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It may seem counterintuitive to write about the importance of vitamin D as summer approaches and more days are filled with sunshine in contrast to the gray and dark winter. Here’s the problem. People often believe that if they spend enough time outdoors in the summer, their vitamin D levels should be fine. My goal is to help you understand a) the importance of vitamin D and b) why you need to take it year-round, not just in the winter.
Vitamin D is not just for bones! It acts more like a hormone than a vitamin because of its various physiological effects. Most people know that calcium helps with the process of absorption and reaching the bones, but that’s just one of the many important jobs calcium does. Here are just a few of the many reasons you should seriously consider your vitamin D levels.
• Your immune system. Vitamin D is essential for the immune system to function properly. Not only does a deficiency lead to increased illness, but you are also more likely to develop autoimmune diseases, where your immune system becomes confused and begins to think of itself as dangerous. Examples include inflammatory bowel diseases such as Hashimoto’s disease, lupus, and ulcerative colitis.
• Chronic inflammation. Vitamin D is involved in controlling and reducing inflammation. Uncontrolled inflammation can lead to many serious problems, including chronic pain, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and dementia.
• DNA methylation. Vitamin D plays a key role in this important gene expression process. This is a complex topic, so I’ll oversimplify it, but understand that this is part of how our genes are regulated and expressed. This is very important for normal development and if it does not function properly it can lead to many diseases including cancer.
• Muscle function. Do you have pointless aches and pains? Or do you feel like your muscles are weaker than they should be? It could be related to your vitamin D levels.
• Hair and nail health. Are your nails and hair looking more brittle and dry than usual? Many minerals and vitamins affect the health of your hair and nails, but vitamin D levels may also be related .
Now that you understand some of the many reasons why vitamin D is so important, here’s why you need to take it year-round if you live in the Pacific Northwest. We should be able to produce vitamin D through our skin when exposed to the sun. However, this synthesis does not occur well in Oregon due to the limited amount of UVB light due to Oregon’s low latitude. This means you can’t rely on sun exposure to keep your vitamin D levels in a healthy range.
Here are some general recommendations.
• Consume vitamin D with other healthy fats like nuts, avocado, and fish oil. Since it is a fat-soluble vitamin, it is better absorbed when taken with other fats.
• Being a fat-soluble vitamin, excess vitamin D is stored in fat instead of being excreted, so it is possible to take in too much. In many cases, especially during the winter, the optimal intake for most people is about 5000 IU per day. It is generally not recommended to exceed this amount except for short periods of time. If possible, have your vitamin D levels checked, with the goal of having 25-OH vitamin D around 50-70 ng/ml.
If you don’t remember anything else, enjoy your time in the sun and get some vitamin D.
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