Is Vitamin D Missing From Your Life?

9th September 2009 by David Gore Graham B.Sc.

Since economic testing for Vitamin D levels became available a few years ago, a remarkable amount of research has taken place on the role Vitamin D plays in the prevention of disease. A lack of Vitamin D is now understood to be one of the most commonly unrecognized medical conditions of our time. A condition that leaves millions at risk of developing various diseases and disorders. These diseases include not only osteoporosis and fractures, but also numerous serious and often fatal diseases such as several common cancers, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, heart disease and Alzheimer's disease. This covers most of the most common degenerative diseases each one of us is likely to face in our lifetime. Research also shows that Vitamin D aids in brain function, helping to reduce depression and other neurological disorders. It also helps remove toxins, such as heavy metals, from your body and is important in aiding your DNA to express itself correctly.

Recent research compared the illness rate of US military personnel living on different bases as a factor of their latitude. It was assumed that they would have similar nutrition and lifestyle and that the main variable would be the amount of sunshine and the time they spent out of doors. They found that the military personnel stationed in bases near the equator had less illness, especially infections illnesses such as colds and flu, and the incidence of illness increased at bases progressively the farther they were from the equator.

Historically, Vitamin D has been added to milk to prevent bone diseases such as rickets. However it is only recently that its affect in other diseases has been measured. It was thought that the correct daily dose (rda) was 200 IU for people aged 14-50, 400 IU for people aged 51-70, 600 IU for people over 71 but these are hopelessly inadequate. These doses may prevent rickets in children but will do little for your general health and the prevention of disease. An adult body uses 3,000-4,000 IU of Vitamin D per day so it is important to get at least much on a regular basis. I was talking to a Doctor friend who told me that 40% of his patients are chronically short of Vitamin D, 40% of his patients have low levels and the other 20% are sub-optimal. Thus, almost none of his patients have enough vitamin D and we live in one of the sunniest spots on the planet! I have known that we are collectively short of Vitamin D but this information was rather shocking.

The main sources for Vitamin D are sun exposure, oily fish and fish oil, butterfat and eggs. It is clear to me that we were designed to get most of our Vitamin D from the sun as our bodies have the ability to store six weeks supply of Vitamin D in our livers. Any Vitamin D above the daily current needs of the body is stored in the liver. Only when the liver is full will the issue of toxicity rear its head and even this is very unlikely even for Australian life guards who get one of the highest daily doses of sun exposure. Our bodies can absorb up to 10,000-20,000 thousand units per day in the peak summer sun so the issue of toxicity will only become a problem above this level. To get this level of Vitamin D from a supplement such as fish oil alone would risk you getting too much Vitamin A which is toxic.

There are two other issues that come up when exposing yourself ultra violet light (UV) usually from the sun. We have been led to believe that the sun is bad for us and the current recommendation is to slather ourselves with sunscreen. This practice was recommended to prevent skin cancer by dermatologists. It is estimated that 1,000 skin cancer deaths are prevented per year at the cost of at least 300,000 deaths from other forms of cancer that would have been ameliorated by the extra Vitamin D. You only risk skin cancer if you get sun burn. So you need to get enough sun exposure but not too much. The other issue is that Vitamin D is an oily substance and it is formed on the surface of skin with the help of cholesterol. It takes from 12 to 24 hours for this Vitamin D to migrate through the skin into the blood stream where it is beneficial. If you go in the sun and then directly into the shower and soap all over, all that precious Vitamin D will get washed down the drain. If you only wash the parts of your body with soap that need to be washed (and they don't get exposed to the sun anyway), it will allow the Vitamin D to migrate into your blood stream before being washed away.

Supplements are not the simple answer you might imagine unless you check your levels regularly. This is because different people absorb Vitamin D at different rates. Vitamin D supplements come in the form of either D2 (vegetarian) or D3. Either are useful as your body will convert from one to the other. D3 is the much more concentrated form but it does come from animals. D2 is less potent but vegetarian.

Here are my recommendations:

1. Expose as much of your body (at least torso, front and back and your legs front and back) as possible to the sun at least once a week. Enough to just change the color of your skin but not enough to burn. If you are going to the beach then expose your body to the sun for a while before putting on sun screen. When you shower later, do not use soap on those parts of your body that received the sun's rays. Wait for 24 hours before soaping those parts.
2. If you live in a climate where there is not enough sun then go to a tanning salon once a week. Not enough to burn or give you a false looking tan!.
3. If you cannot follow either of the above two recommendations, I suggest you take a supplement of 2,000 IUs per day. do not take more unless you are under the supervision of a doctor or naturopath.
4. If you catch a cold or flu take a supplement of 5,000 IU per day for the first three days of the illness.
5. Do not sit in the sun where there is glass between you and the sun, such as in a sunny window or in your car, as this actually destroys the Vitamin D on your skin.
6. Make sure that your children get enough Vitamin D. They need at least 2,000 IU per day.

David Gore Graham B.Sc.

Author of Wellbeing Matters - A Personal Guide to Radiant Health and Wellbeing.

Tags: Vitamin D, skin cancer, cardiovascular disease, sun burn, DNA, brain function.

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