What’s The Deal On The D?
Posted by Dr. Della Parker on October 16, 2015
What’s The Deal On The D?
It’s that time of year… well it’s supposed to be anyway. It is 80 degrees in October as I sit to write this blog but normally we are experiencing sunshine withdrawals and I’m sure they will start any day now. Let’s prevent that all too familiar seasonal depression jive by keeping that D status up.
Vitamin D… everyone is deficient right? Right! So let’s talk about why that is, what you need the stuff for anyway, and what to do about it!
Why are we all Deficient?
Well I test my patients for Vitamin D and I can tell you that most everyone that doesn’t take it as a supplement, regardless of sun exposure, is deficient. Here are two main reasons this is so;
#1 we wear sunscreen every time we walk into fresh air. Ahhh the sun, it’s going to kill us! Do you realize there is sunscreen in almost all makeups, lotions, and chapsticks? So on top of the fact that most of us wear clothes when we go outside, the small amount of skin that actually is exposed, is slathered with SPF. Equaling No vitamin D.
#2 Hexanes. Hexawhaa? Yeah, I know. They are these chemical compounds that are found in processed oils. Most people eat some amount of processed foods containing vegetable, corn, and canola oils to name a few. It’s hard. The stuff is everywhere. Hexanes are bad news yo! They act as hormone disruptors in the body. Hexanes actually decrease the body’s ability to convert vitamin D to a useable form, rendering us all with low D status.
What’s the D do?
Our bodies synthesize Vitamin D when we get UVB exposure onto our skin. We have cells called melanocytes that convert those rays into vitamin D. Vitamin D helps the immune system, calcium utilization, mental wellbeing, and oh so much more. Optimal Vitamin D levels (vitamin D, 25-OH above 60 ng/mL) prevent things like cancer, diabetes, auto immune disease, heart disease, and seasonal depression. It’s not one of those vitamins that has super obvious signs of deficiency, although some signs are; depression, cognitive impairment, bone pain, and a sweaty head. But is necessary for proper functioning of the entire body. Also, super important for that odd Naturopathic concept…Disease Prevention!
How to get the D?
We have all heard horror stories about skin cancer. Here are couple guidelines to follow to avoid all that craziness. First, if you are redheaded and freckle faced person, disregard what I’m about to say. Stay outta the sun cause you have a much greater risk of getting burned! Secondly, Don’t Get Burned! A sunburn is basically hypervitaminosis D. Translation, too much vitamin D. If you burn your skin, you are causing damage to your cells, which can make them do crazy things like turn into cancer. So, you want to be exposed to the sun long enough to get that D, but not so long that you will burn. I know, life is full of challenges!
Tanning beds.
Yep I said it. If you aren’t that redhead I was talking to earlier, then go tanning! Use the cheap beds, the ones with the highest amount of UVB, the ones the tanning salon sales people are trying to steer you away from. Hint, UVA does not convert to vitamin D. Then lay in the thing without lotion for 5-8 minutes so you DO NOT burn. Repeat weekly or every other week. I’m telling you, getting vitamin D through your skin is the natural way to do it. It can improve lots of symptoms in the body. The best thing is, it can suppress auto immune disease, which let’s face it, is most diseases now a days.
Supplementing with D.
Take D3! Despite what anyone trying sell you Vitamin D2 says, D3 is more well absorbed by the body. Now, take an appropriate dosage. If your lab value was under 25 ng/mL then take 20,000 IU daily for a month then 10,000 IU daily for a month, then maintain with 5,000 IU daily. If your value is above 25 ng/mL then start at 10,000 IU daily for a month landing on a maintenance dose around 2,000 IU daily. I know such a high doses! Well, that’s the other reason everyone is low. Because they think taking 200 IU is actually doing something. Remember, we are fighting against all those evil hexanes!
FYI small amounts of vitamin D can also be found in foods such as egg yolks, button mushrooms, sardines, salmon and other fish, so eat up!