Vitamin D: The Antidote to Low Energy and Frequent Illness
- Always feeling low on energy?
- Depressed?
- Getting sick all the time?
- Constant muscle and joint pain?
These are all common signs of Vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D is involved in over 1,000 processes in the body. Being deficient in Vitamin D means your body doesn’t have the resources available to function properly in these 1,000+ different processes, leading to undesirable health issues.
Vitamin D Benefits:
Vitamin D has numerous benefits, including:
- Supporting the immune system
- Supporting heart health and lung function
- Bone health
- Reducing inflammation
- Regulates insulin for diabetes management
Sun: The Best Source of Vitamin D
When your skin is exposed to the sun, your body naturally produces Vitamin D.
- Aim for at least 30 - 60 minutes (1 - 2+ hours would be optimal) of sunlight daily between 10am - 3pm.
- Getting sunlight doesn’t need to happen all in one go. You can split it up into morning, midday, and evenings.
- Expose as much skin as possible and go inside/use shade when needed so you don’t get burnt
- Avoid sunscreen - it blocks Vitamin D production and is usually filled with harmful chemicals
- If your skin burns easily, your diet is likely high in processed/refined oils - reduce or eliminate from your diet.
Supplementing:
Due to a busy work schedule (most people work 9am - 5pm), living in a country with limited sunlight, or during winter months, it can be difficult to get enough sunlight exposure. This is where supplements come in handy. Supplement with Vitamin D3 + K2 (MK-7) whenever getting enough sun isn't possible. Vitamin D3 helps the body absorb calcium. Vitamin K2 directs the calcium to the places it's needed most, from arteries -> bones. Without K2, calcium from vitamin D3 supplements can accumulate in the arteries - this is not what you want.
Quality Supplement Choices:
These are some good supplement choices which don’t contain any harmful ingredients:
1. Liquid Form of D3 + K2:
- https://www.vitacost.com/trace-minerals-research-liquid-d3-k2
- https://iherb.co/1JD9p99
- https://www.vitacost.com/double-wood-supplements-d3-k2-liquid-drops
2. Capsule Form of D3 + K2:
3. D3 and K2 supplements separately:
Vitamin D3:
Vitamin K2:
What Are Sufficient Vitamin D Levels?
A good rule of thumb is to aim for 40 IU (International Units) per lbs of bodyweight daily. Example: If Bob weighs 150 lbs, he'll require 6,000 IU per day (150 lbs x 40 IU). Dminder is a useful app to determine how much vitamin D your body produces based on your skin colour, location and different times of the day.
What If You’re Deficient?
If you’ve done a blood test and you’re deficient in Vitamin D, increasing your daily IU levels for a few weeks will help you get back into a healthy range.
Food Sources for Vitamin D:
- Fatty fish (trout, mackerel, salmon, cod liver oil)
- Eggs
- Mushroom
- Raw dairy and cheese