Wellness Info
The Sunshine Vitamin Vitamin D
Vitamin D has gotten a lot of press lately and the spot light is justified. Many Physicians are recommending more Vitamin D supplementation because blood tests have revealed that most of us have low levels and more than a few of us are critically low. There has been some talk recently of raising the RDA from 400IUs per day to 1000IUs per day, yet many Doctors consider even that dosage inadequate.
Vitamin D is actually not a vitamin but a hormone. Vitamins work with proteins in the body to produce enzymes, and enzymes are responsible for the chemical reactions required for life. Hormones, on the other hand, tell the cell which enzymes to produce and are therefore responsible for cellular regulation. Many cells in our body have receptors for vitamin D. Receptors are like docking sites on cell membranes and when bound by a specific compound cause changes in cellular metabolism. Vitamin D3 receptors have been found in the eyes, brain, bones, testes, ovaries and white blood cells, and low levels of D3 have been associated with abnormal bone development in children (Rickets) and bone loss in adults. Calcium requires Vitamin D to be absorbed so it is not rare for people with low levels of Vitamin D to be low in Calcium. Inadequate levels of D3 have also been implicated in compromised immune function, Multiple Sclerosis and some forms of cancer.
Vitamin D is synthesized in the skin when it is exposed to sufficient amounts of a certain type of ultraviolet light. The kind of D made by skin is D3 (cholecalciferol). D3 is the preferred supplemental form of Vitamin D and should be used over D2 (ergocalciferol) whenever possible. For the body to produce Vitamin D3 from sunlight the sun must be high enough in the sky to allow UV light to reach the ground which occurs, here in Minneapolis, from April through September and only if skin is exposed and not covered in Sun screen. If you are going outside allow 20 to 30 minutes in sunlight before applying sun screen and it is always a good idea to avoid high sun from about 11am to 1pm.
Skin pigmentation plays a role in Vitamin D production and the darker the skin the less Vitamin D produced, so it is very important that people of dark complexion supplement Vitamin D. In the past Mothers gave their children Cod liver oil, which contains Vitamin D and Omega 3 fatty acids, and children in the past spent more time outside than most do today. During the summer Vitamin D production exceeds what was is required and the excess is stored in the body for use later. It is not hard to see why many of us have inadequate amounts of Vitamin D, our diets and behaviors have directly contributed to chronically low levels of this essential “vitamin”. So if you do not supplement Vitamin D currently you may want to add it. Vitamin D is inexpensive and within the budget of all health conscious people, and when you take it just remember that it is fat soluble so make sure you take it with meals that have at least a few grams of fat.