14 DAY TRIAL // University of Bristol researchers established in a new study that teenagers who eat a lot of tuna are less likely to develop depression than their peers who do not have this habit. One of the reasons for this may be that the fish contains a lot of vitamin D.
Past investigations have established a connection between a person's chances of developing this mental disorder and their vitamin D intake. Fish, in general, is known to be an important source for this chemical. However, the body produces it as well.
Scientists estimate that as few as 10 minutes of daily exposure to sunlight is sufficient for the skin to be stimulated in producing all the vitamin D our bodies need for an entire day. In addition to fish, fortified breakfast cereals are also an important source for this essential chemical.
UB investigators established this correlation between tuna intake and depression risks by analyzing data on 2,700 kids of the 14,500 who are a part of the Children of the 90s study. All participants were born sometime in the early 1990s.
An interesting conclusion the team came to is that consuming higher levels of vitamin D during childhood also seemed to confer adolescents and young adults a level of protection against developing depression later on.
The study determined that higher fish intake made children about 10 percent less likely to develop depression later on. One of the most important aspects of the study was discovering that only the D3 form of vitamin D was in any way linked to depression. The chemicals comes as D3 or D2.
“Given the importance of depression in childhood and adolescence and the relative ease with which vitamin D levels could be increased with supplements, randomized controlled trials to assess its effectiveness in preventing depressive symptoms would be appropriate,” says Dr. Anna-Maija Tolppanen.
The UB expert is the lead author of the new study, which is detailed in a paper called “The association of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and D2 with depressive symptoms in childhood – a prospective cohort study.” The work appears in the January issue of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.