The amazing benefits of Vitamin D.
Winter is coming. One of the benefits for taking Vitamin D is to be free from influenza and build your immunity.
Vitamin D is generated in the skin by high-angle sun exposure, which you get in the summer time; hence, the higher incidence of the flu and cold in the winter months.
Vitamin D Deficiency
Most Americans are deficient in vitamin D (the sunshine vitamin) with consequences more serious than most of us have thought. Dr. John J. Cannell, founder of the Vitamin D Council discovered that his patients in the hospital did not get influenza, while all the wards around those of his patients, were “involved in fighting the influenza epidemic.” He noted that “All of the patients on my ward had been taking 2,000 units of vitamin D every day”. Now, the recommended dosage is higher; for adults it is 5,000 IU/day and 1,000 IU per day for each 25 pounds of body weight for children.
Vitamin D Deficiency Risks
Since vitamin D has been found to be basic to strengthening our immunity system, it is not surprising that the correlation of diseases resulting from vitamin-D deficiency include not only influenza, but also multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer in addition to other diseases. The incidence of MS near the equator is essentially zero, where the sunshine vitamin is readily available. Dr. Cannell further states, “Cancer, heart disease, stroke, autoimmune disease, depression, chronic pain, depression, gum disease, diabetes, hypertension, and a number of other diseases have recently been associated with vitamin D deficiency.”
Sunlight and Vitamin D
Vitamin D is generated in the body when the sun’s ultraviolet B-band (UVB) bathes the skin. Twenty minutes of direct summer sun bathing generates about 20,000 IU of vitamin D, but as the sun angle gets down below about 40 degrees above the horizon the absorption drops off to zero, as the earth’s atmosphere refracts the UVB band away from the earth. The body has the amazing ability to turn off vitamin D generation in the skin when it has enough. You can get sunburned from too much sun, and you should be careful not to, but you cannot get too much vitamin D from the sun. You can get too much from supplementation. Dr. Cannel recommends supplementation not exceed 10,000 IU per day, and no supplementation is needed if you have high-angle-summer sun.
“As a result, North Americans are woefully deficient in vitamin D, …during the winter months.” says Dr. Julian Whitaker, where the sun angle gets below 30 degrees for much of the USA at the winter solstice. In addition, vitamin D is an oil; so, if you take a shower or bath with soap and water after sunbathing, a lot of the D3 gets washed away. It takes a day or two for it to be absorbed into the body and stored in the liver and the body’s fat. Showering without the soap does not wash away the D3!
When and if do we get enough from the sunshine?
The following are considerations:
• The darker the skin the less vitamin D is generated;
• Daytime indoor work may prohibit solar exposure; take a noon walk;
• Sunscreen and clothing cut solar exposure;
• The higher the latitude from the equator, the less solar exposure;
• If pregnant or nursing, vitamin D supplementation is more important;
• Older people have thinner skin and absorb less than younger people; and
• The more obese the more supplementation a person is likely to need.
If not, what do we do? Supplement!
Supplement!
Once the UVB sun rays touch your skin, vitamin D3 is generated, which is then stored in the fat and the liver. The body can store about a 20 day supply, and one of the best sources of vitamin D, other than the sunshine, is cod liver oil. The vitamin D supplementation in foods is often vitamin D2, which comes from plants, and has been found to not be processed by the body nearly as well as D3.
UVB lamps could offset the vitamin D deficiencies when the direct sun is not available. For example, if one had a UVB lamp in a bathroom, which could be switched on for a short amount of time while a person is disrobed, this could be the supply needed. UVB lamps with timers can be bought and could be placed near your computer. A good idea would be to put them in cars – helping you feel happy at the end of your commute! Dr. Robert (Bob) Arbon, a retired ear, nose, and throat doctor and a good friend of ours, had a UVB lamp in his office, and even though he was often exposed to people with the flu and colds, he didn’t get sick!
Enjoy Vitamin D Benefits This Winter
It is easy and inexpensive (5 cents per day) to enjoy the benefits of vitamin D3 capsules , so this is a must in your health kit unless you have good solar exposure or a lamp. If you miss a day or two, it is no big deal, as you can take extra to make up. Our amazing bodies have about a three week averaging capability.
Enjoy more beneficial information about your health in my book, “It’s About Time.”
Wishing you high immunity and GOOD health.
David Allan