Vitamin D – not just for your bones
What if many of the burgeoning cases of teenage anxiety, depression and phobias are not psychologically based, but are due to a vitamin D deficiency?
What if we are seeing a rise in teenage anxiety and depression in the last four years, and a doubling of teenage depression over thirty years because:
• We sunblock our skin instead of letting our skin drink in and metabolize the sun’s rays into D3 • We no longer eat liver or sardines weekly • We restrict egg consumption, or only eat egg whites (under the misconception that cholesterol is dangerous) • Mothers don’t make their children swallow 1 tablespoon of cod liver oil weekly in the winter months (which contains 1360 IU of Vitamin D per Tbs!)
What does a vitamin D deficiency depression and anxiety look like?
In the past six months, many depressed and anxious teens have been brought to my office. For example:
• Two depressed, exhausted and anxious female teenage sisters • A 10-year old boy hearing a bad voice and fearing evil constantly • A 12-year old boy with a sudden onset fear of death and dying • A high achieving female teenager, severely anxious, depressed, experiencing panic attacks and cutting herself (phone consultations for this one)
The National Institutes of Health defines “subclinical vitamin D deficiency” as a blood serum level of 21 – 29 ng/mL. The normal level is 30 – 100 ng/mL. Subclinical vitamin D deficiency is known to contribute to chronic diseases such as: • Osteomalacia • Osteoporosis • Decreased physical performance • Possibly cancer (Historically, several drug companies made 50,000 IU Vitamin D pills to treat cancer.) • Cardiovascular disease • Type 2 diabetes • Infectious and autoimmune disorders
What happens when Vitamin D is even lower? The teens listed above had serum levels of just 7 – 19 ng/mL!
How increasing Vitamin D can can erase anxiety
Fear of death Parents brought their twelve-year son to my office. Tears welled in his eyes. For three months he was suffering an acute fear of death. His grief and fear were so extreme that he was missing school and sports. In my conversation the family, I learned that no one had died, not even a pet. There was no correlation between his life and his fear of death. His parents told me that he had not seen a psychotherapist, for they believed that it must be some other sort of disturbance causing the malady. Through muscle testing we determined that he had an energetic deficiency of vitamin D3.
A blood test was recommended but in the meantime he started on D3 along with K2. (Always take K2 with D3.) Twenty-four hours later he woke up smiling, relaxed, and without fear. His mother text me, “He truly has improved SO much. The fact that he could talk to you without crying was so awesome… My husband started on the same supplements for his anxiety, and he feels less anxious too.”
Fear of evil The other 12-year old had suffered for two years (!) from fearing evil, tics, and hearing an evil voice that kept him terrorized. A psychologist had diagnosed him as having severe anxiety and the parents chose not to medicate him. He started Vitamin D3 and K2 supplements. Two weeks later I received this text, “My son’s anxiety has plummeted to no apparent existence!!! He can pray without stopping, he can function all day without it, no coping mechanisms needed! He’s a typical teen!!!!”
Panic attacks, anxiety and cutting The high achiever female teenager did a psychiatrist who ordered a vitamin D blood test. Upon seeing that the serum D was 7 ng/mL, she ordered an injection of Vitamin D and added, “I don’t give drugs for anxiety and depression until D is restored to a healthy level which is 60.” The next day, vitamin D restored, the panic, anxiety, and depression swiftly lifted.
My suggestions
If you have a teenager suffering from anxiety and/or depression, in addition to a medical and psychological evaluation, please, please, please:
• Have your child’s vitamin D tested. If you don’t have a doctor, you can order a blood test online. Search for “online blood tests” and choose the one of many good companies. It’s relatively affordable too, about $45. • If Vitamin D levels are low, purchase Vitamin D3 drops or capsules, with only coconut oil, olive oil, or MCT oil as filler. Avoid all other oils and ingredients.* • Take K2 to keep arteries clean and calcium delivered to the bones (not K1, a blood clotting agent) along with D3 as D3 depletes K2* • Keep me posted. I am very interested in your experience!* • Read the book that provoked my into getting a D blood tests and adding vitamins D3 and K2 to my diet.
If you haven’t guessed, Vitamin D3 and K2 is incredibly important for adults, too.
*I’m happy to consult with you and muscle test your energetic response to Vitamin D. Click here to book a one-on-one appointment with me.
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