Health News Update: Depression and Inflammation…Vit. D May Help!

Mark Smith • July 22, 2024

Hello everyone:

 

A new study revealed that Vitamin D supplementation was beneficial in supporting brain health and lowering depression symptoms. Now scientists know that there are Vitamin D receptors in the brain suggesting that Vit. D is important in helping to regulate neurological immune processes and lower inflammation.


“For the study, the researchers examined 41 RCTs including 53, 235 people in their analysis…The researchers also noted that while doses up to 2,000 IU daily had a small to moderate effect, those who took over 4,000 IU daily had a larger effect…vitamin D supplementation appeared to have a larger effect when taken for less than 12 weeks compared to longer periods of time. Overall, the researchers found that vitamin D supplementation had a small to moderate effect on depressive symptoms.”


https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/vitamin-d-supplementation-seems-to-alleviate-depressive-symptoms-in-adults?utm_source=Sailthru%20Email&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=dedicated&utm_content=2022-08-21&apid=32362300&rvid=24561ae4b347411c6ae1874dad579a0aedec4a5e471e9b3b5a21dc0826faa6b9 (Medical news Today report)

 

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10408398.2022.2096560 (full study)


Bottom Line:

 

As a component of a comprehensive brain health treatment plan, it is important to consider Vitamin D status. The researchers noted that the size of the effect of Vitamin D supplementation was larger in those with initial baseline Vit. D levels less than 50 nmol/L than those with Vit. D levels above this baseline. In other words, get your Vit. D levels tested and start to supplement as indicated by your labs and your condition. Since Vit. D can become toxic at high levels, make sure you monitor your Vit. D levels with lab testing at least every 6 months.


A significant omission from this study which can help explain the findings is that in order for Vit. D to work, the Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) must function optimally. Background elevated levels of some viruses and other infections can block the VDR from working properly. This means that even if you have normal Vit. D levels on your lab test, it may not be working nearly as much as it should if your Vit. D receptors are blocked by a background infection or a genetic polymorphism. The best way to figure out if your VDR’s are working right is that if they are working well, and you take a high dose of Vit. D, your calcium should go up to a high normal and your parathyroid hormone should go down to a low normal. If that does not happen, your VDR is probably blocked, and you may need higher dosages. To figure this out, coordinate with your health care provider to get the right labs done and figure out the right dosage for your Vit. D. We find this issue is very common and important for many conditions.


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Health News Update: Inflammaging is Bad News

By Mark Smith • August 25, 2025
Hello everyone: I think I have mentioned inflammaging before but never really focused on it. So, let’s dig into this interesting topic. Inflammaging is when chronic, low-grade inflammation develops with age as dietary and environmental stress accumulates, contributing to the development of all of the various age-related diseases and health issues. It results from a loss of control over systemic inflammation, which tends to come from an unbalanced and dysregulated immune system. One of the key drivers of inflammaging is diet…which means that one of the key tools to slow and reduce aging is our what we eat as well as what we don’t eat. In this paper, the authors reveal that the typical Western Diet (what science calls the Standard American Diet or S.A.D.) is the best example of a pro-inflammatory diet pattern. “ Conclusion: Inflammation is a key physiological process in immunity and tissue repair. However, during aging it becomes increasingly more chronic. In addition, we found that certain foods such as saturated fats have pro-inflammatory activity. Taking this into account, in this review we have proposed some dietary guidelines as well as a list of compounds present in foods with anti-inflammatory activity. It must be taken into account that the amounts used in the studies that detect anti-inflammatory activity of these compounds are very high, and the intake of a single food to achieve its anti-inflammatory power is not feasible. (My Comment: what this means is that it is the overall dietary pattern that matters the most.) However, the combination of foods rich in compounds with anti-inflammatory activity could exert beneficial effects during aging and in pathologies associated with inflammation and in reducing the detrimental effects of foods with pro-inflammatory activity. Therefore, we can conclude that the compounds in our diet with anti-inflammatory activity could help alleviate the inflammatory processes derived from diseases and unhealthy diets and thereby promote healthy aging. Thus, we can use diet not only for nourishment, but also as medicine.” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8389628/ anti-inflammatory diet and health aging https://www.healthline.com/health/5-minute-guide-to-inflamm-aging Bottom Line: We all must age, and how we do so is largely under our own control. To create an anti-inflammatory lifestyle is not that difficult, especially if you put it all together in stages. Start with a clean, whole-food, unprocessed plant-based food plan. And to begin, first focus on what you can add into your menus and use those additions to sort of crowd out the things that are more inflammatory…sugar, refined grains, processed and pre-packaged things. Set realistic goals such as going plant based one or two days a week, or even one meal…just start and gradually work up. It has to be doable so don’t stress. Next, start moving and doing regular exercise at least three times a week…and find what you enjoy doing and focus on that. Then add activities that de-stress you, whether that is socializing, church, meditation, prayer, yoga, etc. Overall, shift your attention to giving love to things that love you back. Sugar, drive-thru and processed food like thingies do not love you back but apples or kiwis or berries or veggies do. Sitting around does not love you back but going for a short walk after a meal does love you back. Hang out and give love to the people you really like to be with, they will most always love you back. Create a love you back lifestyle and see how you feel.

Health News Update: Blocking Internet on Smartphones Improves Mental Health

By Mark Smith • August 18, 2025
Hello everyone: I frequently hear about mental health issues with the people in our practice. They could be experiencing depression, or anxiety, feel flat, can’t focus or sustain attention, or may not feel well in general. These comments can come from anyone of any age…I can hear from parents about their kids, or it may be themselves experiencing these feeling. So, when I read this paper, it felt important to share it because we all seem to have mobile phones. Here is how the paper is summarized: “Concern about how smartphones affect users is widespread: half of American smartphone users—and 80% of those under age 30—worry that they use their device too much, and correlational research suggests that smartphone use is negatively related to mental health and cognitive functioning. However, few large-scale experiments have tested for causal effects. We report such an experiment, finding that blocking mobile internet for 2 weeks reduces smartphone use and improves subjective well-being (SWB) (including life satisfaction and positive affect), mental health (more than antidepressants), and sustained attention (as much as being 10 years younger). Despite the many benefits mobile internet offers, reducing the constant connection to the digital world can have large positive effects.” https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/2/pgaf017/8016017?utm_source=klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=%28Email%20-%20Chris%20Kresser%20General%20News%29%20Chris%27s%20Friday%20Favorites&utm_term=randomized%20controlled%20trial&utm_content=randomized%20controlled%20trial&_kx=fARhTo_gi8X3B_2-MaeO_RyzUl9tvT3tr4re-Dy7cNQ.my75y6 Bottom Line: It seems like a smartphone ‘timeout’ can be very beneficial for mental, emotional, physical health and can be an important part of stress reduction. The world today, with nearly instant communications, the almost constant bad and anxiety promoting news, and the fast pace of data consumption can add up to significantly stress us out and pull us down…or just simple keep us distracted. From what I can see, a ‘timeout’ may be just what the doctor ordered.
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