Ok, I’m back at it! With winter in full swing, I wanted to bring attention to Vitamin D deficiency. After all, according to National Center for Health Data statistics, a 2011 study showed that there are approximately 100MM people in the U.S. that have a Vitamin D deficiency. Yup, that’s 1 in every 3 people. If you’re one that is feeling a change in your mood or a lack of energy especially during the winter, there’s a chance that it might be attributed to your Vitamin D levels.
Whether you find yourself in this 33% or not, there are some important things to note about Vitamin D. First is that there are two major types: Vitamin D3 and Vitamin D2. D3 (chemically known as cholecalciferol) is the focus here since it’s the primary form of Vitamin D. The second is that both types of Vitamin D are considered a hormone, and not a vitamin.
So, how can you tell where your Vitamin D levels stand? Easy. Ask your doc for the 25-Hydroxy blood test (or 25(OH)D). Your results will be expressed in terms of nanograms/milliliter (ng/ml) and will be benchmarked against the below scale. Generally speaking:
- If you’re less than 30 ng/ml, you are Vitamin D deficient.
- If you’re between between 50–60 ng/ml, your Vitamin D levels are normal.
- If you fall somewhere in between these numbers, your Vitamin D levels need to be supplemented.
- If you are above 60, then you show strong Vitamin D levels. Albeit it’s not one of those scales that the higher you go, the better (too much of anything can be toxic.)
Please note that the 25-Hydroxy test isn’t typically included in your annual check up, but you can certainly request it with your primary care doctor.
Once you’ve determined where you stand, keep in mind that Vitamin D helps your health in a myriad of ways; it fights illnesses and diseases, regulates calcium levels for bone strength, and serves as a mood stabilizer.
Here are ways to improve your Vitamin D levels:
- Get Outdoors and let nature take over. The sun and its ultraviolet B rays (UVB) — once it contacts your bare skin — is the best way to make an impact on our Vitamin D levels. What many don’t know is that the sun should be at an optimal angle; in other words, at 50% or more horizon. Sun at or above a 50% horizon produces 20,000 units for 30 minutes of exposure. An easy way to tell if the sun is at the right angle is if you see a shadow from the sun, while standing, that is smaller than you. So if you sunbath, balance your time in the sun on your front and back (15 minutes each) and then apply sunscreen. If you have a darker complexion, generally, you will need more time in the sun (fair skinned folks need less time to synthesize Vitamin D). Also, depending on where you live, you may have a short window of time over the summer months to take in Vitamin D. The body will store Vitamin D in tissue and the liver for use later on if it realizes you need it. Regardless, try to find time to be outside on a sunny winter day.
- Diet. Before researching this, I presumed that a healthy diet would have played a more important part. Interestingly enough, that’s not the case and the reason for that is you would have to intake huge volumes to make a small dent to your Vitamin D levels. That said, I wanted to still bring awareness that a couple of foods will help the cause. Wild caught oily fish (i.e. salmon) could be a great source of Vitamin D. Wild caught is expensive per pound at the local grocery store or fish market, but it’s better for you than farm raised fish. Farm raised fish are self-contained and not in their natural habitat. Egg yolks and beef are always beneficial too.
- Supplements.
- Cod Liver Oil
- Vitamin D3 — can purchase at your local grocery store or pharmacy and is sold based on potency. It’s cheaper, more potent, and longer half life and slower decay rate, which means it stays in your body longer than D2. D2 is prescription Vitamin D and pushed by big pharma. D2 has a shorter half life than D3.
- Multi-Vitamin — provide approx. 400 units of Vitamin D.
There have been studies showing that coupling Vitamin D while eating fat increases the likelihood of absorption given Vitamin D is fat soluble. Fats include but are not limited to nuts, coconut, oil, and steak.
I’m an advocate for the natural options — make the effort to get outside during a lunch break or over the weekend even during the winter. The Vitamin Council recommends approximately 5000 units of Vitamin D per day for an average adult, but keep in mind many factors play into this calculation such as overall health, weight, age, genetics, etc. We all know that health varies person to person so there’s no one size fits all, but please use this as a starting point in moving forward to improve your health holistically.
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