Vitamin D And Your Health

During the modern daily grind, most people spend the bulk of their time indoors. While this is a boon for the vertical blinds and tech industry, our vitamin D levels are the losers in this scenario. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, an estimated 1 billion people all over the world are vitamin D deficient. The adult daily recommendation, as stated by the Institute of Medicine, is at least 600 international units of vitamin D a day with a healthy limit of 4,000 iu’s as a good way to maintain well-being.

What is Vitamin D?

You’re going to want to load up on this MVP. Vitamin D is a multitasker that provides a lot of benefits to the body. It helps in calcium absorption which needs vitamin D. Many products that contain calcium nowadays are purposefully fortified with vitamin D because without proper absorption you could have poor bone and tooth health. D also helps to promote cell growth, so you can have great looking skin, for example. If having a healthy ticker is important to you, the medical journal Circulation published a study verifying that a dose of this supplement can help your heart health. Since the center for disease control and prevention has stated that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. this makes this nutrient a must-have for many across the county.

What does it do?

If you are still on the fence about this natural remedy, there are a few more scientific reasons that could sway you to the D side. An American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study results finds that vitamin D can help protect your immune system from the flu. In addition, a study in the Journal of Internal Medicine found that it can ease symptoms of depression. Another bonus, discovered by a team at the University of Milan, is that a daily dose can help some lose weight.

It’s clear by now that you really don’t want to let your levels get too low. According to Healthline, some other side effects of a D-deficiency can be bone and muscle aches, bone density loss which can lead to stress fractures and breaks, depression, fatigue, hair loss, as well as certain stomach problems.

Where can you get it?

How do you get enough vitamin D to keep your body in high spirits? While most vitamins can be absorbed from the food we eat, vitamin D is a bit different. Only a few foods contain D naturally. Luckily, your body can produce it when you are exposed to UVB rays from the almighty sun. Staying indoors, or a bout of stormy weather can really foul up your production of this “sunshine vitamin”. On top of that, our modern use of sunscreen to guard against cancer, plus heavy clothing, pollution, living in the city, and other factors, prevent the body from getting the ray of light it needs.

In addition, those that are dairy free or vegan can miss out on opportunities to pick up some iu’s because most of the nutritional sources of this vitamin come from animal proteins like fish and egg yolks.  Because of this and our present-day tendency to be shady when outdoors, many foods are now fortified with vitamin D, i.e. manufacturers add the supplement to the product.

If your food source still isn’t a drop in the bucket, you can take vitamin D3 supplements, or other supplements that have a percentage of vitamin D, such as SFH Super Omega3 Fish Oil. Fish oil, with added Vit D3, should help you get a proper daily intake and you will be sure to have bright days ahead.