What is The BIG DEAL about Vitamin D?

October 3, 2019

What is the BIG DEAL about Vitamin D?

Good afternoon everyone,

Some of you may know, but most of you do not understand how important vitamin D is. We consume vitamin D is two different way: Sun exposure and in our diet. When absorbing sunlight, the UV rays hit our skin and the cholesterol in our cells start to synthesize vitamin D. Many people who do not get enough sun exposure, like those in Europe, are deficient. For those people who do not get enough sun exposure, they rely on their diet and supplementation to get the adequate amount of vitamin D.  Here is a list of foods that have a good source of Vitamin D:

Cod Liver Oil

swordfish

Salmon

Sardines

Tuna                                                                                                               

Liver, beef

Milk, fortified

Yogurt, fortified

Margarine, fortified

Egg yolk

Cheeses

Butter

The list above is actually in order from the most to least amount of vitamin D. The signs and symptoms of vitamin D deficiency are subtle and may takes years to notice. Some things to look out for are getting sick often, constantly feeling tired, bone and back pain, depression, impaired wound healing, bone and hair loss, and muscle pain. If you feel any of these, especially most of these symptoms constantly, you should go to your doctor and have your vitamin D levels checked. Now that you know what to eat and how you would feel if you do not get enough vitamin D, are there any other ways that could prevent us from absorbing vitamin d? Actually, YES! People who have Crohn’s disease or celiac disease who do not handle fat properly can cause an absorption issue because vitamin D needs fat to be absorbed. Also, people with obesity can have a proper vitamin D absorption issue because their body fat binds to some vitamin d and can prevent it from getting in to their blood. If you are one of these people you may already know this though. I just found this topic very fascination and I hope all of you did as well and learned something from this blog post.

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their day!

Destiny Ward