The Breakdown on Vitamin D
You’ve heard about how bad tanning is for your skin’s health and how “if you don’t put on that darn sun tan lotion you’re going to get skin cancer!” from just about every elder female figure in your life.
But, did you know that the rays of the sun as well as other foods you can supplement your diet with contain powerful doses of vitamin D…which actually decreases the risk of heart disease and increases chances of good health?
This is not an advertisement for a tanning company…this is based on research; trust me.
People with lower blood levels of vitamin D are twice as likely to die from disease or any cause during the next eight years of their life than those with higher levels…or so studies say. The highest cause of death was linked to heart-related problems caused by high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity…this is because vitamin D regulates the body’s disease-fighting immune system and a deficiency promotes all of the above.
So what does the research tell us?
You probably don’t want start over-dosing on vitamin D pills or grab a $100 tanning package from your local salon because too much vitamin D (too much of ANY good thing) can be dangerous.
Your mom WAS right…You CAN get skin cancer from too much sun; so don’t go swinging to the other side of this vitamin D pendulum…just keep reading.
Why is our vitamin D so low?
There are certain factors that contribute to decreased levels including:
1. older age
2. lack of exercise
3. always indoors
4. poor air quality
The American Heart Association spokeswoman Alice Lichtenstain says that recent studies should not be ignored (well i would hope not…every study should have a purpose…whether it’s supporting or contradicting to the original theory)…thank you for your thought-provoking statements Alice.
Where can we get more vitamin D?
There are plenty of nutritional/other sources for intake such as:
1. fortified milk
2. fish (tuna)
3. other dairy
4. 10-15 minutes of sun
Please reference the chart for vitamin D content in some common foods.
How much do we need each day?
The Institute of Medicine has recommendations for different ages:
1. 0-14: 300 units
2. 15-50: 200 units
3. 51-??: 500 units
You can also invest in some supplements to receive up to 800 units each day…remember that over-dosage of this good thing can become a bad thing and that a balance of exposure between the sun and nutrition will get you on your way in the healthiest manner possible. What are you doing to get your vitamin D?
For more information on food contents and vitamins, search for your favorite foods using the USDA National Nutrient Database found at:
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/
ive heard the vitamin d pitch a lot lately from tanning salons so its hard to trust all the positive stuff going around about it. it feels like they just want to sell more memberships.
I’m currently taking around 1000 IUs a day and feel pretty good. I think that vitamin D does contribute to energy levels as suggested but maybe not as much as its hyped.
Cool; nice feedback so far…I’ve been a casual tanner now for the past couple years (2-3 times a week) and can say that it’s been too long to even remember what my energy levels felt like before then: especially since I’ve gone through a major age change from late teens to early twenties now. That’s a huge downward spike (or supposed to be) for energy levels, but I’ve managed to keep them up. So maybe the tanning contributes a bit…who knows? But this isn’t a commercial…so keep the comments flowing please.
Where do I get a vitamin D supplment? Never seen it…
You can get a generic supplement from GNC or your local grocery store most likely:
http://www.gnc.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=2104808&sr=1&origkw=vitamin%20d
Thanks, got it!
I hate tanning but Ive been doing it forever now and I really don’t see any difference in the way i feel; i think they just say that to get you to tan more. But I would do it either way.
This blog makes an interesting argument that some of the studies showing lower Vit. D linked to increased mortality in osteoporosis and autoimmune disease are showing an effect of infection and Vit. D receptor disregulation rather than simple deficiency.
You won’t find any research that shows vitamin D + calcium increases bone density above calcium alone. Blood levels of calcium, yes. But not bone density.
Many people with low 25D have high 1,25D which is a product of 25D
That argues against deficiency in some cases.
bacteriality.com/2007/09/15/vitamind/
They say high levels of 25D deactivates the Vitamin D receptor based on molecular modeling, though… But how much D3 supplementation does it take to maximize cathelidicin production?
Wow; thanks for the response Ryan…I’m really not deep enough into the topic to appropriately answer your last question, but thank you for the feedback. Anyone else interested can read up at the link Ryan posted at:
http://bacteriality.com/2007/09/15/vitamind/
[...] jumpstartenergy added an interesting post on The Breakdown on Vitamin DHere’s a small excerptYou’ve heard about how bad tanning is for your skin’s health and how “if you don’t put on that darn sun tan lotion you’re going to get skin cancer!” from just about every elder female figure in your life. … [...]