THE IMPORTANCE OF VITAMIN D3 – Part I

It is estimated that about three-quarters of the population is vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D is actually considered to be more of a hormone because of its role in so many areas of the body, but we call it a vitamin. It is a fat-soluble vitamin that is stored in the liver and fatty tissues. What makes it different from other vitamins is that it is able to be produced by our bodies from sunlight exposure. In other words, you don’t have to rely solely on food sources to get vitamin D.

Vitamin D plays several roles within the body, such as strengthening bones, immune system support, helping with inflammatory responses, regulating blood pressure and cholesterol levels, supporting healthy cell growth and helping to protect against the development of autoimmune disease. It also helps to manage blood sugar and regulate insulin secretion, helps with depression and other mood disorders and plays a role in a healthy weight, as a deficiency seems to be tied to higher fat percentages.

 Based on the roles of vitamin D, the most common symptoms of vitamin D deficiency would lend to fatigue, osteoporosis, heart disease and high blood pressure (studies show a 43% risk of heart disease if you are deficient), cancer, autoimmune diseases and depression.

Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency also include abdominal obesity, poor skin health, arthritis or joint pain, insomnia, asthma, hair loss, diabetes (which shows a 50% risk with vitamin D deficiency because it plays a role in insulin production) and chronic muscle or bone pain. That certainly covers a host of issues.

The number one cause of vitamin D deficiency is an indoor lifestyle, in which one is sheltered from the sun. Our bodies make 90% of our vitamin D naturally from sunlight exposure to the skin, where the conversion of cholesterol in the skin to vitamin D3 takes place. And while you can obtain vitamin D in some foods (oily fish like salmon, halibut, mackerel, swordfish and sardines or fish oil, liver, egg yolks, butter and supplements),you will never be able to come even close to the large amount you can absorb directly from the sun.

So, it shouldn’t surprise us that the second biggest cause of vitamin D deficiency is an overuse of sunscreen. Skin cancer rates are rising almost proportionately with the use of sunscreen. In fact, research shows that using even SPF8, reduces the body’s ability to make vitamin D by 90%. And an SPF of 30 reduces it by 99%. So, at the risk of getting skin cancer, we are creating massive vitamin D deficiencies and exposing ourselves to all sorts of other diseases that are very serious – like cancer (especially breast, ovarian and prostate cancer) and autoimmune diseases.

So, what are we to do? We don’t want to burn and encourage skin cancer, and we certainly don’t want to live with a vitamin D deficiency either. That is dangerous. 

In part II we will address both issues.