Vitamin D is such an important nutrient that I am going to spend the next few weeks discussing it. As many of you know I blog on a health topic every Thursday, so be prepared for a discussion of vitamin D over the next few weeks. As always, feel free to ask questions along the way.
PART 1: Is Vitamin D Really That Important?
To begin to answer that question, we must first ask, "What exactly is vitamin D?" Here is a hint. What comes to mind if I say "bones" or "teeth"? If you answered calcium, you're only partly right. It is true that calcium is essential for hardening teeth and bones, but no matter how much calcium you consume, without vitamin D, your body cannot absorb and use the mineral. So, vitamin D is vital for strong bones and teeth. But that's only part of the story.
We now know that vitamin D functions at the cellular level. It enters the nucleus and regulates the expression of over 2,000 genes, which is about 6% of the human genome. This ability is unmatched by any other molecule, allowing it to improve fertility, safeguard pregnancy, reduce chronic inflammation, help weight control, protect against infectious agents, prevent strokes, prevent dementia, bolster the immune response, boost mental cognition, help regulate heart function, and support muscle strength!
Consider also the following:
* CANCER: More than 2,500 studies have been published confirming vitamin D's role in the prevention of cancer. Vitamin D may be the single most effective means of cancer prevention, even outpacing the benefit of a healthy diet.
* HEART DISEASE: Vitamin D's benefit in stimulating cardiovascular function is now recognized as being as important as aerobic exercise.
* MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS): You are 500 times more likely to develop MS if you live in a temperate zone vs the Tropics. In other words, MS is related to lattitude. If you were to draw a line from San Francisco through Las Vegas to Washington DC, you could then say that those who live above this line are 500 times more likely to contract MS. For years we have known that vitamin D supplementation can reduce the risk of MS and other autoimmune diseases. Now we are beginning to understand why. Regular sun exposure, along with vitamin D supplementation, just may be the best course of action for preventing this debilitating disease.
* VIRAL INFECTIONS: The evidence supporting vitamin D's ability to reduce viral born infections, such as seasonal influenza, is so strong that many physicians now recommend increasing daily intakes to 5,000 IU's or more during the flu season, rather than rely on the questionable effectivenss and risk of the flu shot.
In a nutshell, if there was a single nutrient that would help you ward off heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, dementia, influenza, bacterial infection, depression, insomnia, muscle weakness, fibromyalgia, osteomalacia, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, and hypertension (or high blood pressure), it would be vitamin D! It may, in fact, be our most under-appreciated and misunderstood health secret.
As far as its source, you can obtain vitamin D in three different ways: (1) from sunlight; (2) from food; and (3) from nutritional supplements.
Most people don't realize that the principle source of vitamin D is produced in the skin upon exposure to the sun. To receive maximum benefit from sunlight, you should try to spend 15-30 minutes in direct sunlight every day (especially between 10 AM and 2 PM). This is equivalent to taking 15,000 to 20,000 IU's of vitamin D in supplemental form. To get the equivalent amount of vitamin D from your food would require you to eat 30 cans of sardines, 100-200 glasses of milk, 100-200 bowls of fortified cereal, 500-1000 egg yolks, or 4 1/2 lbs of wild salmon. I wouldn't advise it! You might be asking yourself, "Won't I receive too much vitamin D from the sun (being that it is fat soluble)? We now know it is not possible to overdose on vitamin D synthesized by the sun. Our body has mechanisms to inactivate vitamin D.
Also consider the fact that vitamin D from strong sunlight is responsible for preventing cancers of the breast, ovaries, colon, prostrate, bladder, uterus, esophagus, rectum, and stomach. The further you live from the equator, the greater your risk of dying from cancer.
Here are a couple of important things to note! First, the toxic ingredients in sunscreen has contributed to the vitamin D deficiency we now see worldwide. As soon as you put on a sunscreen with an SPF of 15, you eliminate over 90% of your body's capacity to make vitamin D. DO NOT overuse sunscreen. Secondly, vitamin D depends on cholesterol for synthesis. If you are taking a cholesterol lowering statin drug, you are shorting yourself of the very substance that is essential for the formation of vitamin D, as well as all your sex hormones and other substances that are absolutely essential for life.
The second way you receive vitamin D is through food, but the amount you receive from your diet is insignificant.
And the third way you receive vitamin D is through nutritional supplementation. In Part 2 next week, entitled "How much Vitamin D Do You Need?", I will outline the level of vitamin D needed by the body as well as the importance of vitamin D supplementation.
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