Should I Take a Vitamin D Supplement?
October 14, 2015
In recent years, it has become clear that Vitamin (Vit) D plays a very important role in our health. Although our bodies are equipped to be able to make our own Vit D, testing has revealed that many people are Vit D deficient. What does that mean? Vit D is important for developing strong bones, helping to protect against certain cancers (skin, colon, breast, etc.), preventing heart disease, helping with depression, as well as many other functions. So it seems pretty obvious, right?
Well, maintaining adequate Vit D levels is clearly important, but I'm not sure we have found the best way to supplement ourselves. We've added Vit D to our milk for many years but it hasn't been preventing the rise in chronic diseases. We have even started supplementing with high levels of Vit D, upwards of 10,000iu's per day! Even the people that are spending a lot of time in the sun aren't showing to have adequate levels. Why?
When sunlight hits the skin, it is the inactivated form of Vit D and has to be converted to the active version in the liver (then kidneys) so that the body can us it and anything we consume by mouth also has to be processed by the liver. So is it possible that if the liver or kidneys aren't functioning well then that may be why our Vit D levels are low? ABSOLUTELY!
So What Can We Do?!?!- Get your levels checked so that you know where you are starting. This isn't absolutely necessary, but highly recommended.
- Make sure you are getting outdoors for 15-20 minutes per day (more for darker complexion). The more skin exposed, the better potential absorption.
- Eat a good diet, rich in whole milk, ghee, nuts, seeds, avocados, eggs, and wild caught fatty fish.
- Take care of the liver by eating well, not skipping or delaying meals, going to bed at a reasonable hour, and doing a gentle liver cleanse in the spring and fall (Contact Dr. Samsel for details concerning proper cleansing techniques).
- Supplement with transdermal Vit D as needed. Transdermal Vit D bypasses the need for the liver to convert it, alleviating our already over stressed livers.