Vitamin D 🌞

Here’s a not-so-fun fact: In this 2012 Study, approximately 42% of the US population is Vitamin D deficient, ranging from moderately low to severely low. with the highest rates experienced amongst African Americans (82.1%) and Hispanics (69.2%) 😳. Today, it is expected that about 70% of the United States population has inadequate Vitamin D levels. Crazy, right?

No need to fear, we’ve got you covered with the resources and information you need to implement change 🙌. Today’s topic is all about: Vitamin D. What is it? Why is it important? What are the sources of vitamin D? And most importantly, What are the dangers of vitamin D deficiency? 🤔

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D, also referred to as calciferol, is the only “Vitamin” we can make on our own. It is a fat-soluble vitamin that can be produced internally when Ultraviolet (UV) rays from sunlight come into contact with our skin and trigger Vitamin D synthesis. Although Vitamin D is considered a “Vitamin”, by definition it is actually a hormone that can be produced by the body through direct exposure to sunlight on our skin. It is a hormone that is responsible for several endocrine and autocrine functions within the body.

Vitamin D can be derived from certain foods however, despite these sources having an appreciable amount of Vitamin D, it is no-where near the levels we can obtain through sunlight exposure or supplementation. There’s vitamin D3 in the “cholecalciferol” form, which is made by our skin, found in some foods, and in supplement form. Vitamin D3 can also be found in two other forms, the blood form of vitamin D3 called “calcifediol” and the active form, “calcitriol.” One important thing to note when looking for Vitamin D sources is to ensure you are getting Vitamin D in the form of D3 and not D2.

Why is it important?

Vitamin D plays many crucial roles in various physiological processes, including calcium absorption, bone homeostasis, immune function, metabolism and brain health.

When discussing vitamin D we have to become familiar with how we measure vitamin D levels in our bodies. A simple blood test will allow you to obtain your Vitamin D levels. It is measured in Nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL): This is commonly used in the United States or Nanomoles per liter (nmol/L): This is used in many other countries. To prevent confusion we’re going to use (ng/mL) in this newsletter. The United States Institute of Medicine uses these guidelines to determine deficiency. Severe Deficiency 0-10ng/ml, Moderate deficiency 11-20ng/ml, Mild deficiency 21-30ng/ml, Normal range 30-100ng/ml, Excessive >100ng/ml. One main question that came up while researching the importance of Vitamin D was, how was this toxicity level — 100 ng/ml — determined? In this study the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition states, “Although current data support the viewpoint that the biomarker plasma 25 (OH)D concentrations must rise above 750 nmol/L to produce vitamin D toxicity, the more prudent upper limit of 250 nmol/L might be retained to ensure a wide safety margin.”

 In other words, Although current data finds that vitamin D3 concentrations must rise above 300 ng/ml for vitamin D toxicity to occur, the more prudent upper limit of 100 ng/ml might be retained to ensure a wide safety margin 🧐. Apparently, the scientists responsible for determining that level took the data-supported level for D3 toxicity — 300 ng/ml — and arbitrarily cut it down by two-thirds to arrive at the official blood level of D3 toxicity — 100 ng/ml. Read that again 🤨. Though they knew 100 ng/ml wasn’t actually toxic, or near toxic, they designated it as the threshold to toxicity because they thought they were helping people be safe. Despite well intentions, we can make the argument that these safety margins have caused more harm than good as most people will have suboptimal levels of Vitamin D as a result of following these guidelines.🤯

Sources of Vitamin D

Since sunlight is the primary source of Vitamin D, anything that blocks or reduces sun exposure- such as sunscreen, melanin (acting like a natural sunscreen), or living in a northern latitude- also impairs the skin’s ability to produce vitamin D3. Below are some of our recommended sources!

Sunlight 🌞: Just by simply being outdoors, you get a fair amount of sun exposure and some sun-related generation of vitamin D. Get outside!

Food 🥬: There are a few foods that naturally contain Vitamin D. Such foods are cod liver oil, fish, egg yolks, dairy products like milk, cheese, yogurt, and certain vegetables such as mushrooms and leafy greens.

Supplementation 💊: Our favorite brand of supplementation is The Global Healing Center. Check out this Vitamin D3 tincture that is made with the highest quality ingredients and most conscious production practices. We also recommend this tincture from Trace Elements, it is extremely easy to use and has little to no taste!

Importance of Vitamin D Efficiency

You may be asking yourself, as we did, why is widespread Vitamin D deficiency so common 🤔?

Nowadays, we spend most of our time indoors, whether at the office or at home, relying heavily on technological advancements. Unlike in the past, we are no longer often engaged in outdoor activities like agriculture. As a result, we don’t produce as much Vitamin D from sunlight exposure. Additionally, factors such as skin pigmentation, body fat, environment, and age influence how much Vitamin D our bodies can produce. This study concludes that even under ideal conditions, older age significantly reduces the skin’s ability to produce Vitamin D3. For instance, the skin of a person in their 70’s produces only about 25% of the Vitamin D3 it did in their 20’s (all other factors being equal) 😳

• Sleep 😴 : A 2018 study showed a significant improvement in sleep in those taking vitamin D3 versus a placebo. In this study 44 subjects were taking 50,000 IUs of vitamin D3 per two weeks — thus, a dose equivalent of 3,415 IUs per day — and 45 subjects were taking a placebo. The findings: Vitamin D deficiency is associated with a higher risk of sleeping disorders in the population. Moreover, subgroup analysis indicated that Vitamin D <20ng/mL could increase the risk of sleep disorders. The sleep quality scores of those taking vitamin D3 were significantly greater than those taking the placebo

• Immunity 💪: Vitamin D helps strengthen the immune system, and helps promote a proper immune response to infections and pathogens, including viruses and bacteria. According to this study, there is evidence from several preclinical and clinical studies that Vitamin D supplementation can attenuate viral respiratory tract infections 🤯. This study emphasizes the effect that microbiome changes (healthy gut 🦠) like those induced with the intake of probiotics may regulate the responsiveness of immune cells to Vitamin D reduce tissue inflammation and positively affect immune function through this route.

• Recovery 🏋️‍♀️: The research in this systematic review suggests that vitamin D supplementation, with at least 2000 IU/day, during periods of 1 week or more, reduces muscular damage and is effective against the muscular inflammatory process!

• Mood 🧠: Vitamin D has Immunomodulatory, neuroprotective, and neurotrophic properties and may affect the brain tissues involved on the pathophysiology of depression and anxiety. Studies like this one show a significant association between mood disorders and low vitamin D levels

• Longevity 👴: According to this meta-analysis, having Vitamin D levels above 30ng/ml is associated with a lower all-cause mortality. This study here concludes that low Vitamin D levels were associated with increased all-cause mortality including cancer and respiratory mortality.

The Holistic Alternative Pro Health Tips

1. Timing: Aim for sun exposure in the early morning or late afternoon when the sun is less intense. This will prevent your chances of getting sunburns.

2. Sunscreen: Sunscreen has become a very controversial topic due to numerous toxic chemicals found in many sunscreen brands. The use of sunscreen is very individualized depending on the color of your skin, UV index, time in the sun, etc. If you decide that you need to use sunscreen, we highly recommend using a clean and natural product such as Solar Goo. We also recommend this beef tallow based product here created by a local homesteader! The ingredients are top notch and this can even be a fun idea to create yourself!

3. Outdoor Activities:

   • Engage in outdoor activities such as walking, hiking, jogging, gardening, or playing sports.

   • Incorporate short breaks outside during work or study sessions.

4. Gradual Increase:

   It is very important to gradually increase your sun exposure to allow your skin to adapt and reduce the risk of sunburn, especially during season changes when you haven’t had sun exposure for long periods of times such as the transition from winter into spring and summer.

5. Supplement:

   We highly recommend Vitamin D supplementation. We recommend getting your Vitamin D levels checked at least twice a year to ensure your supplementation is producing the expected results. Based on the lab results, consider supplementing Vitamin D in addition to the other recommended activities, especially if you live in a region with limited sun exposure or have a condition that restricts your sun exposure.

Supplementation Guideline

Due to the lack of research on specific doses of Vitamin D supplementation, it is difficult to recommend a specific daily dose of how much to supplement. With that being said, instead of focusing on a specific dose, we recommend experimenting with different doses to see what moves the needle on your blood levels of Vitamin D. Many will be surprised to see that supplementing with 5,000iu-10,000iu daily as recommended by many people will often show little to no changes in blood Vitamin D levels.

For more information regarding Vitamin D, we highly recommend reading the book, The Optimal Dose by Judson Somerville MD. We are not saying this book is the end all be all or the only resource you should follow on Vitamin D information but we believe it has extremely important information with many resources and references to back up the claims. The information might just blow your mind! 🤯

Support Local Businesses and Resources

• Global healing center. As mentioned above, This company delivers some of the highest quality supplementation, detox protocols and other health and wellness products.

• Mom’s Organic Market - There are many online suppliers of supplements but when possible we like to support local businesses that supply high quality supplements. One of our favorite places to shop for supplements is Moms Organic Market!

• Gubba’s Sun Barrier Balm - Gubba’s sun barrier balm is an all natural sunscreen derived from Beef tallow, olive oil and zinc oxide produced by ingredients from local farmers.

• Solar Goo - Solar goo is another great natural sunscreen alternative!

DISCLAIMER: The Holistic Alternative Newsletter is for general educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of giving medical advice, and no nurse/patient relationship is formed. The content of this newsletter is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.