# Methods of increasing Vitamin D **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 26, 2013, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methods-of-increasing-vitamin-d/648427 "2013-01-26T11:44:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methods-of-increasing-vitamin-d/648427/21 "2013-01-27T14:39:26Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Cooked salmon or mackerel Er… wouldn’t _raw_ salmon and mackerel, such as found in sashimi and sushi, also have vitamin D? Or is it that docs usually recommend cooking fish prior to eating it? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methods-of-increasing-vitamin-d/648427/22 "2013-01-27T15:13:04Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Huh? I didn’t understand your question. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methods-of-increasing-vitamin-d/648427/23 "2013-01-27T15:14:05Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Er… wouldn’t _raw_ salmon and mackerel, such as found in sashimi and sushi, also have vitamin D? Or is it that docs usually recommend cooking fish prior to eating it? Apparently the medical website I got the list from is in the pocket of the cooked fish cartel. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methods-of-increasing-vitamin-d/648427/24 "2013-01-27T15:25:00Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I didn’t understand your question. 🙂 Sorry for my unintelligible shorttext. Seasonal affective disorder–I don’t know if this is the symptom–may suffer from not having enough light. An effective treatment is light therapy. Trips to the tanning booth are a fine, and more efficient (?) than buying all sorts of full-spectrum lights. I always assumed it was to pack-in-the-D’s. Perhaps it’s a circadian thing and not a vitamin D thing. In fact, I now think it is. If so, ignore this post. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methods-of-increasing-vitamin-d/648427/25 "2013-01-27T15:52:04Z")
Vitamin D doesn’t seem to be involved. At present, best evidence points to serotonin, a neurotransmitter that doesn’t really depend directly on vitamin D for anything. From UpToDate (a medical website): > [@](#): > > The pathogenesis of SAD is not well understood. It is believed that the decreasing daylight available in fall and winter triggers a depressive episode in people predisposed to develop the disorder. However, no studies have established a causal relationship between decreasing daylight and the development of winter SAD. > > A number of pathogenetic mechanisms have been proposed, including abnormal melatonin metabolism and altered circadian rhythm, although studies in support of these hypotheses have been inconsistent . > > The hypothesis that appears to have most support involves the neurotransmitter serotonin. Evidence supporting this hypothesis includes: > > Studies have found a decrease of central serotonergic activity in patients with SAD. Serotonin appears to play an important role in the mechanism of action of light therapy, as the benefits of light therapy have been found to be reduced by tryptophan depletion. > > A study of patients with SAD who were in remission during the summer found that patients who received an amino acid beverage that did not contain tryptophan experienced rapid lowering of brain serotonin associated with onset of depressive symptoms, while patients who received a beverage with tryptophan had no alteration in brain serotonin and had no symptom recurrence. > > Variation in levels of serotonin transporter binding protein with season and duration of daily sunshine were found in healthy adults. Higher levels of the transport protein were found in the fall and winter, and associated with lower synaptic serotonin levels. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methods-of-increasing-vitamin-d/648427/26 "2013-01-27T16:10:15Z")
Thank you very much. And thanks for the heads-up on the website. I guess i’ll have to knock off turkey at thanksgiving, what with all that tryptophan. (Although I don’t think the amount of tryptophan in turkey is proportionately higher than other poultry. Although it gets blamed incorrectly for other nonsense, I might as well my depression on it.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/methods-of-increasing-vitamin-d/648427.md?page=1)