Tag: vitamin D

Health + LifeStyle

Sunday Supplement: Vitamin D

Welcome to my new weekly supplemental. Every Sunday I’ll be featuring an important vitamin and the reasons why it may be vital to your health. 

Vitamin D: Immune System Superstar

I’m not pretending to be an authority on the subject – that I’ll leave for the experienced professionals.  Although I have an interest in health, I can at least share some knowledge I’ve gained from these experts. Some of them I know personally, and all agree that Vitamin “D” is of ultimate importance, especially right now with Covid.  I’ve done my own research too. What I’ve found out is that most people are deficient in Vitamin D and even if you eat really well, there are some vitamins (D being one of them) that you cannot create enough of from food alone.

D boosts the immune system and protects against respiratory infections. However, it is found in few foods and the body only replenishes its stocks through sunlight on the skin.

Vitamin D deficiency has emerged as a primary risk factor for severe COVID-19 infection and death. Higher vitamin D levels have even been shown to lower your risk of testing positive for the virus in the first place.  According to a Spanish study, 82.2% of COVID-19 patients tested were found to be deficient in vitamin D.

Dark skin color, increased age, pre-existing chronic conditions and vitamin D deficiency are all features of severe COVID disease. Of these, vitamin D deficiency is the only factor that is modifiable. As such, it would be foolish to ignore, especially since vitamin D supplements are readily available and low cost.

*The Scottish Government is giving out free vitamin D supplements to the most vulnerable to help boost their immune system.  People who have been shielding are to be sent a four-month supply to compensate for a lack of natural sunlight. (see link below).  

So I’ve upped my intake to 5,000 UIs a day in the winter months (some take more).  In the summer I take 1000 – 3000 UIs depending on how sunny it is.  Most medical doctors will suggest 400 UIs is enough.  However over a dozen research studies completed in 2020 alone show that we need at least ten times that amount to get optimum immune system benefits.

We already know that Vitamin D is good for a variety of illnesses and disorders such as depression (no surprise here – sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy.  Oh; you too?), hypertension, Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes, oral health, inflammation…

The point being there’s tons and tons of research out there. I’ve narrowed it down to some choice statements taken from various sites.

  • **Dr. Michael Holick, professor of medicine, physiology and biophysics at Boston University School of Medicine and colleagues studied blood samples of more than 190,000 Americans from all 50 US states and found those with deficient levels of vitamin D had 54% higher COVID positivity compared to those with adequate blood levels of vitamin D. The study was published in PLoS (the Public Library of Science One) peer-reviewed journal. Many people are vitamin D-deficient because there are only small amounts in food, Holick said.

For the Top 25 Vitamin D Publications in 2020 go to:

https://orthomolecular.activehosted.com/index.php?action=social&chash=4c5bde74a8f110656874902f07378009.186&s=f4d21263462859c8c606dca185b7c0f9

*Sunday Times UK – Coronavirus in Scotland: Vulnerable will receive vitamin D supplements:

 
Out of curiosity, how much Vitamin D do you take regularly?
 
FUN

B well – don’t be D-prived

The D-lemma: Are you getting enough?vitamin-d

Even though the nutrient is available in supermarket staples and via sun exposure, many of us don’t get enough.

Technically it’s a vitamin, but it behaves more like a hormone, in that the body can create a certain form of  vitamin D through exposure to sunlight.  And yet, according to nutrition researcher Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health, an estimated one in three Americans of European descent suffers from a deficiency of this vitamin.  Vitamin D is vital to bone health and may also support immune function and prevent certain cancers, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, and even the common cold.

So if it’s found in readily available foods, and a mere 5 to 10 minutes a day of sun exposure generate enough Vitamin D for most people, what exactly accounts for such widespread deficiency?  Willett blames a whole host of factors:  Over the centuries, people have migrated away from the equator and are exposed to less sunshine; industrialization has pushed many occupations indoors; and then there’s that aggravating habit, he jokes, of “putting on clothes, which blocks the sun light.”  More recently, of course, we’ve been slathering ourselves with sunscreen.

And since the blood test that pinpoints vitamin D levels is expensive and not routinely given, many people have no idea their levels are low.  Symptoms that might prompt your physician to order the test: lethargy, muscle aches and pains, clumsiness and frequent falls, and bone fractures from small stresses.

How much do we need?

Adding to the confusion is the debate over the recommended daily allowance.  In 2010 the recommended daily amount of Vitamin D for adults was 600 IUs – but according to clinical trial results published in 2012 in the New England Journal of Medicine, 800 IUs a day improve protection against broken bones by 30 percent.  D helps the body absorb and retain calcium and phosphorus – critical bone builders – which is reason alone to err on the side of more IUs.  Willett recommends most adults get 2000 IUs daily.  Don’t worry about taking too much – it takes several hundred thousand IUs to reach toxic levels.

If you expect sunshine to provide you with vitamin D, then make sure your shadow is shorter than your height. The long shadow we see in November is proof the sun is not doing it for us any more, and it’s time to take care of ourselves.

Reinhold Vieth, PhD#

– See more at: http://www.vitamindday.net/tag/vitamin-d-quotes/#sthash.WgVkxY77.dpuf

Ways to get more Vitamin D

One simple solution – take a supplement.

The Sun for 5-10 minutes/day – 3000 IU

1 Cup of Vitamin D fortified Orange Juice – 137 IU

3 ounces of cooked Sockeye Salmon – 447 IU

1 Large Egg Yolk – 41 IU
2 Sardines canned in oil – 46 IU

1 cup of vitamin D fortified milk – 120 IU

Typical Multivitamin – 400 IU

Whether you hate the sun or love it, you can and should get enough Vitamin D.

Taken from “How-To-Handbook” in Health section of “Living” by Sally Schultheiss

If you expect sunshine to provide you with vitamin D, then make sure your shadow is shorter than your height. The long shadow we see in November is proof the sun is not doing it for us any more, and it’s time to take care of ourselves.

Reinhold Vieth, PhD#

– See more at: http://www.vitamindday.net/tag/vitamin-d-quotes/#sthash.WgVkxY77.dpuf

If you expect sunshine to provide you with vitamin D, then make sure your shadow is shorter than your height. The long shadow we see in November is proof the sun is not doing it for us any more, and it’s time to take care of ourselves.

Reinhold Vieth, PhD#

– See more at: http://www.vitamindday.net/tag/vitamin-d-quotes/#sthash.WgVkxY77.dpuf

**Don’t miss listening to “Transforming Health” with host Brad King for the most evocative and informative up-to-the-minute interviews with leading health professionals – Live every Wednesday @ 12PM-PST/3PM-EST on VoiceAmerica.com – #1 internet radio station in North America.

Here’s the link: http://www.voiceamerica.com/show/1686/transforming-health