Vitamin D and You

Periodically, Social Security wants to confirm that our youngest daughter does indeed have autism spectrum disorder for purposes of maintaining her status as a disabled adult. Our most recent assessment was done by a local psychiatrist, Dr. J. J. Cannell. We had an interesting conversation regarding the possible role of Vitamin D in the etiology of autism, a subject near and dear to Dr. Cannell’s heart and one on which he writes regularly. We knew by happenstance that our daughter still needs supplementation with Vitamin D as an adult in response to her bloodwork for regular check-ups, but I did not know previously that this might have been a problem for her much earlier in life. As a native Californian, and our daughter was born in sunny Texas, I simply assumed that Vitamin D was plentiful. Apparently, I am in error. Between our increasing indoor hours and use of sunscreen, many Americans run the risk of lower-than-healthy Vitamin D levels.

Besides autism, what might we be risking by neglecting our Vitamin D? Vitamin D is usually associated with bone growth and calcium homeostasis, but also contributes to neurodevelopment and brain health. Recent research has identified roles for Vitamin D deficiencies in dementia, depression, schizophrenia, and diabetes mellitus. About 70% of people diagnosed with schizophrenia also have Vitamin D deficiencies.

How might Vitamin D influence brain health? Recent evidence points to the importance of Vitamin D to the maintenance of perineuronal networks (PNNs), which provide the scaffolding supporting many neurons. With insufficient Vitamin D, PNNs are unable to stabilize the connections made among neurons.

If you are concerned that your diet and sunlight exposure is not giving you the Vitamin D you need (and a quick blood test by your physician will let you know for sure), the Mayo Clinic recommends supplementing with 600 IU per day under the age of 70 and 800 IU thereafter. We are actually partial to the Biotech Pharmacal 5000 IU ($12.95 for 250 on Amazon). That may be a bit over the top relative to the Mayo Clinic recommendations, but perhaps it’s better to be safe than sorry. The Mayo Clinic says that toxicity can result if you take 60,000 IU per day for several months.