Vitamin D...
When you think of vitamin d you think of the sun, right?
Well naturally the sun is how we get vitamin D. But the issue is most of us don't get enough sun to get adequate amounts of vitamin D each day.
Did you know that about 1 billion people have low vitamin D levels??
This is huge and is something we should all be aware of and regularly have tested when we do our bloods.
What are the benefits of Vitamin D?
- Helps strengthen your bones as promotes better calcium absorption
- Can help strengthen muscles
- Can support the immune system and inflammation as it fights off harmful bacteria and viruses . Over 25 randomized control studies vitamin d supplementation was found to reduce the risk of acute respiratory infections.
- Can help strengthen oral health
- Can help prevent type 1 and type 2 diabetes
- Can help treat hypertension
- Can help you lose weight
- Can help with depression
- Can help reduce some cancers. Most human data so far are for cancers such as: colorectal, breast, prostate and pancreatic.
As you can see the benefits are very massive.
Especially in the world we are currently living in with Covid.
There is more and more data coming our from researchers looking into the correlation of cases/deaths and low vitamin D. For example a study from the united kingdom looking into 20 European countries showed that the countries with highest rates of Covid were those with low vitamin D levels. Those with the lowest case numbers had higher levels of vitamin D mainly from their diet being rich in things such as cod liver oil along with sun exposure.
It's certainly interesting research with no doubt more to come out as this pandemic lengthens and is something to look into.
But the main point from this is to ensure you are doing the best you can to have a healthy and strong immune system.
Now how do we know if we are deficient?
Well best way is to get a blood test testing your levels.
But some other symptoms can be:
Aching muscle + painful bones
Fatigue
Dementia and cognitive decline
Depression
Hair loss
Dizziness
Heart problems
Slow wound healing
Excess weight
As you can see these can be very serious issues if left for too long.
Now unless you have a job out in the sun everyday, In terms of supplementation you can buy tablets, oral liquid or take things like cod liver oil.
Always talk to your doctor or practitioner before supplementing with anything but me personally I aim for 4000IU a day.
Hope this helps and shows how important Vitamin d is for us :)!!
Coach Luke
Join our EMP coaching program today.
Comments