After completing your initial post, read and reply to two of your classmates entries each week.  The discussion board is a place where we extend the conversation to connect and give greater depth and meaning to our learning. Students are expected to post and respond to discussion boards in a thoughtful and coherent way.  You will participate in peer responding for this course using the N.O.W. format.

Please respond to your peers post by:

N Notice something of interest

O Offer a comment

W Wonder about something

Clara Wencker

For a few years now, I’ve been taking vitamin D supplements because I had read about many preventative and general health benefits they may provide. After reading the articles that came out during 2020 regarding vitamin D and COVID, I started taking higher doses and more consistently out of fear of infection. Through investigating and reading more of the literature for this assignment, I found numerous health benefits that I wasnt previously aware of. A study by Yarlagadda, Ma, and Dor (2020) found that vitamin D was positively linked with improved cardiovascular health and a decline in stroke risk, both in terms of prevention and recovery. I may not understand it entirely, but the rationale noted was a decrease in sun exposure (along with latitude, aging, and nutrition) contributed to a low vitamin 25(OH)D3, which resulted in increased blood pressure (Yarlagadda, Ma & Dor, 2020). Elevated blood pressure contributes to cerebrovascular problems, resulting in stroke (Yarlagadda, Ma & Dor, 2020). After reading this, I was curious if vitamin D was associated with weight gain/loss. According to the literature, there is a correlation between obesity and low vitamin D levels (Khasravi et al., 2018). A clinical trial on the use of vitamin D supplements and weight loss concluded that weight loss, BMI, waist circumference, and hip circumference decreased significantly after six weeks of intervention (Khasravi et al., 2018).

Because vitamin D is also received through sunlight, I would like to know more about whether there is an association between vitamin D supplements and mood disorders, especially concerning seasonal affective disorder.