Sunshine Vitamin

I have always thought that the best way for the body to be healthy is for us to experience life as nature intended for us.  Having never been a fan of sun block, I looked for a reason not to need it.  Turns out that the skin cannot produce Vitamin D without having full solar radiation.  Now, most of us have heard that Vitamin D is good for us and is usually found in milk.  What I learned about Vitamin D will surprise most people.

Vitamin D is a STEROID.  It is classified in a sub-group known as secosteroids and is responsible for many metabolic processes, especially the manufacturing of hormones within our bodies.  While other vitamins are usually acid based products, vitamin D actually behave like a hormone and is fat-soluble.  There are many processes that you can learn about Vitamin D however, I have found research that supports Vitamin D having a positive effect on the following conditions:

·         Depression

·         Cancer

·         Heart Complications

·         Chronic pain

·         Fibromyalgia

·         Hypertension

·         Arthritis

·         Inflammatory bowel disease

·         Obesity

·         PMS

·         Crohns Disease

·         MS

·         And Mortality

Many people I know are pallor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pallor).  One time we met up with one of these pallor persons (wishing to have them remain unnamed) and we spent the entire day outside with them.  Despite their desperate efforts to cover their skin from head to toe to shield them from the sun (to prevent wrinkles or prevent skin cancer I'm sure), they still were exposed to the sunshine.  While sunshine might be to blame for the wrinkles and skin cancer, Vitamin D has been shown to improve the skin quality and help keep the body functioning properly: essentially cancer free.  Anyways, she had been exposed for a number of hours over a small area of her skin and had prevented any burning.  Most of the indirect sunlight was responsible for her exposure.  Having been infused with what I am sure is a healthy dose of Vitamin D, she was invigorated with energy and feelings of well being.  It would be interesting to see how much Vitamin D could continue to help people that refuse to spend time outdoors for fear of sun damage.  In my personal opinion, I think the benefits outweigh the risks.  Professionally, I would recommend that you intake healthy doses as recommended by a doctor.

The two ways most people intake Vitamin D nowadays are:

-Oral Consumption:  Several foods have some sources of Vitamin D.  Fatty fish, whole eggs, beef liver and some fortified products tend to be higher than most at containing Vitamin D.  While a natural approach to adding orally consumed Vitamin D might include these products, other forms of Vitamin D, especially supplementing and sunlight, are far superior in their ability to deliver higher doses.

-Oral Consumption (supplements):Many supplements on the market offer Vitamin D.  I have seen individual capsules contain anywhere from 500-5,000 IU, and usually multivitamins have some small amount.  The two forms that you can find Vitamin D in supplement form are vitamin D₂ (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D₃ (cholecalciferol).  I have found D3 to be a superior product and more common in the supplement form.  Decide with your doctor what a healthy dosing plan would be for you, however keep in mind that the safe upper limits are close to 10,000 IU per day (with the RDA recommending 400 IU per day).  Overdose has been noted at 50,000 IU for sustained months, and acutely at 168,000 IU.

-Sun Exposure:  exposure to sunlight for as little as 10-15 minutes has causes doses that are on the magnitude of ~10,000-25,000 IU.  While this seems like an overdose, the body is capable of handling much higher levels of production without toxicity without negative side effects.

Vitamin D tests kits usually sell around $75 and it might be a simple yet important test you can perform to determine the state of your health.  After all, I want my body producing its own natural steroids...wouldn't you?

P.S.  Are you an at risk population of Vitamin D?  Some studies suggest that women need the added vitamin D in order to improve bone health.  Not only should aging women be intaking enough calcium but also should ensure that they are getting enough sunlight to help create healthy bones.  Further, African Americans and other people of darker skin tones should be aware that their skin is less likely to produce Vitamin D and as much as three times sun exposure is required to get the same sun requirements as those who are more pale.  This is not meant to target these populations as inferior in the Vitamin D category, but to just highlight some considerations that would help in developing a superior Vitamin D protocol.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D)