Am I making enough vitamin D?
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient required for a wide variety of body functions. Humans can make it ourselves, up to a point. Our diet is also a very important source of Vitamin D.
We make it through exposure to the sun on our skin – BUT, as this varies due to the angle of the sun during the year, and how much we are inclined to undress – it is easy to become deficient if we are also deficient in our diets too.
Vitamin D is required for calcium uptake, along with magnesium (VERY often deficient, esp in women), zinc, boron and potassium. Calcium is needed for bone density. Magnesium is needed for digestion, preventing muscle cramps and about 60 other processes!
If you think you are deficient in Vitamin D, but have normal levels of blood calcium, it does NOT mean that all is well with your Vitamin D levels. (This is a common mistake made by doctors.)
If you look at the graphic below, due to the angle of the sun (and levels of clothes you wear) you can only make enough Vitamin D through light exposure on your skin between 11-4pm April through to September in the UK.
30 mins of strong sun (without lotion) on bare skin can generate up to 10,000 to 20,000iu (or between 250 and 500 micro-grammes).
It is true, vitamin D is a fat and so it is stored in your fat, and thus there is less in your blood for getting into your cells. It only works once it is intra-cellular.
There is another important factor about Vitamin D – there are various forms of it. For the conversion of D3 into 25(OH)D3 and for activation of 25(OH)D3 into active 1,25(OH)D3 the mineral potassium is needed. Vitamin D is also fat soluble.
Potassium – chemical sign is K – also comes in various forms. The ONLY form that crosses the placental barrier, blood-brain barrier and that all other forms convert into is MK4. It is important for bone density regulation and also for the sex hormones and cancer reduction.
The dosage required is determined by size – not age – especially for children.
Toddlers 1,000iu; 4-8years, 2,000iu; 8-12years 3,000iu; teenagers 3-5,000iu daily.
For most adults – 125 nmol/l is needed each day. approx 5,000iu.
NB For those who are obese – which is the No.1 reason for a lack of response to Vitamin D supplementation, they often require 2-3 times the amount to get the optimal level. The reason why obesity is an issue is that the fat-soluble Vitamin D gets stored in that tissue – and so cannot be accessed by the blood and body – where it is needed.
For example – if you are 3 stone overweight you will need to ADD 50% to the daily requirement ie 7-8,000iu or 175microgrammes each day. If you are 5 stones above your desired weight – add 10,000iu / 250microgrammes daily.
For EVERYONE with darker skin – where there is less Vitamin D production – supplementation is recommended all year round.
Remember from the end of Sept until next April there is no vitamin D to be made from sun, no matter how bright it is.
Most do not understand this !!
Remember the simple shadow rule. If your shadow is longer than you, you cannot make any vitamin D.
There are some absolute contraindications to taking Vitamin D supplementation – anyone who is taking WARFARIN as it changes the clotting but those who are taking apixaban and clopidogrel are fine or who have a disease called SARCOIDOSIS – as Vitamin D can cause hypercalcaemia (too much calcium in the blood).
Gayle highly recommends having a daily Vitamin D supplement which also contains potassium and other minerals to ensure that your bones stay strong, other body processes take place optimally to keep you healthy.
For recommendations specifically for YOU – please speak to Gayle in person.
To make an appointment – use this link: https://living-elements-clinic.cliniko.com/bookings
© Gayle Palmer Sept 2023.
