What is Vitamin D?

Strange to say, Vitamin D is not a vitamin.  It’s actually a prohormone, a substance that the body converts to a hormone.  The kidneys convert this particular prohormone to a hormone called calcitriol.  Calcitriol controls blood calcium concentration, among other things.  

Vitamin D and Bone Health

When it comes to keeping your bones healthy most people know that calcium is an important nutrient. What they may not realize is that Vitamin D is essential for the absorption of calcium.

Almost all calcium is stored in the bones and the teeth, where it supports hardness and structure. Calcium is needed in other parts of the body, too. The nerves need calcium to help carry messages between the brain and every other part of the body and the muscles need calcium to contract.  This includes the heart, which is a muscular organ. Your heart needs calcium as well in order to pump.  

Absorption of calcium is key to bone health because when calcium is not absorbed in the small intestine, the body will “steal” the calcium from the bones in order to maintain sufficient calcium levels elsewhere in the body. 

Adequate levels of Vitamin D will help the body to absorb calcium so that it does not rob the bones of their calcium.

Bones that have had their calcium “stolen” are not as dense as they should be.  This weakens the bones and can lead to fractures. When bones are weak, fractures in the vertebrae (spine) can occur even without a fall or trauma. Fractures in larger bones like the hip (femur bone), are less common without some sort of fall or trauma.

Where Does Vitamin D Come From?

Vitamin D is also known as the Sunshine Vitamin.  When skin is exposed to sunlight it produces Vitamin D for the body to use. 

The active force in sunlight that creates Vitamin D is Ultra Violet B rays, also called “UVB”.  Minimal blood levels of Vitamin D can be achieved by exposure of the legs, arms, face or back without sunblock to direct sunlight for approximately 20 minutes several times a week.  

However, enough direct sunlight to allow your body to produce Vitamin D can be hard to come by.  This is particularly so during the winter. Even though Alberta winter days may be sunny and bright, the sun is at a less direct angle to the surface of the earth than it is in summer which means that the intensity of its rays is less.  It is also the case that exposure of the legs, arms, or back in sub-zero temperatures is completely out of the question for most people.

Even in the summer, various factors such as cloud cover, the frequency of rainfalls, smog levels, the time of day, and an indoor-based lifestyle (which many working people necessarily have) can make it very difficult to get enough consistent sun exposure to make sufficient levels of Vitamin D to get through the winter. 

Food Sources of Vitamin D

Health Canada recommends a daily intake of 4,000 IU (100 mcg) daily for adults.  Even if that were a sufficient level of intake for everyone, it could be hard to reach without supplementation.

Getting enough Vitamin D daily may be an issue if you’re relying on food sources and sunlight alone.

Vitamin D Supplementation

Because it can be difficult to consistently get enough Vitamin D from sunlight all through the year and from food, an obvious solution is to take a Vitamin D supplement. 

Vitamin D3 is best in liquid form.  Because Vitamin D is fat soluble, it can be hard to digest and absorb; the liquid form makes the Vitamin D more bioavailable.  The liquid is taken orally, either directly from the dropper or added to an oil such as flax seed oil, olive oil, primrose oil, coconut oil, or a vinaigrette dressing.

How and when you take Vitamin D supplements is important. Vitamin D is one of the four fat-soluble vitamins and must be taken with fat to be digested and absorbed.  Have your Vitamin D with a meal that does have some fat in it. For most people, that meal is supper. 

Are You Vitamin D Deficient?

Vitamin D deficiency is common in Canada.  Statistics Canada reports that almost one third of the population in Canada falls below the level of Vitamin D that is “sufficient for healthy bones for most people”.  That represents more than a one-in-three chance that you have a Vitamin D deficiency. (Don’t you wish your chances of winning the lottery were that high!)

Knowing your Vitamin D status is particularly critical at this time of year.  We are soon going into the winter season, after an atypically short, low-sunlight Alberta summer.

Even a subclinical Vitamin D deficiency ought not to be taken lightly.  A subclinical deficiency is one that has not yet created immediately apparent symptoms but which, if untreated, can develop into a full-blown clinical deficiency, i.e. one that is characterized by observable symptoms.

Testing for Vitamin D

Rather than wait for a Vitamin D deficiency to manifest itself symptomatically, and given that a deficiency may not be immediately symptomatically obvious, a wise course of action is to test. The prevention or early reversal of a Vitamin D deficiency is so much easier on a patient than treating a condition that it may cause.

A baseline test in the fall, can give a clear picture of whether you received enough Vitamin D during the summer from sunlight and food.  A re-test in late winter after sun exposure and food sources have been harder to come by can help to ensure that you are maintaining an adequate Vitamin D level.

Testing is done through taking a blood sample.  A simple finger poke is all it takes for the lab to determine if your blood has adequate levels of Vitamin D.  A few drops is enough blood for testing.

How Much Vitamin D is Enough?

That’s a very good question and the answer is — it depends.  What are your current levels of Vitamin D? Do you have any health issues that could have arisen from a Vitamin D deficiency?  Do you have health problems that could be impacting your ability to absorb Vitamin D and other nutrients? (Many people who have no obvious symptoms of digestive issues or disease are still unable to digest and absorb their Vitamin D).  Are you taking any medications that can affect Vitamin D levels?  

Vitamin D testing will give a picture of your current levels and an indication of whether you are absorbing it properly.

The minimum daily requirement for Vitamin D can vary dramatically from person to person.  The best advice is to get tested to determine what’s right for you.

Green Apple Health Care practices Cause Based Medicine™ which is the systematic process of finding and treating the core cause of health concerns by using a classic naturopathic approach combined with scientific research to optimize patient outcomes.

Our focus is cause-based.  We are relentless in identifying the root cause, the “why” behind the symptoms, and we address our treatment programs to the cause of the health condition, not the symptoms.

Call us at (780) 485-9468 to book a consultation.  If you prefer, online booking is available for both new patients and repeat patients.