10 Amazing Facts About Vitamin D That Everyone Must Know

10 Amazing Facts About Vitamin D That Everyone Must Know

By now you probably know about the importance of vitamin D. Beyond supporting a healthy immune system, strong bones and an active brain, research shows that it may actually help you live a longer life!

Despite vitamin D's well-documented health benefits, the government reports that 75% of adults in this country are vitamin D deficient, causing needless health problems and even premature deaths.

Unfortunately, too many people have an "it's not me" attitude when it comes to vitamin D deficiency. You may think your levels are fine, despite the fact that statistics show the odds are against you.

Here are 10 interesting facts about vitamin D:

1. Vitamin D is produced by your skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from natural sunlight.
2. The healing rays of natural sunlight (that generate vitamin D in your skin) cannot penetrate glass. So you don't generate vitamin D when sitting in your car or home.
3. It is nearly impossible to get adequate amounts of vitamin D from your diet. Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way to generate vitamin D in your own body.
4. A person would have to drink ten tall glasses of vitamin D fortified milk each day just to get minimum levels of vitamin D into their diet.
5. The further you live from the equator, the longer exposure you need to the sun in order to generate vitamin D. Canada and most U.S. states are far from the equator.
6. People with dark skin pigmentation may need 20 to 30 times as much exposure to sunlight as fair-skinned people to generate the same amount of vitamin D.
7. Vitamin D is crucial for calcium absorption in your intestines. Without sufficient vitamin D, your body cannot absorb calcium, rendering calcium supplements useless.
8. Chronic vitamin D deficiency cannot be reversed overnight: it takes months of vitamin D supplementation and sunlight exposure to rebuild the body's bones and nervous system.
9. Sunscreens block your body's ability to generate vitamin D by 95%. This is how sunscreen products actually cause disease — by creating a critical vitamin deficiency in the body.
10. The sunscreen industry doesn't want you to know that your body actually needs sunlight exposure because that realization would mean lower sales of sunscreen products.

The sooner you start supplementing with vitamin D, especially during the winter months, the sooner you will have the peace of mind of knowing that you are not deficient in this critical nutrient. The current RDA for vitamin D is 600 IU, however most experts agree this is woefully inadequate. The latest research suggests supplementing with 1,000 IU to 5,000 IU of vitamin D per day. Also, it's important to make sure that you're taking the natural D3 variety of vitamin D (also known as cholecalciferol) instead of the synthetic D2 variety, which is not well absorbed by the body.

I hope you'll take your vitamin D levels seriously, especially during the winter months. Supplementing with vitamin D is the best way to boost your levels right away. However, the next time you are at your doctor's office, I recommend requesting a vitamin D blood test. Too few doctors insist on this test, yet it's critical to monitor your vitamin D levels on a regular basis.

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SOURCES: INTERNET