Vitamin D deficiency may lead to depression

Vitamin D deficiency is not just harmful to physical health it also might impact mental health, according to a team of researchers that has found a link between seasonal affective disorder or SAD, and a lack of sunlight. Rather than being one of many factors, vitamin D could have a regulative role in the development of SAD. Seasonal affective disorder is believed to affect up to 10 percent of the population, depending upon geographical location, and is a type of depression related to changes in season. There are several reasons for this, including that vitamin D levels fluctuate in the body seasonally, in direct relation to seasonally available sunlight. Vitamin D is also involved in the synthesis of serotonin and dopamine within the brain; both chemicals are linked to depression.  There are strong indications that maintaining adequate levels of vitamin D are also important for good mental health. A few minutes of sunlight exposure each day should be enough for most people to maintain an adequate vitamin D status.