Hi Jim,
There’s a common saying, “food is medicine.” It all comes down to good nutrition, which is so important to keeping up on good health.
But did you know? Some of the most important nutrients we don’t get from food at all (well, mostly).
Case and point: vitamin D.
Vitamin D is called the “sunshine vitamin” because, turns out, we get most of it from sunlight!
Vitamin D is
technically a hormone, even though we call it a vitamin.
Cells in our skin produce vitamin D when skin is exposed to sunlight. It’s then sent to our liver and other places to be processed and absorbed. Sunlight is the best way to get the vitamin naturally, while foods can help provide the rest – though supplements are often necessary.
If we spend a good amount of time outdoors when it’s warm, you may not think you need to worry about it. But a lot of us are significantly deficient, especially if we use a lot of sunscreen, or we spend more time indoors than usual (quarantine blues, anyone?).
A study in 2011 showed 42% of American adults were deficient (though many functional medicine practitioners estimate it’s closer to 70% who are below optimal levels). The darker your skin, generally the less easily you can produce vitamin D from sunlight. 69% of Hispanics were deficient, and 82% of African Americans.
Coming into winter (for those in the North Hemisphere), many of us are inside even more and there is generally less sunlight with shorter days.
This means we should make sure we’re getting enough in other ways, if we can.
So, why should we focus on vitamin D, and what makes it so important?
- We need vitamin D for strong lmmune systems.
Every year this is important for battling colds and flu. And of course, this year, with certain illness-related global happenings,
scientists and researchers are saying vitamin D is a nutrient you’ll really want to have on your side in the months ahead.
- Vitamin D can help you with the blues.
This critical hormone also helps with your mood — makes sense if you’re not in the sun as much, right? In fact, experts say vitamin D works like a balancing hormone for mood and cognitive function more than any other vitamin.
It’s shown that keeping up on the vitamin can be like taking a natural antidepressant, and it could possibly be just as effective for those winter woes in some people.
- You need vitamin D for strong muscles, bones, and organs.
Your heart, skeleton, muscles, kidneys, even lungs need vitamin D to work properly. It could help reduce your risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, and much more.
Fun fact: did you know calcium can’t be absorbed without vitamin D? You definitely need it!
If you can’t get outside, how do you up your vitamin D?
- Consider vitamin D supplements. There are a lot of great products and supplements out there, made by reputable companies, even using natural ingredients. I personally like it as an oil with a dropper. Usually 1 drop is 1,000 international units (IUs). These supplements are generally quite inexpensive.
- Try a vitamin D sun lamp. It’s not as good as basking on the beach, but in winter, this could be a cool gadget to consider for your vitamin D needs. Check with a doctor first because, when used inappropriately, the UV needed to create Vit D has been linked to skin damage.
- Eat vitamin D-rich foods. Unfortunately for plant-based eaters, lots of these are animal products, like salmon, sardines, eggs, and even herring. Hehe, just like my last name! But did you know you can get plenty from certain mushrooms (especially shiitakes), mushroom supplements, certain seaweed and kelp?
**It’s worth checking with your doctor to see what your vitamin D levels are before starting any new supplementation.
Vitamin D is important. Be sure to stock up, especially if you’re staying inside a lot — it is not a nutrient to be overlooked!
To a healing future,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
thenutritionwatchdog.com
thelivingproofinstitute.com
drpompa.com
www.naturalhealth365.com
drjockers.com
drjockers.com
blog.paleohacks.com
