Do You Have Enough of the Sunshine Vitamin? VITAMIN D

Do You Have Enough of the Sunshine Vitamin? VITAMIN D

Catching rays to soak up Vitamin D is not only good for your mood and the state of your tan, it’s important for your body all across the board. Especially if you are in the parts of the world you do not have regular sunshine or work indoors all the time.

 We absorb it from the skin, but we also synthesize Vitamin D in the liver and the kidneys. The liver and the kidney systems regulate growth overall and bone growth specifically, as well as mood, energy, vitality, immunity and reproductive ability. They have a lot to do with making sure your health cycle is balanced.

Also Read : Overeating And Why It Needs To Be Get Rid Of ?

It may sound strange that the liver and kidneys manage such diverse phenomena, but if you think about it, the body is a tightly knit network of chemical and physical reactions. Like employees working in a group setting, everything happens in an open environment and information is constantly shared back and forth. If it weren’t, how would your muscles know when your brain signals them to move? Or your heart knows to speed up and circulate more oxygen when you exercise?

What Does Vitamin D Do?

It’s linked to all of the activities that the liver and kidneys regulate, and more. It regulates the expression of hundreds of genes. It’s a key co-factor in calcium metabolism (along with magnesium), which means it promotes bone health by making sure you keep and absorb enough calcium and phosphorus to maintain strong bones. Older people should make sure they have enough Vitamin D to protect themselves from bone loss and fractures.

It’s linked to cell differentiation (growth) and muscle health (energy). It protects the cardiovascular system (vitality) by maintaining blood pressure and helping avoid coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke. D has been shown to reduce the progression of neurological disorders like Parkinson’s.

How Does Vitamin D Do All That?

How does one little fat-soluble vitamin get such airtime? It may be the fact that it’s fat-soluble. Fat is a vital component for us — it’s part of what makes up the brain as well as cell membranes; it provides energy and regulates temperature and hormones; and its key for reproduction, immune function and basic growth. Without it, we wouldn’t survive. Vitamin D is like a key that fits into these fat-regulated doors all over the body.

Who needs Vitamin D?

Everyone does! But certain groups do well with supplementation. Because we get so much D from the sun, people with dark skin (melatonin reduces the skin’s ability to produce D), people who don’t go outside much, and the elderly (whose skin doesn’t synthesize D as efficiently, or are more likely to stay inside) should consider testing their levels. People who have fat malabsorption issues (like Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease and some autoimmune disorders) should also check into it since we use fat to break down D for our needs.

Learn More : What Are the Side Effects of Keto Diet?

Obese people may also have reduced D because extra subcutaneous fat can store it, taking it out of circulation.

How Much Vitamin D Should You Have?

Next time you get a blood test, check to see if your serum25-hydroxy vitamin D concentration is at least 30 ng/mL (75 nmol/L). The best way to get Vitamin D is from sunshine. At sea level, spend 30 minutes outdoors daily with at least 20% of the skin exposed. Eat chlorophyll-rich greens (they act like stored sunshine) such as kale, collards, parsley, wheat grass, spirulina, and also mushrooms. Fish and eggs are good sources.

Do You Have Enough of the Sunshine Vitamin D? Share and Comment them on Aicrow.

Sign up for more stories like this in your inbox

Ads

Leave a Reply