Category: Addiction

Cheap supplements could help to fight opioid addiction.

Vitamin D deficiency may exaggerate the desire for opioids, increasing the risk of addiction.

The findings suggest that inexpensive vitamin D supplements could help reduce the risk of opioid addiction.

The study found that mice with a vitamin D deficiency became addicted to morphine, an opioid, more readily.

When the morphine was taken away from them, those with a vitamin D deficiency suffered more withdrawal symptoms.

An analysis of health records showed that people with a severe vitamin D deficiency were 90 percent more likely to use opioids than those with normal vitamin D levels.

Similarly, those deficient in vitamin D are more likely to be diagnosed with an opioid use disorder.

Dr Lajos V. Kemény, the study’s first author, said:

“Our goal in this study was to understand the relationship between vitamin D signaling in the body and UV-seeking and opioid-seeking behaviors.”

Why humans are sunseekers

The study was inspired by the question of why human beings seek out sunshine when it is potentially so bad for the skin.

Exposure to the sun is the primary cause of skin cancer and ages the skin prematurely.

One answer is that sunshine is necessary for the production of vitamin D in the body.

Without it, people are at risk of weak bones and a host of other health conditions.

When the sun strikes the skin, not only does it help the body manufacture vitamin D, it also produces endorphins.

Endorphins, which make people feel good, are chemically related to morphine, heroin and other opioids.

All these compounds activate the same receptors in the brain.

People may seek out the sun not only because the body needs vitamin D, but also because of the pleasurable effects of endorphins.

Vitamin D and addiction

These ideas led researchers to test whether vitamin D deficiency influences addictive behaviours in mice.

Dr Kemény said:

“We found that modulating vitamin D levels changes multiple addictive behaviors to both UV and opioids.”

Professor David E. Fisher, study co-author, said:

“When we corrected vitamin D levels in the deficient mice, their opioid responses reversed and returned to normal.

Our results suggests that we may have an opportunity in the public health arena to influence the opioid epidemic.”

Related

• 11 Ways Vitamin D Shapes Your Brain — From Before Birth To Old Age (P)

The study was published in the journal Science Advances (Kemény et al., 2021).

Researchers found a powerful alternative to the ‘addiction is a disease’ message.

A ‘growth’ mindset is a key mindset for beating addiction.

People with a growth mindset recognise that addiction has many causes and can be tackled in different ways.

Understanding the reasons for addiction can help empower people.

Addiction is not solely dictated by a person’s genes.

Those with a growth mindset are more likely to seek therapy and more confident in their ability to change, the researchers found.

In contrast, thinking of addiction as a disease makes people believe they have less control over it.

For the study, 214 people with substance-use problems were split into two groups.

One group were told addiction is a disease involving changes in the brain.

The second group was told that addiction can change and improve — a growth mindset approach.

Dr Jeni Burnette, the study’s first author, explained:

“We wanted to see if an alternative message aimed at changing that mindset could affect how people with substance-use problems viewed themselves with regard to addiction.

Specifically, we focused on using a growth mindset message.

The growth mindset message stresses that human attributes are malleable, and we know from previous work that it encourages better self-regulatory strategies such as seeking helping from others.”

The results showed that people who received the growth mindset message felt more confident in their ability to change.

However, they were no more likely to blame themselves.

Dr Desmarais said:

“We want people to feel empowered and confident to change their behavior, but not to feel guilty about it.”

The growth mindset also encouraged people to seek help.

Dr Desmarais said:

“It’s promising to see the growth mindset group express a greater willingness to seek treatment via counseling or cognitive-behavioral therapy.

The finding suggests that it would be more helpful to talk about the many different reasons people become addicted.”

Related

• 16 Studies Reveal The Causes & Cures Of Addiction (P)

The study was published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology (Burnette et al., 2019).