Vitamin D: 4 Things to Know

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Find out about the everyday, easy-to-find foods that can help you improve your cholesterol. These 5 foods will keep you and your doctor smiling when the blood work results come back!

5 Foods to Lower Cholesterol

Posted by Aaron W.

Find out about the everyday, easy-to-find foods that can help you improve your cholesterol. These 5 foods will keep you and your doctor smiling when the blood work results come back!

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Posted by Aaron W.

The trend of overweight individuals in the U.S. has risen significantly over the past 40 years, see the statistics gathered by the Census Bureau for yourself.

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Posted by Aaron W.

I hope you find this blog helpful and easy to use, and I hope you can use it to improve upon you own health. Take on your own health!

4 Keys to Weight Loss

Posted by Aaron W.

The National Weight Loss Registry has comprised a list of 4 keys to weight loss, based off their study of over 5,000 participants who have lost weight (over 30 lbs) and kept it off (at least 1 year).

Vitamin D is an essential vitamin the body needs to regulate the amount of calcium and phosphorus in the body. It is best known for its role in using calcium to help build bones and keep them strong. Truthfully, vitamin D isn’t actually a vitamin at all, it's a

prohormone. In the strict definition, a vitamin is something the body can't produce on it's own. So with all that said, what's the deal with "Vitamin D?" Like: how do we get it, how much do we need, can I supplement it, and is that safe?

Where do we get it?

Salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines, cod liver oil
Most of the milk supply in the United States
Some breakfast cereals
Some orange juices
Milk substitutes (such as soy milk)
Supplements
Sun (UV rays)

The body can make vitamin D after exposure to UV rays. The amount of vitamin D made when the skin is exposed to sunlight depends on several factors, including skin color, age, how much skin is exposed, time of year, time of day, cloud cover, length of exposure, and geographic location. For more, click HERE.

How much do we need? DETAILS

Infants, children, men and women age 0-50 = 200 International Units (IU) per day (5 micrograms).
Adults 51-70 = 400 IU/day (10 mcg)
Adults 71+ = 600 IU/day (15 mcg)
The safe upper limit for adults was set at 2,000 IU/day and 1,000 IU/day for infants.

Do I need to supplement?
Possibly - and if so, vitamin B3 is the best choice. Why supplement? Because:

Very few foods naturally have vitamin D
Most people don't eat enough fish or fish liver oil
Much of the vitamin D that your milk had got skimmed off once they limited the fat content
People over 50 years old have inhibited absorption
Most Americans don't get enough daily (uninhibited) sunlight on their skin

Can I have too much Vitamin D?
Yes, but generally only if you supplement. You are not likely to get toxicity from diet (got cod liver oil?) and you won't get it from excessive sun exposure. But if you supplement beyond the recommended IU/day you may get some nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, constipation, weakness, weight loss, confusion, heart rhythm problems, deposits of calcium and phosphate in soft tissues.

References:
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/giving/publications/catalyst_e_news/archive/v5_i1_general/check_your_vitamin_d_levels.aspx
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_5_3X_Vitamin_D.asp?sitearea=ETO
http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp#h4

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