The effects of vitamin D deficiency

14^th November 2019

Summary

In the late 90's I began to suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD), lacking motivation during the shorter days of the year. As the years went by the duration lengthened until I was only able to function on very sunny days which are rare in England. Around 2006 I began to experience dementia symptoms. In 2010 I noticed that when I had salmon for dinner I would have a few days clear of SAD. The main substances in salmon that are not found in other foods are vitamin D and omega‑3 oils. I bought some vitamin D, took a tablet as soon as I left the pharmacy and went to the supermarket. I left the supermarket twenty-five minutes later and as I crossed the car-park I had a feeling of elation. When I got home I realised that the dementia symptoms had disappeared and I had to take 700IU every eight hours in order to keep the symptoms from returning. In the autumn of 2017⮵ and the summer of 2019⮵ various symptoms began to return and I had to increase the dose. I have thus been able to identify a wide range of conditions that are related to vitamin D deficiency and effectively draw together disparate disciplines. Those tagged with a lightbulb icon 💡 are, as far as I can ascertain, not described. Those marked with a red cross 🞥 are currently considered normal. ⮵ is a link to my findings related to the condition on this website.

The conditions that I have experienced are mainly neurological, significantly affecting cognition, senses and sleep. There also some dermatological effects. I stumbled upon this article 8 Signs and Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency which describes several of these symptoms. The article quotes isolated cases and none of the symptoms are, as far as I can ascertain, officially recognised.

Neurological

Impaired impulse control resulting in binge eating disorder.⮵
Seasonal affective disorder.⮵
Low level depression (Dysthymia).⮵ ⮵
Impaired driving ability.⮵
Performing simple tasks.⮵
Mental arithmetic and decision making (Working memory).⮵
Carpal tunnel syndrome.⮵
Sudden uncharacteristic aggression.⮵ ⮵
Involuntary actions.⮵ ⮵
Tension headaches..
Non-epileptic seizure.⮵ ⮵
Severe stuttering under mild stress.⮵
Verbal paraphasia.

Senses

Super-floaters.⮵ 💡
Black flashes in peripheral vision.⮵
Attentional blindness.⮵ 💡
Taste perception (gustation).⮵
Sense of smell.⮵
Tinnitus.⮵

Sleep

Afternoon naps.
Phosphorescent layer. 💡
Dream ‘after‑images’.
Dreams creating false memories.
Hypnagogia. 🞥
Hallucination.
Lucid dreams. 🞥
‘Psychedelic’ light shows on waking up.⮵
Sleep paralysis on waking up.⮵
The old hag hallucination.⮵

Dermatological

Premature grey hair and balding.⮵
Collagen loss resulting in crepey skin, facial wrinkles, sagging skin and cartilage problems.⮵
Expulsion of scar tissue.⮵
Guttate hypomelanosis.⮵ (‘Idiopathic’ intentionally omitted 🙂)

Claims

Vitamin D is fundamental to the proper functioning of the brain. As the levels reduce over the years, impulse control is affected first result in a tendency to overeat which is difficult to control - binge eating disorder. Next the neuron trigger levels is compromised leading to an inability to make decisions which manifests as lack of motivation - seasonal affective disorder and then dysthymia. Eventually cognitive function is compromised leading to dementia. Obesity and untreated depression are listed as causes of Alzheimer's disease. My theory is that they are actually the progression of the underlying vitamin D deficiency. It is no coincidence that vitamin D deficiency is linked with obesity, depression and dementia.
Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with sleep disorders. What is not realised is that the gradual drop in vitamin D causes a progression of phenomena.⮵
I challenge the theory that floaters in the eye are the shadows of protein strands and stray cells.⮵
I describe a simple experiment that demonstrates that after‑images are cortical and not retinal.⮵
I discuss the hypothesis that vitamin D levels control process S in the two-process model of sleep regulation.

Corollaries

Dementia is becoming more prevalent in the UK. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that people are living longer and fewer are dying from heart disease and lung cancer. Vitamin D is generated by the action of ultraviolet radiation on the skin and ultraviolet is significantly attenuated by glass. Given that vitamin D deficiency leads to dementia, the widespread adoption of double glazing will also be a factor in the dementia increase.
There are many theories as to why we humans lost our fur. Given the essential role vitamin D plays in brain function, it may be that losing our fur allowed our brains to grow larger. It may also explain the increased cranial capacity and cortical neuron counts of lighter skinned people. Melanin is a powerful absorber of ultraviolet radiation which is required for vitamin D production in the skin. The paper Prevalence and correlates of vitamin D deficiency in US adults states: “The overall prevalence rate of vitamin D deficiency was 41·6%, with the highest rate seen in blacks (82·1%), followed by Hispanics (69·2%).”

About this documentation

I have a good memory of interesting or unusual facts. I have been diagnosed with mild autistic spectrum disorder which may account for this. Day after day in idle moments I find my mind going through things that I consider relevant to any extent. I can only clear my mind by writing them down. If there is excessive and unnecessary detail in this document, that is why.

I stumbled upon this video of the 60 Minutes documentary “People who remember every second of their life.” It features Jill Price who is the first person to be diagnosed with hyperthymesia. She has the ability to remember her life in incredible detail. In the clip, she describes how her thoughts keep swirling in her head until they are written down.

After adding it to this section I decided that it is not particularly relevant so I removed it. However my brain was not going to rest until it was included so I had to put it back.