When Darkness Falls, Take Your Vitamin D

It is that time of the year for those of us in the north. Sunlight becomes a distant memory as cold, cloudy weather moves in and days become shorter. With all that darkness comes depletion of your body’s supply of Vitamin D.

Vitamin D is important to nearly every function in the human body, ranging from bone building to immunity to brain support. Yet most of us, particularly in colder climates, tend to have low-to-depleted levels of the crucial vitamin.

Vitamin D is typically created when sunlight is absorbed into the skin, but can also be found in fish, eggs, beef liver and shrimp. Some dairy products, such as milk and yogurt, are fortified with Vitamin D. All in all, it is hard for most people to attain the recommended daily amount, which is at least 600 IU in children and adults. (Most functional medicine doses run at about 5000 IU.)

The functional medicine doctor I used to work for liked to tell the story of a roofer, whose Vitamin D levels measured in the 20s (low) in the middle of the summer. She would point out to patients that if a person who worked in the sun all day had such low levels, what would everyone else’s levels be?

Vitamin D is critical for many body functions including:

• Fighting disease. Many studies have shown low levels of D in patients with severe COVID, heart disease, diabetes, and autoimmune conditions. It is also known to fend off everyday illnesses like colds and flus.

• Regulating mood. Research has shown that supplemental Vitamin D has improved mood in patients with anxiety and depression.

• It may help with weight regulation. Studies found that patients given supplemental Vitamin D lost more weight than those taking a placebo.

• It builds strong bones and muscle tissues. Vitamin D helps balance calcium in the blood so the body can use phosphorus and calcium to build bones and tissues.

Signs of deficiency include:

• Muscle weakness

• Bone pain

• Fatigue

• Depression

Supplementation is important, especially in climates where sunlight is limited. Getting your blood levels tested and a recommended dose from your doctor is ideal. There can be too much of a good thing…while most vitamins are flushed out of the body when there is too much, Vitamin D can build up and become toxic.

And it is also a good idea to take a Vitamin D supplement with K2, as the K2 helps ensure the calcium transported by the Vitamin D gets to the bones and not the arteries. It also maximizes absorption of Vitamin D.

Vitamin D with K2 is available on my Wellevate site, which is always set to 25% off.