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The Power of Vitamin D

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Vitamin D: not only is it powerful, it’s vital for good health.

 

Every tissue in the body needs vitamin D. The power of vitamin D resides in its influence on a variety of health conditions (e.g. diabetes, depression). | KalenaSpire

 

THE POWER OF VITAMIN D

Although it’s called a vitamin, D is actually a steroid hormone that acts as a catalyst for processes that protect our cells.

Every tissue in the body needs vitamin D, yet a large percentage of the world’s population is deficient, or borderline deficient, in this critical hormone. Even a mild deficiency can contribute to chronic and autoimmune diseases such diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression, cancer (including ovarian, colon, and breast), multiple sclerosis, and psoriasis.

 

SHINING SOURCES OF VITAMIN D

Nature intended for us to get vitamin D from exposure to sunlight, but absorption is blocked by sunscreen. We need bare-skin sun exposure for 15-20 minutes a day; most of us don’t get that. Additionally, we don’t eat enough D-rich foods, which include egg yolk, cod liver oil, shiitake mushrooms, and wild salmon. Fortified milk/dairy is not the best source because you need several cups every day. For anyone allergic to or intolerant of dairy products, this food category is off limits.

The best way to help the body establish optimal levels of vitamin D is to take a supplement.

 

OPTIMAL VITAMIN D LEVELS

The recommended blood level of vitamin D (above 25 nmol/L) was established to protect people from bone disease (rickets and osteomalacia). From the natural medicine perspective (and emerging scientific data), that threshold is too low to protect against serious illness or to promote optimal health. Depending on the individual, integrative and functional medicine practitioners identify 45-80 nmol/L as the ideal vitamin D blood level for disease prevention.

Age, gender, diet, stress level, and lifestyle factors affect absorption of vitamin D. An integrative and functional medicine practitioner can order a blood test prior to starting a supplement to help ensure you take the appropriate amount and form of vitamin D. Follow-up testing tracks improvement in your levels and health conditions. Your doctor can then adjust your supplement dose accordingly.

 

 

What’s your favorite way to maximize the power of vitamin D? Share in the comments below!

 

 

References
  • The VitaminD Society. Accessed 5 June 2018: http://www.vitamindsociety.org/videos.php?sub=Misc%20Vitamin%20D%20Videos
  • Holick, M.F., “Sunlight and vitamin D for bone health and prevention of autoimmune diseases, cancers, and cardiovascular disease.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, (1 December 2004) 80: 6,–1688S. Accessed 5 June 2018: https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/80.6.1678S
  • Grassroots Health. “VitaminD*Action” brochure. Digital copy available: http://www.vitamindsociety.org/pdf/New%20D%20Action%20Call%20to%20action%20and%20FAQ%20sheet%20Jan%2011.pdf
  • NIH.gov “Vitamin D Fact Sheet for Health Professionals.” Accessed 5 June 2018: https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/
Photo Credit
  • ratmaner/bigstockphoto.com

About Christine

Christine Cherpak is a Functional Nutrition & Wellness Expert, and the founder of KalenaSpire, a holistic health coaching and private yoga practice that specializes in freeing people from chronic digestive discomfort. Christine supports her clients in understanding the root cause of their digestive discomfort, creates a custom plan to put them on the road to healing, and shows them how to make sustainable lifestyle changes so they can finally enjoy and elevate their lives.

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Alexandria Z., M.S.

Christine is my wellness goddess. Her amazing support, extraordinary expertise, and undeniable compassion invited me to a world of freedom from digestive discomfort that I didn’t know was possible. The whirlwind of bloating, constipation, brain fog, and digestive upheaval was consuming my life. Exhaustion and frustration were becoming my very existence. And then I met my health goddess! Christine’s astute listening and meticulously tailored guidance, transformed my thinking and whirlwind of digestive discomfort. She helped me achieve a state of equilibrium. The balance I now experience is the center of my wellness existence—the core of my life with digestive happiness.

 

Christine instilled in me the power to embrace the grace and strength of my very own body! She has taught me to internalize the boundless evidence of my body’s functionality to heal digestively. While working with Christine, my exhaustion, pain, and bloating were overshadowed with energy, digestive comfort, glowing skin, and knowledge. Her coaching raised my awareness of food sensitivities, and promoted better food choices, which led to better sleep, a stronger link to overall wellness, clarity in my thinking, and ultimately, more joy in my life.  Christine’s remarkable spirit of wellness will forever echo in my digestive wellness journey. I bestow upon Christine the well-deserved exceptional title, “my wellness goddess.”
2015-07-27T17:47:59-04:00
Christine is my wellness goddess. Her amazing support, extraordinary expertise, and undeniable compassion invited me to a world of freedom from digestive discomfort that I didn’t know was possible. The whirlwind of bloating, constipation, brain fog, and digestive upheaval was consuming my life. Exhaustion and frustration were becoming my very existence. And then I met my health goddess! Christine’s astute listening and meticulously tailored guidance, transformed my thinking and whirlwind of digestive discomfort. She helped me achieve a state of equilibrium. The balance I now experience is the center of my wellness existence—the core of my life with digestive happiness.   Christine instilled in me the power to embrace the grace and strength of my very own body! She has taught me to internalize the boundless evidence of my body’s functionality to heal digestively. While working with Christine, my exhaustion, pain, and bloating were overshadowed with energy, digestive comfort, glowing skin, and knowledge. Her coaching raised my awareness of food sensitivities, and promoted better food choices, which led to better sleep, a stronger link to overall wellness, clarity in my thinking, and ultimately, more joy in my life.  Christine’s remarkable spirit of wellness will forever echo in my digestive wellness journey. I bestow upon Christine the well-deserved exceptional title, “my wellness goddess.”