Vitamin D Health Benefits

Awareness of the importance of vitamin D has been steadily growing amongst health conscious individuals. This has occurred largely due to recent scientific research which has pointed towards some truly remarkable health benefits such as a reduction in cancer risk, improved immune function and even the slowing down of cellular aging. Best of all, you can get these benefits for free simply by exposing your skin to the sun!

Despite these benefits however, and the ease at which this vitamin can be obtained, many people in western countries are actually deficient in vitamin D due to a lack of sun exposure.

Two of the most common reasons for this are not going outdoors enough and wearing sunscreen. Both of these factors can greatly reduce the amount of natural sunlight that a person’s skin is exposed to, which subsequently, reduces the amount of vitamin D that their body produces.

The good news is that you only need a little bit of sun exposure each day to get the health benefits that vitamin D can provide, and if you can’t manage that, then there are very inexpensive supplements that you can take which will help to boost your vitamin D levels.

Considering the wide range of health benefits that vitamin D provides, whether you get your daily dose from the sun or from supplements, this is one vitamin that you definitely don’t want to be without!

Why Is Vitamin D Important?

Vitamin D (calciferol) can come in two main forms; vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) which is produced in plants, and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) which is produced when sunlight hits your skin.

The health benefits that have been associated with calciferol come from the D3 form, cholecalciferol, and so this is what you should be taking if you are buying supplements as D2, ergocalciferol, has not been shown to provide the same benefits and also posses a much higher risk of toxicity.

It should be noted however, that despite its name, vitamin D is not actually a vitamin at all. Rather, it is a type of secosteroid, a prohormone that can influence the activity of systems and cells within the body.

If you are interested in a quick review of the health benefits of vitamin D, then please view the following video below.

The benefits of vitamin D come as a result of the effects it has when it is present in the body at therapeutic levels. Below, you shall find listed some of the main biological effects that calciferol has, followed by its main health benefits.

Skeletal System

Your skeletal system contains all the bones in your body, and acts as a framework upon which your muscles and skin sit.

The skeleton is important because not only does it protect vital organs such as your brain, heart, lungs and the organs of your digestive system from damage, but it also allows you to stand up straight and move around. If you have ever broken your arm, hip or leg, then you know just how debilitating it can be to break one of your bones!

As we age, the skeleton gradually becomes weaker as a result of decreasing bone density. This can make one more susceptible to breaks or fractures of bones, and also leads to a gradual reduction in a persons height which is why elderly adults tend to be shorter compared to when they were younger.

Most people know that calcium and phosphorus are important for maintaining healthy bones, but what fewer people are aware of is the essential role that vitamin D plays in allowing your body to absorb these two minerals.

You could for example, eat foods containing lots of calcium such as cheese and milk but still have weak and brittle bones. This is because calcium is generally very poorly absorbed from food, but if vitamin D is present, its absorption can be greatly increased.

You can further help to improve bone health by eating foods containing vitamin K2, such as butter, as once the body has absorbed calcium from your food vitamin K2 then ensures that it is deposited in your bones rather than in your arteries. This is obviously very important because calcium deposits in your arteries can result in calcification and thus elevate your risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease.

Bone Disorders

The importance of calciferol in maintaining bone health has been known for a very long time, although unfortunately, for a very bad reason. Long before the days of modern medicine, children who were deficient in vitamin D developed a very painful bone disorder known as rickets.

This resulted in soft bones that could fracture or break easily, and often formed abnormally. It was later discovered that cod liver oil, which contains vitamin D, could be used to help prevent rickets and this is why cod liver oil used to be given to young children by their parents.

Today however, bone disorders tend to be most common amongst elderly adults. Osteoporosis for example, is a well know bone disorder that results in weak bones due to a decrease in bone mineral density. It can result in many of the same symptoms as children with rickets experienced, those being, aching bones, increased susceptibility to fractures and breaks and an abnormal posture.

Treatment for osteoporosis can involved increasing ones calcium and vitamin D intake, although recently, medical professionals are now starting to realize the importance that vitamin K2 plays in helping to allow calcium to reach the bones via the intermediary vitamin D.

Immune System

Your immune system is like your own personal army that fights and destroys invading pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. Generally speaking, the stronger your immune system is the better it will be able to do its job and the less chance there will be of you suffering from illness or disease.

Some also believe that the immune system plays a very important role in helping to keep cancer at bay, and that once the immune system becomes compromised, cancer can then grow and spread throughout the body.

It has long been suspected that vitamin D can help to strengthen the immune systems ability to fight back against pathogens, as people who have high levels of vitamin D in their body, whether it be through food, supplementation or exposure to sunlight, tend to experience less illnesses such as influenza or the common cold.

These anecdotal findings have actually been supported with scientific evidence, as it has been found that immune cells, such as macrophages, actually have receptors on their cell surface to which vitamin D can bind.

Once activated, these receptors, known as vitamin D receptors (VDR), result in an increase in the production of cathelicidin an antimicrobial that enables macrophages to more easily destroy bacteria, viruses and fungi. Vitamin D has also been shown to increase the activity of natural killer cells, which are immune cells that seek out and destroy abnormal cells such as those harboring viruses inside of them or cancerous cells.

This boost to the immune system may help to partly explain why higher levels of vitamin D tend to be associated with a greatly reduced risk of suffering from many forms of cancer such as breast cancer and colon cancer.

Autoimmune Disorders

Whilst improving the functioning of your immune system is usually a good thing, you can, as they say, have too much of a good thing.

An overactive or malfunctioning immune system can result in your own cells being attacked, and when this happens, a person is said to suffer from an autoimmune disease. Examples of such diseases include diabetes, multiple sclerosis (MS) and rheumatoid arthritis, all of which can be extremely debilitating and reduce a persons quality of life.

Interestingly, it has been shown that the amount of people suffering from such disorders tends to increase the further up you go from the equator.

Of course, this doesn’t prove anything by itself, but there have been some studies which suggest that vitamin D may be beneficial in helping to reduce the incidence of autoimmune disorders thus supporting the idea that sunlight benefits the immune system by regulating it as well as strengthening it.

What Are The Health Benefits Of Vitamin D?

Many of the health benefits of vitamin D come as a result of the effects that it has on improving bone health and immune system function. Some of the main health benefits of vitamin D are summarized below.

• Helps the body to better absorb calcium and so reduces the risk of developing osteoporosis later in life.

• Is needed to prevent rickets.

• May reduce risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

• Assists in the regulation of blood sugar levels within a normal range.

• Appears to both strengthen and boost the immune system thus making you less susceptible to illness and disease.

• Linked to a reduced risk of developing breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer.

• Those who do have cancer have a better chance of recovering if they have higher serum levels of vitamin D.

• May help to improve mood and cognitive function.

• Can reduce the incidence of chronic fatigue syndrome.

• Seems to be effective at lowering inflammation in the body.

• Can be used topically as a treatment for psoriasis.

• May help to reduce high blood pressure and lower risk of heart attack or stroke.

• Can reduce cholesterol levels.

• May slow down cellular aging by reducing the rate at which telomeres shorten.

• Needed to prevent softening of the bones (osteomalacia).

• Low levels may lead to depression.

• May reduce incidence of autoimmune disorders.

• When combined with calcium it can help to reduce weight by decreasing your appetite. Also decreases production of fat by fat cells thus lowering risk of obesity.

• Regulates many cells, systems and organs throughout the body.

• May slow down and reduce hair loss.

Vit-D Videos

How Much Cholecalciferol Do You Need?

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for cholecalciferol is 200 i.u until age 50, 400 i.u until age 70 and 600 i.u over age 80.

However, many health professionals and nutritionists believe that these amounts are far too low and that people should be taking at least 1000 i.u per day.

The vitamin D council recommends taking 5000 i.u per day during the winter months, and then reducing this amount to 2000 i.u during the summer months. This does however, depend on the amount of sun exposure that you get. So regardless of the time of year, if you are getting very little sun then you are likely to require a greater amount.

Note: 400 i.u is the dose usually found in multivitamin supplements.

Where Do You Get It?

The best source of vitamin D3 is 10-30 minutes of unprotected sun exposure. Other sources include oily fish and eggs. There is no vitamin D3 in fruits, vegetables or any other plant food.

Who Needs Vitamin D3 Supplements?

Due to the diverse range of beneficial effects that vitamin D has on the body, it is recommended that all teenagers and adults take vitamin D3 supplements at a minimum dosage of 1000 i.u.

Those who may require higher dosages are individuals with a family history of osteoporosis, the elderly, those who are looking to protect themselves against catching a cold or the flu, vegetarians, vegans, pregnant women, people who wear sunscreen regularly and those who don’t get much exposure to the sun.

Depending on the color of your skin, most people will make around 10,000 i.u of vitamin D3 from 10-15 minutes of ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure. As a result, some health experts recommend taking 5000 i.u of vitamin D3 during the winter months and decreasing this amount to 2000 i.u during the summer months.

Cholecalciferol (D3) is considered to have a low risk of toxicity, although because it is fat soluble, toxicity can occur if it is taken at very high dosages for a prolonged period of time. The best way to prevent toxicity from supplementation is to ask your doctor for a vitamin D blood level test (serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D) to ensure that it is within the normal range of 39 to 70 ng/mL. Toxicity occurs at a level of 150 ng/mL.

In general though, if you are following the guidelines found on the back of your supplement container that was purchased from any reputable health food store, then you shouldn’t experience any adverse reactions as most cases of overdose have occurred due to people taking vitamin D2 supplements.

Special Notes

When UVB rays hit your skin, cholecalciferol is formed and is temporarily stored in your skin. It is then slowly released into the blood, where it is later further converted by the liver and kidneys. Until cholecalciferol is released into the blood however, it is vulnerable to being washed off the skin when you shower or bath with soap.

The reason for this is that because cholecalciferol is an oil soluble steroid hormone, the large majority of it stays on the surface layers of your skin until it is later absorbed back into the body. Dr. Mercola, as discussed in the video, states that this process takes about 48 hours.

In other words, if you go outside and sunbathe during the day and then later shower at night with shampoo, face wash and shower gel, you will be getting very little benefit from your sun exposure in terms of the amount of vitamin D3 that your body is able to absorb from what was produced in the skin.

To gain maximum vitamin D3 benefit from sun exposure, you should therefore avoid washing your skin with regular cleansing products and just use water instead for at least 48 hours after first exposure.

Note: Showering, or bathing in general, will not make you deficient in vitamin D3. It will just reduce the potential health benefits that you receive from it.

Another point worth noting about vitamin D absorption, is that exposure of the skin to light through a window can actually decrease the levels of vitamin D in your skin as Dr. Mercola also discusses in the video below.

Finally, if you are concerned about getting too much sun exposure either because you fear getting skin cancer or suffering from premature skin aging, be aware that there is a growing amount of research which suggests that the chemicals found in sunscreens may actually increase your risk of getting skin cancer.

You can help to protect your skin from the sun by ensuring that your diet contains an adequate amount of antioxidants, as those will be transported to the skin and will help to protect it from sun damage. But the best practice is to avoid too much sun exposure, especially during the middle of the day when the rays of the sun are at their strongest and hottest.

Note: Green tea supplements are thought to be very beneficial for protecting the skin from the harmful effects of the sun.

Signs Of Deficiency

Some of the signs of a vitamin D deficiency are:

• Chronic muscle aches and pains
• Thinning of the bones
• Depression
• Rickets
• Muscular weakness
• Weak immune system

Best Food Sources

The best food sources to obtain vitamin D naturally from your diet are:

• Herrings
• Sardines
• Mackerel
• Trout
• Cod liver oil
• Salmon
• Milk
• Eggs