"Sunshine Vitamin" and Depression Linked

When it gets cloudy for days in DC, I find myself going into a state of blah-ness. Living in AZ my whole life, a new day doesn't feel like a new day without the sun shining in the window in the morning. Sad to say, I may have a mild case of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) in the winter. Not sure if it is medical, but I definitely feel icky sometimes.

Well researchers know that you need small doses of the sun-produced Vitamin D a day, but there is no evidence yet that says a lack of vitamin D causes depression. A new study published in published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings shows that there is some sort of a link, though, according to this press release from UT Southwestern Medical Center, whose team of scientists helped conduct the study. The scientists don't know if it is a lack of D that causes depression or depression that causes a lack of D, but they did see in their study that the two appear to be connected. This could mean that, in the future, when someone has symptoms in the future they could be tested for their Vitamin D level and told to take supplements to try to help. Good news for people feelin' blue when the skies are gray...