Vitamin D is not truly a vitamin. It's actually a steroid hormone. The best way to obtain Vitamin D is through sun exposure. Many of us have indoor jobs, and especially in the fall and winter the sky can remain quite gray, making it nearly impossible for us to gain enough of the sun’s healthy rays to create natural vitamin D. Particularly if we are overweight, pregnant, elderly or dark skinned. (of African heritage). If you are not able to access the sun, then taking a vitamin D supplement is recommended; and in that case it should be vitamin D3 (not synthetic D2). It is understood that vitamin K2 and magnesium should be taken along with Vitamin D. They help in its activation.
Vitamin D is fat soluble, so taking some form of healthy fat with it will also help optimize absorption.
The amount of vitamin D needed varies from one individual to another. Individuals with darker complexion and particularly those of African heritage require higher levels of vitamin D. A person’s Vitamin D levels need to be regularly monitored.
Effects of Vitamin D Deficiency
Many people are not aware of the importance of vitamin D. Some have no clue of how serious vitamin D deficiency can be. Here are just a few of the reasons why our bodies need optimal vitamin D levels. Vitamin D is needed for Brain health, reproductive health, healthy eyes, teeth, bones, for reducing hypertension, atherosclerotic heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. Vitamin D deficiency can adversely affect cholesterol, skin, kidneys, muscles and increase your risk of heart attack by 50 percent.
There is so much more to vitamin D than can be covered here; but let us look at a few of the many Vitamin D research discoveries.
The immune system
Vitamin D enhances your immune system to help kill virus and bacteria. In this way the body can fight infections, including colds and the flu. Best way to address the flu season.
Vitamin D regulates the immune system therefore it is very important for the prevention of autoimmune diseases, like multiple sclerosis (MS) and inflammatory bowel disease.
Lung Health. Vitamin D enhancement may reduce flare-ups of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) symptoms by more than 40 percent.
Depression, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease
There are vitamin D receptors in a wide variety of brain tissue, when these receptors are activated they increase nerve growth in the brain. Optimal vitamin D levels enhance the amount of important chemicals in your brain and protect brain cells. So vitamin D is important for optimal brain function, mental health, and for the prevention of degenerative brain disorders, including Alzheimer's disease.
DNA repair
It was found that optimum daily intake of Vitamin D regulates 291 different genes that control up to 80 different metabolic processes. It improves DNA repair which has beneficial effects on aging, boosting the immune system; and many other biological processes.
Cancer
Vitamin D promotes cancer cell death, by inhibiting the growth of blood vessels that feed a tumor.
There are hundreds of references in the medical literature showing that vitamin D is effective against cancer. A meta-analysis of five studies published in the March 2014 issue of Anticancer Research found that patients diagnosed with breast cancer who had high vitamin D levels were twice as likely to survive compared to women with low levels.
Researcher Dr. Cedrick S Garland and his brother made the first connection between vitamin D deficiency and some cancers in 1980 when they noted populations at higher latitudes (with less available sunlight) were more likely to be deficient in vitamin D, and experience higher rates of colon cancer. Subsequent studies by the Garland brothers found vitamin D deficiency link to other cancers, such as breast, lung and bladder.
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