Vitamin D is an important fat soluble vitamin that your body makes and stores when you expose your bare skin to the UV-B rays of natural sunlight. Yet despite an abundance of sunlight in most parts of the world, vitamin D deficiency is a universal health concern. In the United States, it is estimated that 42 percent of the population is vitamin D deficient. Even more alarming is the rate of vitamin D deficiency among children, affecting 70 percent of children aged 6–11, and 50 percent of children aged 1–5.
Learn about the role of Vitamin D in the human body, the primary causes of deficiency, and how you can boost your Vitamin D levels for better health.
Actions of Vitamin D in Humans
The human body relies on a broad range of nutrients to perform at its peak. Macronutrients are fats, carbohydrates and proteins, and micronutrients are vitamins and minerals. Rather than thinking of individual nutrients as independent entities, you should consider how they interact with each other to keep your body’s cells and systems operating at their best.
Vitamins are organic substances that play multiple roles in human health. They can be subdivided into water soluble vitamins like B-complex vitamins and vitamin C, and water soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K. Excessive water soluble vitamins are flushed out of your body via the kidneys, while fat soluble vitamins are absorbed and stored in the body’s fatty tissues, including the liver, to be used when needed.
While most vitamins are absorbed from the foods you eat, Vitamin D is unique in that your body can manufacture it from natural sunlight. There are two subcategories of Vitamin D – D2 and D3. Vitamin D2 is sourced from plants, while Vitamin D3 is sourced from animals and ultraviolet B (UV-B) rays from the sun.
Vitamin D3 is considered to be more effective than D2 in raising vitamin D levels in your bloodstream, for longer periods of time. Both forms are stored in your fat cells for future use after the body’s demands have been met.
Vitamin D is involved in multiple actions in the body:
- Absorbs calcium from the intestines for bone mineralization
- Plays a role in muscle function, and the repair and regeneration of muscle tissue
- Protects neurons and regulates neurotransmission in the brain
- Performs as a protective antioxidant
- Stimulates immune defense against pathogens
- Suppresses systemic inflammation
- Helps to stimulate insulin secretion and supports glucose metabolism
- Promotes arterial health and modulates blood pressure
- Protects against heart disease
Multiple cross-sectional studies show that individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive impairment have significantly lower vitamin D levels than healthy subjects. Vitamin D helps to prevent amyloid accumulation and promotes amyloid clearance in the brain, and emerging evidence suggests that Vitamin D helps to reduce amyloid-beta and phosphorylated tau, both markers of Alzheimer’s disease.
Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency
While vitamin D deficiency is increasingly common, most of its causative factors are both preventable and reversible.
Common causes of Vitamin D deficiency include:
- Insufficient exposure to natural sunlight, especially in the shorter days of winter and in northern latitudes
- Use of toxic sunscreens that block out the beneficial rays of the sun
- Poor diet that excludes fatty fish, eggs, and other natural sources of vitamin D
- Vegan and vegetarian diets
- Problems with absorption due to conditions like celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, and gastric bypass surgery
- Liver or kidney damage that impairs Vitamin D activation
- Medications like anticonvulsants, corticosteroids, and cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins
- Poor absorption from sunlight in darker-skinned people
- Increased demand during pregnancy and nursing
- Medical conditions like osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis
Spending more time outdoors and exposing the eyes and skin to sunlight can quickly and dramatically boost your body’s ability to manufacture vitamin D. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), vitamin D researchers suggest that 5–30 minutes of daily sun exposure between 10 am and 4 pm can promote sufficient vitamin D synthesis. They recommend exposure to the face, arms, hands, and legs – without sunscreen.
It should be noted that tanning beds are not a good alternative to natural sun exposure for boosting vitamin D levels, because tanning beds emit UVA rays, not the UVB rays needed to support vitamin D synthesis.
Best Ways to Boost Vitamin D Levels
The USDA recommended daily dietary allowance of vitamin D for humans is 600-800 IU (15-20 mcg) per day. However, people whose modern lifestyles keep them indoors may require higher levels of Vitamin D – upwards of 1000 IU – to support optimal health. In addition to increased sun exposure, you can boost your vitamin D levels through improved diet and supplements.
Foods that provide vitamin D include:
- Cod liver oil
- Cold-water fish like sardines, trout, tuna, and wild-caught salmon
- Eggs from pasture-raised hens who are exposed to daily sunlight
- Beef liver
- Mushrooms
- Dairy products fortified with vitamin D
It is important to note that farm-raised fish typically have very low levels of vitamin D. For example, according to research from Boston University, farmed salmon only contains about one-fourth of the Vitamin D found in wild-caught salmon. A 4-ounce serving of wild-caught salmon provides about 600 IU of vitamin D, while a same-size serving of farmed salmon only provides around 150 IU. Because vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, it is better absorbed when consumed with fat. Cooking your fish, eggs and liver in butter or olive oil can help to boost absorption.
In addition to sunlight and dietary sources, you can take supplements to increase your vitamin D levels. Look for vitamin D supplements that specifically contain D3, not D2. Because of vitamin D’s role in calcium absorption, D3 supplements that also contain vitamin K2 can help to ensure that calcium is deposited in bones, rather than accumulating in arteries and soft tissues. Daily intake should stay within the range of 1000-2000 IU (25-50 mcg).
Vitamin D Injection Therapy
As an alternative to taking oral supplements, many people prefer to have regular D3 injections. Remember that your body can store vitamin D in fat tissue, so injections only need to be administered periodically. For busy people on the go, or people with digestive issues who find oral supplements hard to break down, injection therapy can provide a perfect solution for meeting your Vitamin D requirements. Look for a reputable clinic that can recommend the best injection dosage and frequency for your needs.
Boost Your Health and Immunity with Vitamin D Injections in NYC
Getting adequate amounts of Vitamin D can be a challenge in today’s tech-based world. Sitting for hours in front of a computer for work or study has replaced time spent outdoors. Moreover, living in northern cities like NYC can limit your sun exposure during winter months. And in our modern fast-food culture, fish is rarely on the menu.
Vitamin D injection therapy is a fast and convenient way to make sure you get enough vitamin D to support your immune function and skeletal system. Invita Wellness offers a broad spectrum of nutrient injection and IV therapies to keep you at optimal levels, all year round. Contact us today, and keep your health on track so you can always look and feel your best.
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Resources
Sultan, Sadia, et al. “Low vitamin D and its association with cognitive impairment and dementia.” Journal of aging research 2020.1 (2020): 6097820.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7210535/
