We have often heard of vitamin-D being important for strong bones and teeth but there’s a few other benefits to it as well.
Benefits
1.Fighting disease; it helps fight disease, and reduces the likelihood of developing cold and flu symptoms, this is more important than ever as we battle against Covid-19. There has also been some studies showing it’s benefits to heart health. People with a lack of it were shown to have increased risk of heart disease.
2. Protects Skin; vitamin -D is vital for protecting the skin, it can prevent pre-mature ageing as well as many skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and dryness.
3. Helps With Depression– Serotonin is our happy hormone, it is what produces a sense of happiness, satiety and regulates sleep, lack of it leads to depression and low moods. Vitamin-D can have a positive effect on mood as it has actually been shown to increase this happy hormone.
4.Helps To Loose Weight: There has been various theories to show that vitamin-D can aid weight loss. This is done by suppressing hunger, increasing metabolism and suppressing the storage of fat cells.
Where can we get it from?
Vitamin D is produced in the body when the skin is exposed to sunlight, it does this by using the cholesterol in our bodies, but sunlight comes with its own risks. You can minimize this risk by exposing your skin for up to half an hour a few times a week and applying an SPF 50.
If sunlight is not an option for you then try including salmon, cod liver oil, free range eggs, mushrooms and yogurt in your diet.
Supplements are a good idea if you have been told you are deficient by a health care provider, this is likely if you live somewhere in the world with not a lot of sun. Skin colour can also effect how much sun you absorb, people with darker skin tones tend to absorb less vitamin-D than those with fairer tones.
Caution- too much vitamin-D can increase the level of calcium in the blood which can have an effect of on our hearts, signs of this include nausea, vomiting, muscle weakness and frequent urination, It can also cause stomach pains, constipation or diarrhea. It can also lead to kidney failure so always check before taking pills or supplements with your doctor or pharmacist.
