The Importance of Vitamin D for Your Health

A lack of Vitamin D can pose serious issues to your health, making it one of the most essential nutrients that you need daily.

Many people do not understand the importance of vitamin D. Not only is vitamin D crucial for the absorption of calcium, but it also plays a vital role in many other aspects of health.

Vitamin D helps regulate the production of serotonin, the neurotransmitter that regulates our mood and cognitive function. Depression and anxiety result from a lack of serotonin. In 2006, scientists evaluated the effects of vitamin D on the mental health of 80 elderly patients and found those with the lowest levels of vitamin D were 11 times more prone to depression than those who received healthy doses.

Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with hypertension, and supplementation with vitamin D has been shown to improve the function of the cells that line your blood vessels, leading to lower blood pressure.

Vitamin D regulates the production of over 900 genes in the human body. It can turn on and turn off the expression of genes. Vitamin D can turn on the expression of enzymes that protect your DNA.

Vitamin D regulates the length of your telomeres. Your telomeres protect your DNA. Telomere length is a biomarker for aging. The older you are, the shorter they get. Higher levels of vitamin D were correlated with longer telomeres when levels were checked in identical twins. They were the same age, but the one with higher levels of DNA had longer telomeres and, thus, younger cells. Vitamin D also lowers inflammation, which can decrease telomere length. Mice with vitamin D deficiency aged much more quickly than mice with normal vitamin D levels.

70% of the US population does not meet the standards for adequate Vitamin D levels. People spending so much time indoors plays a large role in this. Increasing average body fat also plays a role. Vitamin D is stored in fat. The more body fat you have, the less vitamin D you will have available in your bloodstream for your cells to utilize. It will instead be locked up in your fat cells.

The older we get, the less efficiently we make vitamin D from the sun. A person at 70 makes 1/4th less vitamin D from the sun than when they were 20.

Vitamin D also plays a crucial role in calcium absorption. Even if you take the right amount of calcium, it won’t be properly absorbed without Vitamin D. Without vitamin D, no more than 10-15% of dietary calcium is absorbed from the gut. A lack of Vitamin D can lead to poor bone health, which becomes more of a problem the older you get. In addition to its benefits for bone health, vitamin D has also been crucial to boosting and maintaining your immune system.

Vitamin D adults need tends to be around 600 to 800 IUs, but some research has found that adults might need up to 2000 IUs for the most benefits. But what is the best way to get all of this Vitamin D?

Most food does not contain Vitamin D naturally, except for fatty fish, but many products such as milk, juice, or cereal are fortified with some of your daily required amounts. Despite this, the best way to get Vitamin D is through sunlight. Being outdoors between five to 30 minutes daily is enough for your body to produce Vitamin D.

In ideal sunlight conditions, you could produce upwards of 20000 IUs of Vitamin D on your own! Wearing sunscreen and having a darker skin tone will decrease this. Of course, this can also change depending on climate, season, and your schedule. Not everyone can be outside when it’s sunny, especially office workers. This is why many people in the US must take supplements to attain an adequate vitamin D level.

For more information on the nutrition and diet services we offer, contact us at (808)-353-5536 to learn how we can help you enjoy a better quality of life.