Vitamin D is often referred to as a vitamin, but in reality it is a steroid hormone. Dietary sources of vitamin D include fish and their oils. The best source of vitamin D is endogenous synthesis through the skin. Vitamin D may be able to affect mental health, and a number of studies have shown that optimising levels of vitamin D produces beneficial effects on mood, particularly depression. It is unclear why vitamin D is able to have such beneficial effects on mood, but there is some evidence that it may result from an antioxidant effect of the compund. For example, in one study when elderly subjects took vitamin D, their mental status improved and this was associated with a reduction in the oxidative stress marker malonaldehyde, suggesting that an antioxidant effect may have been responsible for the beneficial effects. Therefore vitamin D may exert antioxidant effects and this may be one way in which it is able to provide beneficial effects to brain physiology and mental function particularly in older individuals.
It is unclear why vitamin D may have antioxidant effects, but one possibility is that it acts to reduce inflammation. Inflammation can be a major source of free radicals, and this can lead to the generation of oxidative stress. By reducing the inflammation in the brain, vitamin D may significantly reduce oxidative stress. Fish oils are a good source of vitamin D, but in reality dietary sources of vitamin D are not able to consistently provide optimal levels of vitamin D in the blood.
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