More and more research papers are supporting the vital role of Vitamin D in optimal health and disease prevention. Vitamin D affects your DNA through vitamin D receptors, which bind to specific locations on the human genome – nearly 3000 genes in the human body are influenced by your vitamin D level – hence the very wide involvement of this vitamin in many functions and overall health of the human body.
The well established role of vitamin D is that it is responsible for the absorption of calcium from the human gut. However, we know today that vitamin D plays even a wider role in the human body. Many receptors for vitamin D have been found in the human brain, and in addition, this vitamin is vital for optimal function of the body’s surveillance system – the Immune System. 70% of your Immune surveillance lies in the wall of the human gastro-intestinal system, and when this system is compromised, one is amongst other things, more susceptible to various auto-immune diseases.
Our surveillance system is vital for our protection against all forms of cancer and many other diseases. Ensuring adequate levels of vitamin D in your blood stream is one cornerstone of adequate immune surveillance.
The only common dietary sources of vitamin D are egg yolk and oily fish. Milk is fortified with vitamin D in North America and Scandanavia. In addition, UVB rays from sunshine convert cholesterol in exposed skin into vitamin D; however, this is prevented in the presence of sun block or by the presence of glass (eg glass window). It is also worth remembering that if you on any form of statin medication to reduce your cholesterol levels, this will also lower the cholesterol levels in your skin, leading to lower vitamin D levels. One must also bear in mind that as one gets older, the cholesterol converting ability of our skin, also diminishes – as too many other bodily functions and processes that slow down with aging.
Thus there are two daily sources of vitamin D – from your diet and from sun exposure, both of which is often minimal in the majority of the population. Vitamin D deficiency is common around the world, even in those parts of the world where there is plenty of sunshine, like in South Africa and India. It is therefore really important to check ones vitamin D level on an annual basis. Consensus from the latest research is that these levels should be at least between 50 and 70 ng/ml, but should you have any metabolic, auto-immune, neurological disease, cancer or cardio-vascular disease, levels should ideally be higher between 70 to 100 ng/ml.
The ideal way to improve your vitamin D levels is through sensible UVB exposure – we need about half a hour a day in the sun, before applying sun block. If this is not possiblem, then Vitamin D3 supplementation is the answer – generally to supplement with 5000 IU per day, and after 6 months to re-measure your blood level. As vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, excess will not be excreted in the urine, and therefore one also does not want to reach toxic levels, that is above 120 ng/ml.
When supplementing with vitamin D3, make sure you are also getting adequate amounts of vitamin K2 and magnesium in your diet – they need each other to function properly. Good sources of vitamin K2 are all leafy greens and magnesium is found in green vegetables, legumes and especially avocados.
Take responsibility for your precious health through daily choices of healthy, balanced natural food and combine this with annual blood checks (health markers), which should include your vitamin D status.