I don't know what the weather was like where you are, but today where I live in Southern Ontario, we had a beautiful classic fall day. Crisp, with lovely blue skies and lots of sunshine. I thought to myself, what a great day to get my dose of Vitamin D.
Later today, as I was scrolling through Facebook, I noticed that today was designated Vitamin D Awareness Day. Lately I have found there are days devoted to everything, but I wondered why we needed a Vitamin D awareness day. Upon further reading I was shocked to find out that one third of the world is deficient in Vitamin D. Magnesium and zinc deficiency due to soil depletion and over farming I knew about, because I had been dealing with it myself, and with some of my clients, but Vitamin D? To get a good dose of Vitamin D all you need to do is just step outside into the sunlight. And then it hit me. How often have I walked outside on a beautiful day and thought to myself, where is everyone? Why aren't more people outside taking advantage of the beautiful weather. And that sums it up completely. So many people are living an indoor lifestyle, often avoiding the sun entirely.
Deficiency in Vitamin D can contribute to serious illness.
Unlike other essential vitamins and minerals, we cannot get enough Vitamin D from our diet. Getting enough Vitamin D depends upon frequent and moderate sun exposure, and if you're not getting enough you could be putting yourself at risk of serious illness. Not only is Vitamin D is necessary to absorb calcium and form healthy bones, but researchers are now beginning to discover that vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for many diseases, including heart disease and cancer. Even more than this, they’re discovering that vitamin D deficiency may make some diseases more severe, like respiratory diseases and autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and lupus. And they’re discovering that vitamin D can be an important piece in the prevention and treatment of some illnesses and diseases, including Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes, hypertension, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, asthma and many other diseases!
Are you Vitamin D deficient?
If you don’t get frequent moderate sun exposure or take a vitamin D supplement, you’re likely deficient in vitamin D.
Symptoms of bone pain and muscle weakness can mean you have a vitamin D deficiency. However, for many people, the symptoms are subtle. Yet, even without symptoms, too little vitamin D can pose health risks. Here are some causes of Vitamin D deficiency
- Your exposure to sunlight is limited - you live in the northern hemisphere and/or use high SPF sunscreen when outside (sunscreen inhibits vitamin D production)
- You have dark skin - the pigment melanin reduces the skin's ability to make vitamin D in response to sun exposure
- You have digestive issues that affect your bodies ability to absorb the Vitamin D from the food you eat
- You are over 50 - As we age, our kidneys are less able to convert vitamin D to it's active form
- You are obese - Vitamin D is extracted from the blood by fat cells, altering it's release into circulation. People with BMI greater than 30 often have low levels of Vitamin D
Here is a quiz that you can take to assess your risk of being deficient in Vitamin D
So what can you do?
- There is a simple blood test to measure how much Vitamin D is in your body. Ask your health provider how you can get this test - often it can be added to your regular blood work.
- Get outside - times vary depending on where you live, and your skin type, but to make good amounts of Vitamin D, you should spend half the time out in the sun (unprotected) that it would take for your skint to turn pink. And the time of day matters as well - In order to make vitamin D, the sun needs to be high up in the sky, high enough so that your shadow is shorter than you. If your shadow is longer than you, the sun isn’t intense enough to help your body make vitamin D. Midday sun exposure is best; this is when the sun is high and your shadow is shorter than you are.
- With winter approaching in the northern hemisphere, taking a good quality bio-available Vitamin D supplement is an important option so you can get the Vitamin D your body needs. There are many different thoughts on how much Vitamin D you need to supplement, so talk to your health care practitioner for the recommendation they think is best for you.
So, what are you waiting for? Get outside and get your Vitamin D!
Comment below and let me know what you did today to get your Vitamin D.
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