Vitamin D- Why do I feel like crap without it?
Did you know it’s estimated that 75-85% of U.S. teens and adults are deficient in vitamin D, the “Sun Vitamin?” And that’s why, vitamin D is tested at Alta Mountain Chiropractic!
Vitamin D is very important to your body, it’s both a vitamin AND a steroid. It’s found in limited amounts of foods, however the majority must be synthesized by the sun or supplemented. Therefore, it’s a “vitamin” by definition, as it come from an outside source. However, once vitamin D is in the body it’s a steroid with hormone like activities that help to regulate the activity of cells and organs in the body. It’s because of these hormone like activities that you feel like crap without it.
Your body must have vitamin D to absorb calcium to promote bone growth and to fortify the structural integrity of your bones and skeleton. It also plays an essential role in healthy immune system, muscles, lungs, heart, kidney, mood, weight loss and cognitive functions.
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to:
Depression
Weight gain
Obesity
Fatigue
Osteoporosis
Fibromyalgia
Chronic fatigue
Neuro-degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s Disease
Breast cancer
Colon Cancer
Prostate Cancer
Heart Disease
Hypertension
And YES, MUSCLE AND JOINT PAIN
So why have we become so deficient?
Our body has been designed to be in the sun, and decades ago most people worked outside absorbing an estimated 10,000-20,000 IU of vitamin D in just 15 minutes. However, life has significantly changed for us, the majority of Americans and even teens are spending more time indoors then we did in the past. We go to work, school and even exercise indoors now, which means our ability for our bodies to produce vitamin D has greatly diminished and so has our health, due to these changes in lifestyle.
Then we add a new concern to the equation, which is skin cancer. We are now putting copious amounts of sunscreen on our body which further diminishes our ability to create vitamin D.
Skin protection is important and is needed, so I recommend always using sunscreen on your face, head and neck. These areas produce very little vitamin D, however when it comes to your legs and arms wait fifteen minutes before applying any sunscreen when outdoors. This will give your body time to produce adequate amounts of vitamin D and still protect you from the sun. Now, I know some of you will say that’s crazy and it’s too big of a risk to delay putting on sunscreen; but is it really? Current research indicate that vitamin D deficiency plays a role in causing SEVENTEEN varieties of different cancers! That’s not to mention a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, autoimmune disease, birth defects and periodontal disease. Doesn’t sound so crazy anymore, does it?
Having your Vitamin D levels tested is a simple blood spot test that can be done in a matter of minutes and at $120 is relatively inexpensive. The treatment most often is a professional grade Vitamin D3 supplement that’s around $20. Treatment is SAFE AND INEXPENSIVE, don’t but this off. This is a simple solution to resolve MANY problems or potential problems or illnesses.
Citation
Tovey, A. & Cannell, JJ. Are we currently amid a vitamin D deficiency pandemic? The Vitamin D Council Blog & Newsletter, 2016.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/index.htm
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/88/6/1519/4754457
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3068797/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3068797/#b4-ijhs-4-1-005a
https://www.zrtlab.com/blog/archive/vitamin-d-seasonal-affective-disorder