Preventing Vitamin D Deficiency
Vitamin D is a surprisingly underrated vitamin! The “sunshine vitamin” is actually one of the most commonly deficient, and least talked about vitamins. It has been found that 90% of people in the United States are Vitamin D deficient. This includes 90% of people with dark skin, and 75% of people with light skin. Darker skinned people are a lot more prone to vitamin D deficiency because they have more melanin. The more melanin a person has, the more sunlight they need to make the right amount of vitamin D. Another reason for vitamin D deficiency is being in the Northern Hemisphere… Here, the angle of the sun is not great for vitamin D absorption, making people who live here much more susceptible to deficiency.
So what makes vitamin D so important? This vitamin is actually extremely important for strong bones! Vitamin D is necessary for the body to absorb calcium. Getting enough of both can prevent osteomalacia (soft bones,) and osteoporosis (brittle bones.) These conditions are common in people who are vitamin D deficient, because of the body’s reaction to not having enough calcium. When your body doesn’t have enough calcium, it pulls what it needs out of the calcium in your bones! Ouch. Other side effects of a vitamin D deficiency are:
Decreased immunity
Hormonal imbalance
Fatigue
Bone pain
Muscle weakness
Depression
Irritability
Since vitamin D deficiency is so common, how can you tell if you are? The best way to see where you are at is to get tested. Then, your provider can tell you exactly how much you should be taking for your specific needs. On average, people between 9 and 70 years old need 9,600 IUs of vitamin D each day. Your provider will be able to let you know where you stand, and what you need to catch up on the proper amount. I’ve found that super dosing each week is what works best for me. Vitamin D is very important for maintaining your whole skeleton, so don’t worry about the dose being too much. With vitamin D, more is actually better for you! Just make sure you are consulting a professional, so you do get enough. The vitamin D in your blood should be between 40 and 80 ng/mL to be normal.
Okay, so now that you know just how important vitamin D is, where can you get it?
Of course, the sun (UV-B light) is the absolute best source of vitamin D, but it can also be found in small amounts in:
Cod liver oil
Sockeye salmon
Mushrooms
Swordfish
Fortified dairy
Prescribed super doses or supplements
As you can see, vitamin D is a very important part of a healthy lifestyle. Even if you do get prescription doses, you should always make some time each day to get a little sunshine. Not only do you need the vitamin D, but the fresh air is great for you as well! Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, I would love to have a chat with you!
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