In the past 50 years our world has changed drastically. And with all of these changes, vitamin D deficiency is now a global public-health problem affecting an estimated 1 billion people worldwide. Why though? Well, we are no longer outdoors like we were in years past. We work inside, play inside, and have allowed air conditioning and technology to keep us inside. The result on society is a vast increase of obesity, a plethora of health problems, and even a major crisis of vitamin D deficiency.
What the big deal? Aren’t we all deficient in some vitamins? Well, sure; however, there is something very unique about vitamin D. It becomes a secosteroid hormone in our bodies. It is an extremely important vitamin that affects many parts of our body, including; our skeletal structure, but also our blood pressure, immunity, mood, brain function, and ability to protect ourselves from cancer!
The best source of vitamin D is direct sunlight, without sunscreen or skin protectors. Our bodies can absorb up to about 10,000 units of natural vitamin D in just 15 minutes of sunlight a day. Unfortunately, with our busy indoor lives, we do not always have even that amount of time to get the vitamin D our bodies so desperately need. Even if we do get the exposure to sun, if we shower or bath less than 48 hours afterwards, we prevent the vitamin D absorption from our skin.
There are some great food sources we can eat regularly to help get the vitamin D we need as well. A few to add to your diet are; salmon, sardines, egg yolk, wild caught shrimp, eel, halibut, carp fish, mackerel, portobello and maitake mushrooms, tuna and raw milk.
Supplementation of vitamin D3 is vital because it gives us the assurance that we are getting enough of the vitamin D our bodies need to fight diseases and help us remain healthy!
Let’s take a deeper look into why vitamin D is vital:
First, let look at the risk factors.
Living near highly polluted areas
Using sunscreen
Spending most of your time indoors
Living in big cities with tall buildings
Having darker skin
Bathing regularly
What are the signs of vitamin D deficiency?
getting sick often
fatigue
depression
severe bone or muscle pain
weakness
wounds that do not heal quickly
stress fractures, especially in your legs, pelvis, and hips
bone loss
hair loss
cognitive impairment in older adults
What are the Benefits of Vitamin D?
Vitamin D fights disease, including cancer! One study in, The Journal Anticancer Research showed that breast cancer patients with healthy levels of vitamin D are twice as likely to survive the disease as patients with lower levels!
There have been numerous studies showing the many positive affects of vitamin D in our bodies:
Reduced risk of cancer (1)
Stronger bones
Reduces depression
Decreases your chance of developing heart disease (2)
Reduces chances of developing flu (3)
Boosts weight loss
Decreased risk of type two diabetes (4)
Improved muscle function
Reduces your risk of multiple sclerosis. (5)
Cognitive health. (6)
Help prevent osteoporosis.
Treat rickets.
It is clear that we must make getting enough vitamin D in our bodies a priority. We carry a physician-grade liquid Vitamin D3 in our natural pharmacy and we offer lab work to measure vitamin D3 levels. It is believed to be the closest to what sunlight produces when our skin works to convert UV. It also absorbs at a faster rate than other types of vitamin D.
Sources:
1. Grant, W. B., & Holick, M. F. (2005). Benefits and requirements of vitamin D for optimal health: a review. Alternative Medicine Review, 10(2), 94-111. Mayo Clinic website.
2. 2008 findings published in Circulation. Giovannucci, E., Liu, Y., Hollis, B. W., & Rimm, E. B. (2008). 25-hydroxyvitamin D and risk of myocardial infarction in men: a prospective study. Archives of Internal Medicine, 168(11), 1174-1180. Independent association of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Archives of Internal Medicine, 168(12), 1340-1349. Forman, J. P., Giovannucci, E., Holmes, M. D., Bischoff-Ferrari, H. A., Tworoger, S. S., Willett, W. C., & Curhan, G. C. (2007). Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and risk of incident hypertension. Hypertension, 49(5), 1063-1069.
3. 2010 research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
4. Song, Y., Wang, L., Pittas, A. G., Del Gobbo, L. C., Zhang, C., Manson, J. E., & Hu, F. B. (2013). Blood 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D Levels and Incident Type 2 Diabetes A meta-analysis of prospective studies. Diabetes Care, 36(5), 1422-1428.
5. 2006 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association
6. From Mayo Clinic Site: Early research suggests that vitamin D might play a role in cognitive health. In one small study of adults age 60 years and older being treated for dementia, researchers found that taking a vitamin D supplement helped improve cognitive function.