Vitamin D Supplements

Vitamin D Supplements in the Winter

You may need a Vitamin D Supplement. As the days get shorter and we see less and less of the sun, many of us are lacking one very critical nutrient: Vitamin D. Even in the summertime much of us aren’t getting enough vitamin D through sun exposure, which unless you are taking Vitamin D supplements means you may be deficient.

What Does Vitamin D Do?

Vitamins are chemicals that are needed by your body for good health. They are vital for everyone and ensure that your body works well, is able to fight illness and heal well.

Vitamin D is actually a neuroregulatory hormone that influences nearly 3,000 different genes in your body. Receptors that respond to the vitamin have been found in almost every type of human cell, from your brain to your bones.

Vitamin D manages calcium in your blood, bones and gut and helps cells all over your body to communicate properly. Results suggest that vitamin D may have an important role in many aspects of human health, from bone fractures to prostate cancer, cardiovascular disease, neuromuscular problems, and diabetes. Vitamin D has also been shown to help support your immune system and fight depression.

How Do I get vitamin D?

Sunlight

Vitamin D is a unique vitamin because we don’t get much of it from food. Instead our bodies can produce it on its own when the skin is exposed to sunlight.

When skin is exposed to sunlight your body goes through a number of chemical processes to change it so that your body can use it. The sun’s energy turns a chemical in your skin into vitamin D3, which is carried to your liver and then your kidneys to transform it to active vitamin D.

It is estimated that you only need about 15-25 minutes of direct skin contact with sunlight to get enough. The more of your skin that is exposed to the sun the more vitamin D your body will be able to synthesis in less time.

Sunlight has a multitude of other benefits and is the most efficient and natural way to get your daily does therefore if possible we suggest trying to get some sun exposure every day. However if you live at higher latitudes, its winter, you have darker skin or are older you may not be able to get enough vitamin D even with daily sun exposure. If that is the case then you may need to supplement with Vitamin D.

Vitamin D Supplements

There are many different types of vitamin D supplements on the market. The two main forms are D2 and D3. D2 is the synthetic form of Vitamin D, while D3 is the natural form; the same type you get from sun exposure. Research shows that vitamin D3 is approximately 87 percent more potent in raising and maintaining vitamin D levels and is converted in the body 500 percent faster than vitamin D2. Therefore we recommend choosing an oral vitamin D3 supplement. 

If you have any questions about Vitamin D supplementation Call us at (236) 420-2882 or come down to see us at 152-1876 Cooper Road in the Orchard Plaza across from Orchard Park Mall.

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