Post by Mira O'Halloran on Dec 10, 2009 10:11:19 GMT -5
One important part of being healthy and sound is making sure that your diet has enough of the vitamins, minerals and other nutritional values that your body needs. When you don't (or can't) get enough, suppliments are suggested. That's what I'm going to talk about here - The topic being Vitamin D (and I'll do other ones as well, if you have one that you're curious about, just ask)
Okay, let's get one thing straight - there are two much used types of Vit D. There's vit D2 (ergocalciferol) and vit D3 (cholecalciferol). Why is this important and what's the difference?
1) Vit D2 doesn't bind well to the protiens in the human body, because it's synthetic to the human body, which means the body can't use it. Vit D3 is the same form that UVB rays create when they come in contact with skin, so it is readily absorbed in supplement form.
2) Cheap or pharmaceutical brand vitamin pills are likely to be Vit D2. The health companies generally have Vit D3 in their supplements.
Why is Vit D so important to the body, and how can you get it naturally?
3) Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to causing depression, several types of cancer, hypertension, osteoporosis, muscular weakness and even diabetes and MS.
4) Most people can get their daily Vit D through sunlight - 15 minutes a day in the middle of the day exposing as much skin as possible. Exceptions being seasons and where you live. In winter, it's hard to get sunlight in most places in the world. In places like Tasmania, the top of Canada, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Greenland and Russia for more then half the year you'd be at risk of low Vit D. Not to mention people who work at night and sleep during the day, or those who work through the daylight hours in an office.
What constitutes as Vit D deficient, how much do you need, how much is too much and how do you find out if you're deficient?
5)Deficient < 50ng/ml
Optimal 50-65ng/ml
For those fighting cancer 65-90 ng/ml
Excess >100 ng/ml
6) The latest reasearch is saying that you want 35 IU’s of vitamin D per pound of body weight.
For example: a child weighing 40 pounds, the recommended average dose would be 1,400 IU’s daily, and for a 170-pound adult, the dose would be nearly 6,000 IU’s. It's easy to add up.
6) Vitamin D toxicity is documented. Some symptoms of vitamin D toxicity are a result of hypercalcemia (an elevated level of calcium in the blood) caused by increased intestinal calcium absorption. Vitamin D toxicity is known to be a cause of high blood pressure. Gastrointestinal symptoms of vitamin D toxicity can include anorexia, nausea, and vomiting. These symptoms are often followed by polyuria (excessive production of urine), polydipsia (increased thirst), weakness, nervousness, pruritus (itch), and eventually renal failure.
7) The only way to find out your blood Vit D level is to get a bloodtest. The correct test your doctor needs to order is 25(OH)D, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D.
My personal experiance with Vit D3 - It's better then an antidepressant. I've been taking it on and off now for about two years, and it makes a marked improvement in mood. And I find it easier to be more energetic.
Any questions?
For more information: articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/10/10/Vitamin-D-Experts-Reveal-the-Truth.aspx
Okay, let's get one thing straight - there are two much used types of Vit D. There's vit D2 (ergocalciferol) and vit D3 (cholecalciferol). Why is this important and what's the difference?
1) Vit D2 doesn't bind well to the protiens in the human body, because it's synthetic to the human body, which means the body can't use it. Vit D3 is the same form that UVB rays create when they come in contact with skin, so it is readily absorbed in supplement form.
2) Cheap or pharmaceutical brand vitamin pills are likely to be Vit D2. The health companies generally have Vit D3 in their supplements.
Why is Vit D so important to the body, and how can you get it naturally?
3) Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to causing depression, several types of cancer, hypertension, osteoporosis, muscular weakness and even diabetes and MS.
4) Most people can get their daily Vit D through sunlight - 15 minutes a day in the middle of the day exposing as much skin as possible. Exceptions being seasons and where you live. In winter, it's hard to get sunlight in most places in the world. In places like Tasmania, the top of Canada, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Greenland and Russia for more then half the year you'd be at risk of low Vit D. Not to mention people who work at night and sleep during the day, or those who work through the daylight hours in an office.
What constitutes as Vit D deficient, how much do you need, how much is too much and how do you find out if you're deficient?
5)Deficient < 50ng/ml
Optimal 50-65ng/ml
For those fighting cancer 65-90 ng/ml
Excess >100 ng/ml
6) The latest reasearch is saying that you want 35 IU’s of vitamin D per pound of body weight.
For example: a child weighing 40 pounds, the recommended average dose would be 1,400 IU’s daily, and for a 170-pound adult, the dose would be nearly 6,000 IU’s. It's easy to add up.
6) Vitamin D toxicity is documented. Some symptoms of vitamin D toxicity are a result of hypercalcemia (an elevated level of calcium in the blood) caused by increased intestinal calcium absorption. Vitamin D toxicity is known to be a cause of high blood pressure. Gastrointestinal symptoms of vitamin D toxicity can include anorexia, nausea, and vomiting. These symptoms are often followed by polyuria (excessive production of urine), polydipsia (increased thirst), weakness, nervousness, pruritus (itch), and eventually renal failure.
7) The only way to find out your blood Vit D level is to get a bloodtest. The correct test your doctor needs to order is 25(OH)D, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D.
My personal experiance with Vit D3 - It's better then an antidepressant. I've been taking it on and off now for about two years, and it makes a marked improvement in mood. And I find it easier to be more energetic.
Any questions?
For more information: articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/10/10/Vitamin-D-Experts-Reveal-the-Truth.aspx