Why Do I Need to Supplement with Vitamin D?
(Because your Deficiency is Killing You and You Don’t Even Know it)
You may have heard in the news or from a friend that Vitamin D deficiency is one of the most rampant vitamin deficiencies in our country today. Well I am here to tell you all that it is and we as a society are suffering from numerous "deficiency syndromes" due to lack of this essential nutrient which manifest in many different ways. These conditions take the form of such things as diabetes, cancer, heart disease, various neurological disorders, and hormone deficiencies. In order for you to comprehend how a deficiency of this vital nutrient can cause such widespread and severe conditions it is essential for you to understand more about Vitamin D and its various forms.
First of all, this unique and vitally essential nutrient stands alone as a nutrient which the body can manufacture itself. That is providing that you give your body the necessary components or building blocks required to manufacture it. So, what are these "necessary components"? Well I think that the components will surprise most of you, since you have all been "educated" (or what I prefer to call 'brain washed") to believe the first one is "bad" for you. So "bad" that the medical community would have you drive your levels of this component down to extremely unhealthy readings, which of course would be verified by a blood test to make it official. What is this mystery component of Vitamin D? It is "Cholesterol"!?!?! You might be saying to yourself right now; "Cholesterol, I thought that was bad for my health?" No, but that is what you have been spoon fed to believe. You see I agree that extremely high cholesterol levels can be unhealthy. I also recognize that if you "Eat Right, Think Right, Move Right, and Sleep Right" not only will your cholesterol levels be correct, but so will your sugar levels, and your weight. By the way, do you think that the drug industry might have a hand in the "Cholesterol Craze"? Well considering that cholesterol lowering drugs (the class of drugs called "Statins") are one of the highest revenue producing drugs marketed to the public; I think that "Big Pharma" might just be benefiting from this "Craze".
The other component is "Good 'Ol" Sun Light! That's right, sun light is necessary for your body to manufacture Vitamin D. As all our Silver Inner Health Circletm members know from what I have written in the past, there are only 2 things that will cause disease and disorder in your body. One is a toxicity of something, whether it is good or bad for you. Remember as I have said for years, "too much of a good thing is no good!" This however is not the problem with Vitamin D. Most of us are deficient in this essential nutrient. We are deficient in it because we are deficient in the building blocks for it, specifically "Cholesterol", and "Sunlight". And "why" you might ask are we deficient in sunlight? Well there are two reasons; first we don't go outside enough. We work indoors for the most part, and secondly we have been educated ("brain washed") to be afraid of the sun. Yes, too much sun has been linked to skin cancer. But there are many other reasons for this due to other deficiencies from which many in our culture suffer (this is the subject for another article) that assist in allowing this to occur.
Ten minutes of full body exposure to the sun is what is typically recommended for proper health. So, sunlight is an essential component to the Vitamin D synthesis process in our bodies.
So what is Vitamin D? Well did you know that Vitamin D3 is actually a hormone? That's right a hormone. No wonder receptor sites where this essential vitamin can link up are found on virtually all tissues, glands and organs in the body.
Here is how it is formed in your body. The initial component is 7- dehydrocholesterol which is found in the skin of all animals. Notice that second half of the word. You see "cholesterol" is not a bad thing. It is actually a necessary component, a building block if you will, for not only this "hormone" but also for virtually every other hormone that your body synthesizes. This component is converted with the help of sunlight into a form called "cholecalciferol" (Vitamin D3) which is the active form of Vitamin D. The hormone effects of Vitamin D occur when cholecalciferol is converted to 1,25-hydroxy Vitamin D, or "Calcitriol". This hormone controls phosphorus, calcium, and bone metabolism (the build up and break down of bone), as well as neuro-muscular (meaning all nerve and muscle) function.
Not only is Vitamin D3 important for proper "bone health", it has also been linked to other health concerns such as depression, cancer, diabetes, insulin resistance, back pain, pre-eclampsia during pregnancy, impaired immune function, and macular degeneration. Age related kidney function deterioration has also been linked to Vitamin D deficiency.
This deficiency certainly does affect a lot, doesn't it? We are just beginning to see the research coming in on this essential nutrient/hormone. I know that we are going to see in the coming years that this previously little known nutrient will have even farther reaching health effects, and I will even go so far as to say that I believe that the health effects of Vitamin D will be seen in virtually every "disease" and disorder that plagues our society today.
So why is the vast majority of our population so deficient in this essential nutrient? One reason may be our fear. Fear of cholesterol, and of the sun. Please understand that I want you to have your cholesterol levels checked. I want you to make the appropriate life-style changes in order to maintain appropriate levels (NOT around or under 100 which the medical community is pushing for now). This is important. I also want to see that you receive enough sunlight. Not too much and not too little. You must be cautious with "slathering" yourself with too much sun screen which has the effect of blocking the health producing UV rays of the sun, and thereby aids in creating this life altering and yes life threatening deficiency.
It is also important for all our Silver Inner Health Circletm members to realize that as they age the ability of our bodies to create Vitamin D is diminished. The conversion of Vitamin D occurs on the skin, but also in the gut, liver and the kidneys. As these organs begin to break down over time, the ability of our bodies to produce sufficient quantities of Vitamin D also diminishes.
So where does this leave us? Well number one you must have your Vitamin D level tested. Those of you who are patients, ask Denise or Kerry and we will see that this gets done. Those of you who are not ask your doctor to run this test for you ASAP. Just get it done!
The next thing that you need to do is to begin supplementing your diet with Vitamin D. The form that we use is Vitamin D3 at 1000 iu. link Make sure unless you have some medical reason that you are getting enough (10 minutes per day of full body exposure) sunlight. Understand more about the realities of cholesterol. Watch my DVD on “Eating Right and Cholesterol”. You need to just understand the realities of this critically important nutrient/hormone, and begin creating “Sufficiency and Purity” in your system by creating sufficient quantities of Vitamin D in your body.