Lack of Vitamin D Linked to Depression and Diseases of the Arteries

The “sunshine vitamin” has been discussed before as a solution for better health, but it appears that heart disease and depression are now both linked to a lack of vitamin D. People with heart disease who don't have enough vitamin D are more likely to be depressed than their counterparts with adequate levels of the vitamin according to the American Heart Association. It appears to be even more apparent in the winter months. Vitamin D is produced by the body with just fifteen minutes of daily sunshine. It can also be found in fish, milk, and vitamin supplements.

In the first study reported by Reuters new service, Dr. Heidi May, PhD and her colleagues measured blood levels of vitamin D in 8,680 people age 50 or older who had been diagnosed with heart disease, stroke, or another type of cardiovascular disease. Vitamin D levels above 30 nanograms per milliliter of blood (ng/mL) were considered normal, levels between 15 and 30 ng/mL were low, and those 15 ng/mL and below were deemed very low.
Among those with very low levels of vitamin D, 32 percent were depressed, as were 25 percent of the people with low levels, and 21 percent of those with normal levels. This trend was seen even among individuals with no history of depression with winter creating more pronounced results.

A second study by the same team of researchers found that people age 50 or older who lack vitamin D are at a higher risk for heart disease and stroke, and are more likely to die earlier than people the same age who get adequate amounts of the vitamin.
These studies add to the mounting evidence about the dangers of vitamin D deficiency and may also shed light on the connection between depression and cardiovascular disease.

We have indicated throughout that depression can be managed by natural cures and this helps validate it with scientific studies by the American Heart Association. Adequate exercise and sunshine alone can make dramatic changes to ones mood. The need for pharmaceutical drugs diminishes widely. These would be typical cures used in third world countries who survive more stressful lives of survival with natural cures and remedies. The western world idea of cures seems to always include a pill, which is more of a George Orwell 1984 solution. A pill remedy is not the green solution.