So let’s talk about vitamin D. Regular, good levels of vitamin D can reduce things like rickets, which can lead to bone pain, osteomalacia cancers, issues with your kidneys, and even type 1 & type 2 diabetes. It helps reduce multiple sclerosis symptoms. It can reduce heart attacks by 50%, peripheral vascular disease by 80%, and preeclampsia with pregnancy.
A good level on your blood tests is anywhere between 60 and 100. We recommend getting a vitamin D panel blood test at least once or twice a year.
In my 20 years of practice, we find vitamin D to be one of the major deficiencies that we encounter on blood tests.
Here’s why people are so deficient in vitamin D. The sunlight triggers our body to go through a process to make vitamin D through the liver. Then our body uses it. Every cell in our bodies has a vitamin receptor. It is estimated that over 40% of the population is deficient in vitamin D. 50% in the United States.
5 signs that you’re deficient in Vitamin D
Number 1 is if you have ongoing muscle or skeletal aches and pains. Many people get misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia type symptoms, when it’s really just low vitamin D.
Number 2 is frequent illnesses and infections. The expressions of genes that influence your immune system, your innate and your adaptive immune system, are triggered and controlled by vitamin D. So low vitamin D leads to an increase in infections and illnesses. Number 3 is neurological problems. Neurological symptoms like depression, cognitive impairment and headaches.
Number 4 is a big one. Fatigue and daytime sleepiness. These can be attributed to low vitamin D. Finally, number 5 is sweating. Doctors used to ask new mothers about sweating in their heads and their newborns for this very reason. It is an early sign of a deficiency.
4 possible causes of deficiency
The main cause is rarely spending time outdoors. Since the sun is a trigger for the production of vitamin D, avoiding the sun is going to inhibit your natural production. Next is the pigmentation of your skin. People with a darker skin pigmentation have trouble producing vitamin D because of the higher levels of melanin in their bodies. Melanin absorbs the UVR that initiates the vitamin D process, thereby leading to less production.
If you’re over the age of 50, your skin doesn’t make that much vitamin D anymore. In fact, it doesn’t convert vitamin D into the active form as well, which is why we want to supplement. The last one I’ll mention today is obesity. Vitamin D is fat soluble, so by having an increase in fat in your body, it will be unable to absorb as much vitamin D.
The supplement we recommend is our Wellness Warrior Vita D3 pills. Our Vita D is 5,000 international units per pill. Most adults take two a day because we use around 5,000 units a day in order to keep the body going. Please go check it out and make sure that you’re keeping your vitamin D levels in the green!
I’m planning future lives and want to make sure to talk about what people want to hear . Ask me a question and I’ll try correct any myth and misconception you might have!
Categories: Q & A | Self Improvement
