Together we can do better: This applies not only to the various challenges in professional and private life, but the human body also relies on synergies. New studies are focusing on the teamwork among team players in the body.
Team players Vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids
New studies are currently being carried out on previously unknown functions of vitamin D in the organism. What makes this particularly exciting: The Sun Vitamin is no loner, but interacts with other micro nutrients connections, which boost overall health.
Californian scientists Rhonda Patrick and Bruce Ames from the Children’s Hospital Research Institute in Oakland recently demonstrated how vitamin D and the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA control and favourably influence serotonin metabolism.
Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D control the production of the happiness hormone serotonin.
Food for the mood
Serotonin not only acts as a neurotransmitter, it also has a significant influence on our mood and happiness. Serotonin is produced in the brain by a specific enzyme, tryptophan hydroxylase 2. Vitamin D is needed to produce this enzyme. The omega-3 fatty acid EPA provides the serotonin release, the omega-3 fatty acid DHA influences the activity of the serotonin receptors in the brain.
If there is now a vitamin D and/or omega-3 fatty acid deficit, this – in conjunction with genetic factors – could disrupt serotonin activity. Such a disorder is present in neuropsychiatric disorders, such as depression. According to the researchers, optimizing the status of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids could help prevent depression or reduce its intensity.
Vitamin D promotes absorption of the mineral magnesium
Vitamin D is also becoming increasingly important in connection with magnesium metabolism. The mineral magnesium has a relaxing effect on muscles and blood vessels and prevents muscle cramps. Magnesium also regulates blood pressure and is considered an anti-stress agent. It has long been known that the absorption of the mineral substance is related to vitamin D status: Vitamin D deficiency simply means that less magnesium can be absorbed.
A magnesium deficiency can promote a vitamin D deficiency.
An effective duo for diabetes and high blood pressure?
In a recent study, the German internist and laboratory physician Dr. Klaus Kisters from St. Anna Hospital in Herne and his colleagues point out that a magnesium deficiency can lead to a vitamin D deficiency. Magnesium deficiency reduces the activity of the 25-hydroxyvitamin D3-1-alpha-hydroxylase – the enzyme responsible for the conversion of the precursor calcidiol into active vitamin D. According to this enzyme, a magnesium deficiency is likely to lead to a vitamin D deficiency.
Therefore, there is likely to be an interplay between the vitamin D and magnesium supply. The researchers emphasize that this interplay is probably important in the treatment of diabetes mellitus and high blood pressure, for example, and recommend not only the control of vitamin D status (above 75 nmol/l) but also the inclusion of other players such as magnesium in the therapy.
