Vitamin D, the vitamin we all need but most of us don’t get enough of.
So, after being a practitioner and running everyone’s lab work there was always one vitamin most people were low in and that was vitamin D. As a society we just do not spend a significant amount of time outside anymore and especially not consistently. So what is vitamin D and what does it do? Well it is actually a steroid hormone and its primary role is to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. However, it also plays a role in the health of bones, cardiovascular system, endocrine system, neural function in the brain, immune health, and is the precursor to all of your hormones. If you feel like your immune system isn’t functioning as it should or that your hormones are imbalanced then vitamin D may be the first and easiest place to start when working towards restoring your health.
There are many studies of people with all kinds of diseases being low in vitamin D and I definitely found that to be true with my clients. Vitamin D is critical in overall health and that is why we all need to be taking it, especially if we have an office job or spend most of our days indoors, and let’s face it, most of us do. One way to get more vitamin D in your life is by eating foods that contain it, such as fatty fish like salmon, trout and tuna, also, egg yolks, mushrooms, grass fed liver, almond milk, orange juice and grass fed cheeses.
Here is my favorite simple meal idea for how to get some of this amazing vitamin in your diet.
Favorite Vitamin D Power Breakfast:
- 2 fried eggs in coconut oil or butter
- ½ of an avocado, sliced and/or some shredded grass fed cheese for your eggs
- cup of berries drizzled with a little honey
This yummy breakfast offers vitamin D along with good healthy fats, protein and carbs to start your day off right!
So there are two dependable ways to get vitamin D. The first way is through a supplement. I recommend a vitamin with a complex of Vitamin D3, Vitamin A and Vitamins K1 and K2. These three nutrients work synergistically in the body and are most beneficial when taken together. All these nutrients are fat soluble vitamins. It is best to take them with food that contains a little fat so that they can be absorbed well. I found that 98% of my clients were low in D3 when tested. The only people I found that weren’t low, were a landscaper and a lady that had been in the Caribbean sunshine all summer long (lucky her).
Now I know some of you may say that you were low in vitamin D at your last doctor’s visit and that the doctor gave you a prescription for it but most doctors when they test and see that you are low will prescribe high doses of D2 (which doesn’t convert into the active form of D3 very well) or D3 for a couple months to raise your levels, but then you stop taking the prescription and guess what, it goes back down. I recommend taking vitamin D3 every day. You can skip it if you go out in the sun for a weekend trip to the beach or if you were able to spare some time outside and caught some sunshine.
Typical labs suggest vitamin D levels of around 30 ng/ml, but many researchers suggest optimal vitamin D levels are above 50 ng/ml. Most of my patients fell in the 4 ng/ml-20 ng/ml range. I would usually start them on 10,000 IU’s of D3 for 2 months and then go to 5,000 IU’s of D3 for another 2 months. It is important to have fat with your Vitamin D to increase absorption so when taking high doses like I stated above I recommend an Emulsified Vitamin D which basically puts fat into the liquid D supplement to make sure you are absorbing the D you are taking. Then I would maintain them with a complex of 2,000 IU’s of Vitamin D3, 5,000 IU’s of Vitamin A and 500 mcg of Vitamin K all in one capsule. This complex is what I currently take to maintain my levels. I sometimes will take more during the winter months, but it just depends. Try to find a similar complex or you can get the one I recommend here.
The second dependable way to get vitamin D is the sun. It takes about 20 minutes in the midday sun at least 3 times a week for a light skinned person to get a good amount of vitamin D, this takes 2-6 times longer if your skin is darker. This is a great option if you have the time to do it but who really has time for that….not me, unless I am on vacation.
Here’s to getting enough D and to feeling great!
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