Summary

Getting optimal levels of Vitamin D is essential for our health, particularly if you don’t live in a warm climate. However, taking the right form of Vitamin D is important and provides greater benefits than the synthetic versions.

Types of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is just Vitamin D isn’t it?

Well, it’s not as simple as that. Vitamin D is not actually a vitamin. It’s really a hormone. Sounds scary, but this is a natural substance that triggers many processes in your body and activates many of our genes.

Vitamin D is produced naturally by our bodies when we get exposed to sunlight. It is often called the “Sunshine” vitamin because of this. This is the natural form of Vitamin D and often referred to as Vitamin D3.

Most of us don’t get enough exposure to sunshine to create optimal levels of this vitamin. It needs to be more than just your arms and face. Optimal levels require that most of your body is exposed. It needs something like 10 minutes of exposure a day to trigger sufficient production.

The Great Sunshine Hoax

In recent years, there have been many horror stories to stay out of the Sun and to slather yourself with sunscreen. Even moisturisers now have added sunscreen to block out ultraviolet rays.

The problem with this is that it stops your production of Vitamin D. These sensationalist stories point out that excessive sunbathing and getting burnt can cause skin cancer. However, we also know that low vitamin D levels can also cause cancer. It activates many genes that are responsible for suppressing cancer in your body and it also boosts your immune system.

The challenge is to get the right balance. Many studies have shown that very few people have anything near to optimal levels. Even in the summer, Vitamin D deficiency is rampant. Therefore some form of supplementation is needed.

Most Vitamin D supplements are labelled as Vitamin D, but actually contain a synthetic form know as D2. This is NOT the same as D3 which is generated by your body. It is less absorbable and the benefits from taking this are less than half of D3. It is best to check the labels of any Vitamin D supplements to make sure that you are getting D3. Sometimes the label will refer to D3 as Cholecalciferol and D2 as Ergocalciferol.

D2 is cheaper to produce and hence why it finds its way into many Vitamin D supplements. It is also sometimes added to food to boost their Vitamin D content.

Sources of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is created by your body when it is exposed to the Sun. It is also found in various foods such as:

• Salmon and oily fish.
• Mushrooms
• Eggs
• Dairy products such as milk, butter and cheese.

If we have problems getting enough sunlight to generate enough D3, it is far worse with foods. There are beneficial levels in these foods, but they are well below optimal levels.

Fortunately supplements can be purchased readily online and through health food shops. The spray form has been shown to be the most effective as it is absorbed readily under your tongue entering the bloodstream quicker than through being swallowed in a capsule.

So Just How Much Vitamin D do you need?

We now get into one of the greatest frauds in modern medicine and optimal health. You will often seen something called the Recommended Daily Amount or RDA. This sounds great, “If I take this much then I should be healthy!”. However, this is not the case. RDA’s were originally created to avoid certain conditions such as scurvy. There are the minimum doses that prevent particular conditions.

Some well-known health gurus have suggested that the pharmaceutical industry has a vested interest in making sure that you aren’t aware of these optimal levels. After all, it will sell more of its products if your health is compromised. There are billions of dollars a year spent on rubbishing the alternative health and wellness industries. If you want to find out more, read the New York Times bestseller “Big Pharma” on Amazon and you will be shocked at just how bad things are.

Do you remember the tales about the crews of sailing ships going to the new world going down with scurvey as they were not getting enough Vitamin C? Given the long voyage at sea and the lack of fresh food, these crews were beset with various ailments.

The RDA for Vitamin C was set as the minimum needed to avoid scurvy. Similarly, rickets is a condition caused by a lack of Vitamin D either in your diet or through low exposure to sunlight.

RDA’s have nothing to do with what is optimal. Researchers have shown over many decades that optimal doses are often orders of magnitude higher than the RDA. Do you want your health to be just about OK with the absolute minimum levels of vitamins and nutrients? Or do you want to be at your radiant best? I know which I prefer!

Most of the studies have indicated that optimum levels are somewhere between 1000 and 3000 IUs of Vitamin D. The RDA is 600IUs, but studies from the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology suggest at least 1500-2000 IUs are needed for adults. It is also possible to get your Vitamin D levels checked via a simple blood test. This will confirm the levels of supplementation that may be needed.

It is important to take Vitamin D3 along with Vitamin K2. In fact, the most reputable supplements will already include this pairing. Vitamin D increases the calcium that our bodies absorb from our diets. This can lead to a condition called Calcification. This is linked to the furring of our arteries. This is clearly not desirable and can be associated with heart disease. K2 stops this from happening and helps calcium to be absorbed by our bones.