Healthier Me: Winter Blues & Vitamin D - Valley News Live - KVLY/KXJB - Fargo/Grand Forks

In today's Healthier Me, a common vitamin supplement might help in banishing the winter blues; if you're feeling more tired and little depressed lately, you could be low on Vitamin D.

Our bodies have the ability to create the Vitamin D, but we need sunlight to do so; since it's so dark in the morning and evening, January through February is the peak time for winter blues.

Linda Bartholomay, Sanford Health Dietician: "People who have low vitamin D levels tend to have more problems with depression. If we can normalize the levels, then things won't be as bad."

Hopping on a plane to the tropics is not the only way to lift your drooping spirits, and that's good news for most of us (unless you're looking for an excuse to book a tropical vacation); it turns out that small tweaks in your weekly diet -- among them, adding Vitamin D -- can improve your outlook on life just as well.

Vitamin D is found in many dietary sources including fish, eggs, fortified milk, and cod liver oil.

The sun also contributes significantly to the daily production of Vitamin D, and as little as 10 minutes of exposure is thought to be enough to prevent deficiencies. If you are taking a vitamin D capsules, Linda Bartholomay suggests getting 2000 IU of vitamin D a day.