Benefits of VITAMIN D!

💡DO YOU KNOW YOUR VITAMIN D LEVELS? 💡
Almost HALF of Americans are low in vitamin D!

Did you know?!

Vitamin D isn’t actually isn’t even a vitamin, it’s a hormone synthesized in the skin from sun exposure, and activated in the liver and kidneys. 

Vitamin D has a huge impact on the health and function of your cells. It reduces cellular growth (which promotes cancer) making it one of the most potent cancer inhibitors—and explains why vitamin D deficiency has been linked to colon, prostate, breast, and ovarian cancer.

But what’s even more fascinating is how vitamin D regulates and controls genes! It acts like a receptor, which then sends messages to our genes.

That’s how vitamin D controls so many different functions—from preventing cancer to reducing inflammation, boosting moods, reducing muscle aches, fibromyalgia, and support bone and joint health.

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Want more reasons to have Vitamin D?

Research studies show:
✅Overweight people tend to have lower vitamin D levels.
✅Having healthy vitamin D levels appear to be associated with lower body fat & improved weight loss.
✅Vitamin D might stop your body from forming NEW fat cells – and also prevent storage in new cells, making it harder for your body to accumulate fat!
We’ve also linked Vit D Deficiency to higher rates of COVID and increased symptoms/complications!

Vitamin D isn’t found naturally in a lot of foods, but your body can manufacture it from exposure to sunlight. The problem lies is that we aren’t exposed to the sun on a regular basis, in doses that we need for optimal levels.

The real question is: How much vitamin D do we need for OPTIMAL health? How much do we need to prevent autoimmune diseases, high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, depression, osteoporosis, and even cancer?

That’s going to differ for each person!

Functional medicine’s optimal range falls between 40-70 ng/mL. Conventional/western medicine usually use a reference range of 20-50 ng/mL. That means people at 20 ng/mL aren’t considered “deficient”, but they aren’t reaping the full benefits of higher vitamin D levels. Your individual labs will dictate if, or how much, vitamin D supplementation you might need. It’s definitely worth checking your levels with a standard blood test with your doc to see whether you should supplement and with how much.

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Dr. Hyman of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine recommends these starting points:

1. “Get tested for 25(OH)D. The current ranges for “normal” are between 20 and 50 ng/mL. These might be fine if you want to prevent rickets—but NOT for optimal health. In that case, the range should be 40 to 70 ng/ml.
2. Take the right type of vitamin D. The only active form of vitamin D is vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Look for this type and take it with vitamin K2. Many vitamins and prescriptions of vitamin D have vitamin D2—which is not biologically active.
3. Take the right amount of vitamin D. If you have a deficiency, you should correct it with 5,000 to 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 a day for 3 months—but only under a doctor’s supervision. For maintenance, take 2,000 to 4,000 IU a day of vitamin D3. Some people may need higher doses over the long run to maintain optimal levels because of differences in vitamin D receptors, living in northern latitudes, indoor living, or skin color.
4. Monitor your vitamin D status until you are in the optimal range. If you are taking high doses (10,000 IU a day) your doctor may also check your calcium, phosphorous, and parathyroid hormone levels every 3 months.
5. Remember that it takes up to 6 to 10 months to “fill up the tank” for vitamin D if you’re deficient. Once this occurs, you can lower the dose to the maintenance dose of 2,000 to 4,000 units a day.
6. Try to eat dietary sources of vitamin D. These include: Wild caught salmon, mackerel, sardines, whole eggs, fish liver oil.”

OTHER REFERENCE:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d-weight-loss