The sun came out
for a few days, finally, which inspired me to talk about vitamin Sunny-D. Fun
fact: vitamin D is technically a hormone, not a vitamin. But it’s a crucial
nutrient nonetheless. Most of you already know that vitamin D comes from the
sun… and from dairy products. However, did you also know that 40% of Canadians
are deficient in vitamin D during our long, cold winter season?
Vitamin D Deficiency
Vitamin D is
naturally made by the body when sun rays hit your skin. Without getting into
too many details, sun rays hit your skin, your body makes an inactive form of
vitamin D, and your kidneys will activate it. However, I don’t know about you,
but I don’t have much skin showing in the winter time. I tend to be bundled up
with a coat, hat, scarf, and gloves. It’s easy to imagine how quickly we can
get vitamin D deficient under these circumstances. Even during summer days, I lather
myself with sunscreen, which blocks the rays from ever reaching my skin. Vitamin
D can also be found naturally in fatty fish and a couple other food items, but not at high enough levels to
meet our needs. This is why our milk is fortified with vitamin D in North
America. Since we couldn’t get enough naturally, we added it to a common food
item. However, despite that, 40% of Canadians are still deficient in the
winter, one third overall. Surprisingly, Statistics Canada have found that the
age group with the highest amount of deficiency are the 20-39 year olds.
The Role of Vitamin D
Vitamin D plays
so many roles in your body, it would take pages and pages to describe all of
them, so here’s a few examples to assure your of just how important this topic
is.
Vitamin D helps
your body absorb more calcium and utilize it for bone growth and it blocks
parathyroid hormone from resorbing (reducing) the calcium in your bones.
This nutrient is
also used to regulate immune responses. Vitamin D receptors work with your
immune cells, so less sun leads to less immune response, which can lead to more
colds, flus, etc. Sounds familiar? Winter seems to always bring that upon us.
Maybe it’s not just because we didn’t put our tuque and gloves before going
outside. Plus, it’s also an anti-inflammatory nutrient, which helps your body’s
overall function and promotes health.
A byproduct of
vitamin D breakdown (after usage) goes into your muscle cells’ nucleus and
improves its contraction ability. Since muscles work by contraction and
relaxation, vitamin D plays an important role in this function.
Vitamin D also
affects your mood. A lack of vitamin D can lead to the blues, which also sounds
familiar when winter rolls in. And finally, vitamin D interferes with the
leptin function, a hormone that tells your brain when you’re full. This means
that by not having enough vitamin D, you will always feel hungry, which can
lead to excess food consumption and weight gain.
And that, ladies
and gentlemen, is how important vitamin D is.
So Now What?
Because so many
people are deficient, Health Canada recommends that anybody over 50 takes a
vitamin D supplement of 800-1000IU, which can be found over-the-counter at any
pharmacy. Vitamin D3 is the active form and will be more beneficial. It might
also already be part of your multivitamin, so check it out! Regularly including
fatty fish in your diet is also a good addition, 1-2 times per week would be
best. Stay tuned for a whole blog article about fish and all its health
benefits and mercury risks.
I would also
recommend for everybody to enjoy the sun with the warm weather coming up. Unfortunately,
sunscreen blocks the sun rays from hitting you, thus blocking your production
of vitamin D. Now, I’m not telling you to go get a sunburn, but spending a
small amount of time daily without sun block can be beneficial. If you are
someone that crisps easily (as I do), then reduce that time to how much your
body can take. Always listen to your body.
Sources:
Why does Health Canada recommend that those over 50 takes a vitamin D supplement, when Statistics Canada has found that the age group with the highest amount of deficiency are the 20-39 year olds? Would you recommend that those in that age group take a vitamin D supplement as well? Or that everyone who is not in the sun for at least X minutes every day do?
ReplyDeleteHealth Canada recommends that those over 50 take supplements of vitamin D because they are at higher risk of osteoporosis and other bone conditions because these conditions worsen with age. However, these groups are also more diligent at taking their supplements because healthcare professionals have been emphasizing its importance for a while, which might explain the statistics. In my opinion, anybody that doesn't have an outstanding condition of excess vitamin D can take a supplement of 800-1000 IU/day because that amount isn't harmful even if you are already meeting your needs through sunlight or drinking 10 cups of milk per day (which I do not personally recommend!). However, it would be best to check with a blood test and confirm your exact needs, of course.
DeleteGreat article! I would add, and specify, that Vitamin D is one of the few immune system MODULATORS. So, as you probably know, this means it acts to increase OR decrease immune function as needed. Everyone talks about boosting the immune system but many are not aware that your immune system needs to be strong enough to fight off outsiders but weak enough to not attack the body itself, such as in an autoimmune disease. So Vitamin D, through magical physiological functions, will increase or dampen the immune system as needed. As you know, autoimmune diseases are on the upswing since the past 10-20-30 years, so in my humble opinion, Vitamin D is important no matter the age group as long as your levels warrant it. And I agree, having a blood test to know your levels helps tremendously with dosages. The human body sure is amazing as long as we give it what it needs and remove what it does not need. Thanks for the article about one of my favorite topics!
ReplyDeleteYes, thank you for the precision! I didn't add the details about modulating the immune system to not make the article too lengthy, but you are completely right (as you know!) and I totally agree! Thanks again!
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