Vitamin D to combat the cold weather blues?

Wondering the same thing. I am gonig to try it so I will let you know.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, so you can get too much and overdose on it, so be careful with supplements. Unless you have a deficiency, 10 minutes outside in natural light will produce all the vitamin D you need, and more will not make you fell better. Seasonal Affective Disorder is not caused by vitamin D deficiency, so supplementing D will not alleviate it. If you don't have a deficiency and drink milk or spend at least 10 minutes a day outdoors in the daytime you most likely won't benefit from supplements. If you believe you are deficient, get a blood test, and if you are, your doctor will prescribe the correct amount of vitamin D for you. Fat soluble vitamins like D and E are not something to mess with as you can become toxic with OTC doses.

A deficiency WILL make you tired, though not necessarily "blue." I am severely deficient ( as in my levels are so low they are below the measurable limits of the test) and I feel exhausted literally all the time, but this is not typical, so get tested if you believe you are deficient, but don't take more than 100IU or so if you don't know your levels. My doc has me on 20,000IU every other day, but again, my levels are too low to even be measurable using current testing methods. That much could kill you in a short time if you weren't severely deficient.

Yup. I am on a prescription Vitamin D for a severe deficiency.

From what I've been reading over the last several months, MOST Americans are deficient. And even if you are in a sunny location you are not "safe" from being deficient. For unknown reasons people are not absorbing enough Vitamin D naturally (from the sun) any longer.

It's not as easy to overdose as being described, either. Your body is not going to absorb all the Vitamin D that is ingested.

I suggest talking with your doctor and getting a blood test to determine your levels, and what the plan of treament should be:
where I live, most people are deficient because of lack of sunshine. I was tested and came in at a whopping 17! (low normal is 31) YIKES! so i was put on a prescription of 50,000 IU for 2 months, then 2,000 twice a day. At my last check up I was in the normal range and i feel SO MUCH BETTER! it is amazing what a little Vitamin D can do!

I just started 5000 IUs a few days ago and I think (maybe) I feel a slight difference. I'm going to give it a few weeks. I hope it works, so tired of losing 4 or 5 months out of my life every fall & winter. Have you tried a light box? I recently started that a few minutes a day also.

Most medical recommendations are for no more than 2000 IU per day unless perscribed by a doctor.

Dr Mercola @ mercola.com has lots of info on this subject. He recommends taking D3, if you are going to use a supplement. (His info is not mainstream and some may find it controversial.)

Thanks, everyone, for the info. Looks like I should cut back to 2000 until I talk to a doctor about it. I do take fish and flax oil already and it helps my ability to concentrate.