So... this is some random person give you reasonably well cited advice but: This made the rounds a few days ago.

[mhoye@cosocial.ca]

So... this is some random person give you reasonably well cited advice but: This made the rounds a few days ago.

Vitamin D & Omega-3 may have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants

An accessible deep dive into the science (⏱️ 30 min read)

(blog.ncase.me)

... and today this was published on pubmed:

Blood omega-3 is inversely related to risk of early-onset dementia - PubMed

This study expands the evidence of a beneficial association of omega-3 and LOD to EOD as well. These findings suggest that an increased intake of omega-3 fatty acids earlier in life may slow the development of EOD. Additional research is needed to confirm our findings, particularly in more diverse p …

PubMed (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

The summary of both together seems to be that vitamin D and omega-3 acids are extremely important for the well-functioning your brain, more effective than antidepressants with effectively zero side effects for most people, and a year's supply of both is about $60.

So I'm trying it out.

[nilajones@zeroes.ca]

@mhoye

Some other things worth noting about vitamin d:

You absorb it through your oral mucosa, much more than through your gut. So use the drops, or bite open a capsule and what the content sit in your mouth. Don't eat or drink right after

If your level is super low, you might not be able to absorb it orally at all. This happened to me. I had to get a special light and use it on my bare skin

If you don't live in Florida, Southern California, Southern Spain, or some other place close to the equator, you can't make enough vitamin d from the sun. The '15 minutes on face and hands' thing is only true at noon at the equator

You need about 5,000 IU per day, just to get through that day. If you are trying to replenish your body's stores, 10,000 IU is about right for most people

Studies are unclear, and it might only be people of European descent who can store vitamin d long-term. Other people might need to ingest it frequently

--

One of the components of fish oil, called EPA, can be a very effective treatment for people with long covid or MECFS. The key is to take a fish oil that is almost 100% EPA, because the other components of fish oil counteract the effect

It is also sold as a pharmaceutical, called Vasepa (*this one contains soy)

Note that the active dose is 4,000 mg per day, which is a lot higher than the dose listed on a box sold as a supplement. And you really may need the higher dose

It's kind of expensive, but it's fine to start by buying a small quantity. If it's going to help, you will know within a few days or a week

[dianea@lgbtqia.space]

@mhoye

I had severe depression until I started taking vitamin D3, as my blood tests showed were dangerously low. Supplementing has been keeping me mentally strong

[graydon@types.pl]

@mhoye I've been taking a lot of both for several years now and I'm not sure it helped, but it doesn't seem to have hurt much either? the overwhelming factors for me are (1) sleep (2) exercise (3) whether I'm on vacation or working.

(also 3 is actually 1)

[mhoye@cosocial.ca]

@graydon Yes, definitely. Exercise in particular for me.

[flod@fosstodon.org]

@mhoye Spend some time researching the quality of omega-3, a lot of crap out there given how mainstream they have become.

[tallsimon@mstdn.ca]

@mhoye

To which my wife replied "So: fish and sunshine? Good. Take me to live where there's lots of fish and sunshine!"