Vitamin D3
About 20 minutes of full sun exposure a day, on your bare skin, is all you really need to stay whole and healthy. Vitamin D is one of those elements that the body stopped producing as a function of our evolution. However, we still need vitamin D to build and maintain strong, healthy bone structure and teeth.
If you’re not able to be exposed to sun on a daily basis, it can affect not only your bone density, but also your state of mind and immune function. We’re light bearers, as the iron in our blood actually metabolizes light and needs a regular source to help us feel enthused and healthy about ourselves and our lives.
If we risk times of depletion, like winter months in a more northern or southern climate, then supplementation is wholly necessary. While we use vitamin D3 drops in our home, as pictured above, foods such as cod liver oil, tuna, salmon, and sardines naturally contain high sources of vitamin D. In addition, broccoli, sesame seeds, raw milk and eggs can also be a reliable sources albeit more on the moderate side.
Vitamin D3 promotes the absorption of calcium that is critical to a baby’s, child’s, and teen’s growth and development, while also helping adults and more elderly folk prevent bone loss. At every age, we will replace every cell in our bodies, including our bones, every 7 years. It is important to ensure a bioavailable supply of vitamin D, so that the body does not have to struggle to source it out. Actually, this is why babes will suffer teething symptoms as it is due to a lack of bioavailability of minerals for constructing bone and teeth.
Vitamin D3 has been proven to boost our immune function while also decreasing the risk of rheumatoid arthritis, muscle weakness, rickets, osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, hypoglycemia, and the development of type 2 diabetes, along with certain cancers such as colon, breast and prostate. Often skin issues, such as acne and psoriasis, can be improved with the supplementation of vitamin D3. In all cases above, though, it is best to address outright the predisposition for any of these diseases through principled medicine, as supplementation is healative, not curative.
Source: Linus Pauling Institute, http://bit.ly/OregonVitD
As per Dr. Mercola, “Additionally, a robust and growing body of research clearly shows that vitamin D is absolutely critical for good health and disease prevention. Vitamin D affects your DNA through vitamin D receptors (VDRs), which bind to specific locations of the human genome. Scientists have identified nearly 3,000 genes that are influenced by vitamin D levels, and vitamin D receptors have been found throughout the human body.” Also, Mercola goes on to dispel any myths around overdosing and harmful effects associated with the over use of vitamin D3 on his page below.
Source: http://bit.ly/MercolaVitD
Recommended Daily Dose
If you can sunbathe for 20 minutes per day year round, chances are you won’t need a vitamin D supplement. However, for us, the winter months in Canada are dark and we need about 2,000 I/U a day to get our vitamin D, in order to keep our immune function high and maintain healthy bones and teeth.