WHY YOU REALLY NEED THE ‘D’
Vitamin D is a superstar vitamin. More correctly, it’s actually a hormone. If levels are too low, this is bad news for health. I’m talking cancer, osteoporosis, rickets in children, asthma, tuberculosis, multiple sclerosis (and other autoimmune diseases), heart disease, diabetes and dental problems. There is also thought to be an association between low mood and vitamin D deficiency.
BUT WHY WOULD LEVELS BE LOW IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Your body makes vitamin D after contact with the sun’s UV rays but, applying sun tan lotion blocks it’s production.
As you age your body is not so good at absorbing vitamin D from the sun.
Problems with the digestive system affects how well you take in vitamin D (and this could be anything from mild symptoms to more serious gut conditions)
Obesity causes the fat cells in your body store up the vitamin D, where it becomes unusable –and unable to circulate around your body.
Just as you need sunlight to make vitamin D, you need sleep to actually use it - sadly sleep problems are endemic within our society!
The presence of the stress hormone cortisol reduces your uptake of vitamin D so it will sit in the body, without being able to be used.
The darker your skin, the less vitamin D you will make. This is due to the higher levels of melanin in your skin that protect against UV light.
Night-shift workers and anyone who doesn’t spend much time in the sunlight, will simply, not get the sun they need to be able to absorb it!
WHAT’S IT GOT TO DO WITH COVID 19?
Now recent research has established the important role D can play in the fight against viral respiratory infections. Trials appear to have found that there is an effective affect of Vitamin D supplementation. You may have heard the phrase ‘cytokine storm’ bandied around by the medical pundits. This is an exaggerated immune response following viral infection. It’s thought to play a significant role in Covid 19 cases where there are serious complications. Vitamin D has been shown to dampen this inflammatory response and reduce lung damage in some studies.
I won’t list all the research here (and there is mounting evidence), however you are probably wondering why this has not been introduced as a simple, safe and cost effective intervention – particularly for those found to be vitamin D deficient. Well your guess is as good as mine! As it stands at the time of writing, Public Health England are merely recommending everyone supplements with a very low dose of 400IU vitamin D3 daily to ‘keep your bones and muscles healthy’! Evidence shows that this dose will not raise blood levels of vitamin D enough in vulnerable people deficient in this nutrient.
SO HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU TAKE?
Well it very much depends on you, your individual situation and current blood levels. The best place to start is with a test – The test is the 25-hydroxy vitamin D test (25-OH vitamin D test or Calcidiol 25-hydroxycholecalciferol test). Your GP can usually do this for you but currently it’s likely you will need to get the test done privately for approximately £45. It’s a finger prick test, so you can do it easily at home, then get guidance on how much to supplement safely. If this is you, and you want to know more, just hit reply to this email or contact me HERE and we can have a chat.
Keep a look out in your inbox for simple tips on different ways improve your vitamin D levels coming soon! ( and if you’re not already part of my online community you can join HERE and at the same time get your hands on my FREE ebook ‘10 Steps to Super Health’)