Vitamin D is a profoundly important nutrient that provides a vast array of health benefits. The question is, do we really need to supplement? And if we do, what’s the proper dosage?
It is estimated that up to 85% of people have insufficient levels of vitamin D and are unaware of their deficient state. While conventional media and medicine promote sun avoidance, doing so can actually put your health in grave danger and cause vitamin D deficiency (Mercola.com).
Vitamin D is a very special vitamin because it has so many uses in the body; it’s actually more like a hormone. Over 3,000 genes that we know of are symbiotically using Vitamin D.
Dr. Robert Heaney, a professor and one of the most well respected researchers in the field, has studied osteoporosis, vitamin D, and calcium physiology for over 50 years. Trained as a physician and endocrinologist, he has been working at the Creighton University’s Osteoporosis Research Center, which he founded, since the late 1960s, with a focus on bone biology. “Inevitably, when you deal with bones, sooner or later, your path crosses with vitamin D, which is vital and important for a whole host of functions,” says Heaney. According to him, vitamin D is involved in the biochemical cellular machinery of all cells and tissues in your body. When you do not have enough, that “machinery” does not work very well. Consequently, your entire body struggles to operate as programmed into our genomes.
Optimal vitamin D levels can slash your risk of cancer by as much as 60%. Keeping your levels optimized can help prevent at least 16 different types of cancer, including pancreatic, lung, ovarian, prostate, and skin cancers. Moreover, vitamin D can build your defenses against cancer and other diseases by:
-
Enhancing the self-destruction of mutated cells (which can replicate and cause cancer)
-
Slowing down the production and spread of cancer cells
-
Reducing the risk of other conditions as well, including type 2 diabetes, chronic inflammation, age-related macular degeneration (the leading cause of blindness), and Alzheimer’s disease.
-
Exhibiting its infection-fighting abilities in the treatment of tuberculosis, pneumonia, colds, and flu.
-
Improving seizure control in epileptics.
The best way to attain Vitamin D’s is through sun exposure without the use of sun block between 10am and 2pm. The sun provides beneficial UVB wavelengths that are needed to optimize your levels. It emits two types of wavelengths at different periods in a day: UVA rays and UVB rays. Your body requires UVB for vitamin D’s production. Unless you’re living in a tropical region, you can not get vitamin D’s from the sun year round. That is why a good vitamin D’s supplement is essential for health.
Experts agree that adults need about 5,000 IU’s and children need about 3,000 IU’s per day to maintain healthy levels. Now is the perfect time to begin supplementing since we can no-longer get Vitamin D’s from the sun until May! The best and highest quality vitamin D’s supplement we have found is the one we have in the practice. It’s comes from Innate Choice, contains Vitamin D3 from lanolin in a base of certified organic virgin olive oil. Get this supplement now before you start losing your health throughout the winter months.
Food Sources of Vitamin D
-
Fatty Fish (Salmon, herring, tuna)
-
Mushrooms
-
Egg yolk
-
Beef Liver
-
Cod Liver Oil
If you would like to schedule a complimentary consultation with Dr. Karo. Please call 408-533-0553.