fed vitamin D, mushrooms exposed to sunlight or UV light, and fortified foods are food sources of vitamin D. Maintaining optimal vitamin D status through sunlight exposure may also present problems. Adequate UV sunlight exposure depends on the season, latitude, lifestyle choices, amount of skin exposed, and darkness of complexions. During sunny months, individuals may potentially achieve healthy vitamin D status through minimal sun exposure to the face, arms, and hands without sunscreen for 5 to 15 minutes per day .

For those who have been advised to stay out of the sun, vitamin D supplementation may be clinically beneficial.

Lastly, there are 2 forms of Vitamin D, D2 and D3.

Vitamin D3 is the type your body makes when sunlight hits your skin, and it’s the form that boosts your blood levels more readily.

Vitamin D 2 is made by plants and less efficiently absorbed by humans.

Vitamin D blood levels require surveillance by your practitioner BEFORE and DURING supplementation.

Fat soluble vitamins can build up readily and can create toxicity with potential for health issues so always discuss optimum levels for you at your consultation. If you are supplementing, make sure you check your levels and discuss with your practitioner.

References:

  1. PMC7327938 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7327938/

  2. PMC6075634 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6075634/

  3. PMC9370795 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9370795/

  4. PMC8625262 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8625262/

  5. PubMed25573654 - http://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25573654/

  6. PMC6515787 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6515787/

  7. PMC4008710 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4008710/

  8. PMC4011048 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4011048/

  9. Wiley10.1002/da.23025 - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/da.23025

  10. Huang, H Lu,L Chen,Y et al. The efficacy of Vitamin D supplementation for Irritable bowel syndrome: a systemic reveiw with meta analysis: Nutr.J 21,24 (2022)

  11. Claire,E Williams,Elizabeth A Williams, Bernard M Corfe. Vitamin D status in Irritable Bowel Syndrome and the impact of supplementation on symptoms: what do we know and what do we need to know? European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2018.

  12. ODS.nih.gov - http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/

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