17 replies to this topic

[ironfistx]

Being out in the sun for a while and then coming inside feels good.

Taking vitamin D supplements do not produce this feeling of well-being.

Is it the fresh air that is responsible for feeling good?

[Luminiferous]

I have noticed this too. How fast is sun light absorbed or utilized compared to vitamin D supplements?

I also read that sun light contains much more than just vitamin D, forgot what though.

[niner]

Sun exposure releases endogenous opioids. If people are given naloxone (an opioid blocker), they don't get that "good feeling" from being in the sun. The release of opioids is probably related to the damage that the sunlight is doing. If you really tear yourself up with heavy exercise, you will also get an opioid blast.

Edited by niner, 06 August 2013 - 12:33 AM.

[meatsauce]

The vitamin d we get from the sun is in the form of vitamin d sulfate which then converts to the vitamin d3 found in supplements. I think this is also one of the reasons. Experts believe that lot of the benefits of the sulfate form cannot be gotten from the d3 form. http://articles.merc...-on-sulfur.aspx

I recommend going out in the sun with minimal clothing for at least 20 minutes a day. Wear a zinc oxide sunblock on your face though and cover it if you can.

[DbCooper]

The vitamin d we get from the sun is in the form of vitamin d sulfate which then converts to the vitamin d3 found in supplements. I think this is also one of the reasons. Experts believe that lot of the benefits of the sulfate form cannot be gotten from the d3 form. http://articles.merc...-on-sulfur.aspx

I recommend going out in the sun with minimal clothing for at least 20 minutes a day. Wear a zinc oxide sunblock on your face though and cover it if you can.

So eat an onion with your D3.

[blood]

NO release on sun exposure, occurs independently of vitamin D formation, and has beneficial effects like a lowering of blood pressure.

Edited by blood, 06 August 2013 - 06:39 AM.

[Galaxyshock]

Sunlight exposure to eyes also shuts down day-time melatonin production and increases serotonin

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/12480364

[Luminosity]

Could also be you are using D2, or using D3 without a meal containing fat or oil, but I know what you mean.

[blood]

Here's a nice link on sunlight-induced release of NO:

http://www.scienceom...kin-cancer-risk

"The skin harbours significant stores of nitrite and nitrate; we found that sunlight has the effect of turning these back into NO which then moves from the skin into the bloodstream. In the bloodstream, NO dilates the blood vessels and thereby lowers blood pressure."

...

"The ideal would be to get enough sunlight to lower your blood pressure and risk of stroke without causing skin cancer," he responded. "Is there a sweet spot we can hit? How does this vary with different skin types? These are important questions, but at the moment we don’t know the answers."

Dr Weller suggests the hypothesis that the unintended consequence of protecting ourselves from sunlight in order to reduce the risk of skin cancer might be that the risk of death from other causes increases. As he stressed, however, it is not yet possible to say so and much more work will be needed to prove definitively that the benefits of sunlight outweigh the risks.

Edited by blood, 06 August 2013 - 09:50 AM.

[RJ23_1989]

Sun exposure releases endogenous opioids. If people are given naloxone (an opioid blocker), they don't get that "good feeling" from being in the sun. The release of opioids is probably related to the damage that the sunlight is doing. If you really tear yourself up with heavy exercise, you will also get an opioid blast.

I believe this is the main reason. There was a study done comparing tanning booth addiction to cigarettes and they referenced this effect of sun exposure as to why there is a fair number of people who simply cannot stop tanning.

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[niner]

The vitamin d we get from the sun is in the form of vitamin d sulfate which then converts to the vitamin d3 found in supplements. I think this is also one of the reasons. Experts believe that lot of the benefits of the sulfate form cannot be gotten from the d3 form. http://articles.merc...-on-sulfur.aspx

I don't think this is it. We don't get sulfate from the sun, we synthesize it ourselves, and an enzyme in our body hooks it onto vitamin D, not to mention a lot of other things. I see no reason to believe that D3 taken orally couldn't be sulfated, assuming that's even important. Most of the vitamin D in human milk (from non-supplementing mothers) is in the free form rather than the sulfated form.

Vitamin D does a lot of important things, but I don't think it's psychoactive.

Mercola is a quack, IMHO, so we might want to take things on his site with a grain of salt. The woman he's interviewing, Stephanie Seneff, is a computer scientiist and anti-vaccine quack. She's mostly just spewing hypotheses.

[joelcairo]

Being out in the sun might make you feel good for so many reasons, beginning with a rather powerful placebo effect. Could also be the signaling effect on the brain of natural light that we've evolved to respond to, as opposed to fluorescents or tungsten filament bulbs or whatever. Could be that the warmth on your skin relaxes your muscles or triggers a psychological human-contact response. Could be the air itself, due to oxygen or CO2 or ions or absence of dead skin dust or whatever.

Of course, if it's too hot then being in direct sunlight can make you feel bad rather quickly.

Edited by joelcairo, 06 August 2013 - 06:47 PM.

[The Capybara]

Because Vitamin D levels are only correlated with most of the heallth benefits attributed to it.
It's been largely really bad science since Vitamin D became all the rage for treating everything from depression to autoimmune diseases.

While we are slowly exiting the honeymoon stage in the medical profession’s embrace of Vitamin D supplementation for a whole host of conditions, and prevention of even more conditions, this love affair should perhaps be tempered, especially for those that advocate chronic administration of high dosages. Many, if not most, of the heath benefits currently attributed to Vitamin D are immunological in nature, or rely on changes in immunological functioning. It is likely best to temper sweeping medical claims currently attributed to this vitamin, at least those made simply by measuring Vitamin D and correlating these levels with positive health benefits. Studies have shown increased calcification of soft tissues associated with increased Vitamin D intake, which should not be overlooked, especially with long term use at high dosages. Many chronic tanning booth users show classical opiate withdrawal symptoms when given an opiate antagonist such as naltrexone, clearly demonstrating that opioids role in maintaining health should not be a factor to be dismissed so readily

Having worked with antiopiates in treating autoimmune diseases while working on my PhD, I am sure that the opiate modulating effects of sun exposure play a significant factor in the observed clinical benefits attributed to vitamin D. In fact, I would personally bet that vitamin D is likely a biomarker for opiate modulation through ultraviolet exposure, and thus simply taking vitamin D may only be emulating one measurable biological change associated with this exposure. I don't deny that vitamin D has beneficial effects on health, but not to the extent that is currently attributed to this vitamin.

[Dolph]

Why is test-tube fertilization not as satifying as sexual intercourse? It's such a mystery to me...

[Sciencyst]

Sunlight exposure to eyes also shuts down day-time melatonin production and increases serotonin

http://www.ncbi.nlm....pubmed/12480364

Absolutely this. Maybe conduct an experiment where the participants have their eyes completely blocked from any light and see if they feel the same. The warmth of the sun could also have a part in it.

[The Capybara]

But then people would generally feel wonderful if they sat under florescent lights in a warm room and took an SSRI.
This isn't likely to make anyone feel the same feeling as sitting under the sun.

[nupi]

Sun exposure releases endogenous opioids. If people are given naloxone (an opioid blocker), they don't get that "good feeling" from being in the sun. The release of opioids is probably related to the damage that the sunlight is doing. If you really tear yourself up with heavy exercise, you will also get an opioid blast.

Personally, I mainly get head aches and brain fog from sun exposure (without sun screen I might also burn) - anything we can derive from that?

Interestingly, I react badly to the dark, too (not quite SAD but I get sleepy and slow in winter). D3 does not seem to have much of an impact on either (I am hovering at 45 to 55)

But then people would generally feel wonderful if they sat under florescent lights in a warm room and took an SSRI.

This isn't likely to make anyone feel the same feeling as sitting under the sun.

I have done precisely that for quite a while. At least in my case, the outcome depends heavily on the SSRI in question...

Edited by nupi, 28 December 2013 - 10:04 PM.

[Absent]

Along with what niner said,


Our bodies did not evolve to absorb and distribute vitamin d effectively by oral intake. Our bodies have millions of years of evolution of vitamin d being absorbed through the skin and effectively distributed through our bodies. It could just be when vitamin d is created in the skin it gets to where it needs to be a lot more effectively than through oral intake.

Though, also keep in mind folks, I think the numbers are around 20 minutes in the sun is equivalent to about 20,000-50,000 iu of vitamin d3 in the body(sorry I have no source for these numbers, its just something I read a long time ago). Taking this much supplemental D3 orally can be very dangerous, according to various studies. There are obviously some biological mechanisms at work here. Sadly not everything can be solved with a pill. From what I understand the form the body creates is not immediately active, but gets converted into the active form as it is needed. I believe supplemental D3 is all active, so while a lot may be useful, when the body has enough stored up and no longer needs it, you could be doing damage by giving it excess. Typically when the skin creates Vitamin D3, if there's little demand, then that D3 wont be converted to the active form. FYI, this is just my reasoning, I am not a vitamin D3 expert.

I would like to go on record though when I used to have depression in my youth my doctor prescribed me 10,000 iu of Vitamin D3 per day and it was like a magical pill. The effect it had on me was amazing. On the days I didn't take it I felt like crap. This of course was during a time in my life where I never went outside. The only real time spent outside was when the sun was coming up while waiting for the bus to take me to school. 99% of the time I was either at school or at home gaming. I have long sense not needed such huge doses, as I had some lifestyle changes.

Edited by Siro, 28 December 2013 - 10:55 PM.