Vitamin D and facts you must know before buying supplements

There are 13 different vitamins and in this blog post I’m exploring vitamin D for you to find out if too much of a good thing can be actually bad.

What exactly does vitamin D do for you?

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin which means it remains in the body within the fat tissues under your skin, between your internal organs and even in the hollow part of the bone. Toxic reactions can occur at low multiples of the recommended daily dose – no need to panic, not necessary from market supplements, keep reading and you’ll find out more.

Primary role of vitamin D is to act as a regulator – this is the quickest way to remember its purpose. Not only it plays a key role in health, growth and strong bones but also prevents diabetes, heart disease, multiple sclerosis, schizophrenia and cancer.

They’re actually many compounds that form a family of vitamin D and it’s absolutely awesome to know that your skin can make a version of vitamin D from cholesterol.Yes! You read correctly from cholesterol.

How vitamin D helps the body?

Vitamin D obtained from sun, food or supplements enters your body and undergo two activations. First activation occurs in liver and second in kidney. As a result, vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the gut and maintains calcium and phosphate concentration to enable normal bone mineralization and to prevent involuntary contraction of muscles leading to cramps and spasms. It’s also needed for bone growth including teeth growth. Vitamin D together with calcium helps protect adults from osteoporosis.

How much vitamin D should I take daily?

The fact that our skin can produce vitamin D it’s really great news, as mentioned earlier. However, the amount of vitamin D each one of us can produce depends on where you live, your skin colour, use of sunscreen, clothing, time of day and time of the year.

Throughout my research I found out that the National Diet and Nutrition Survey shows that 1 in 6 adults in the UK have low levels of vitamin D in their blood and 49% are not aware of the Government’s recommendation.

Click here to download your quick and simple VITAMIN D – DOSING GUIDE.

Maintaining a balanced diet while juggling a busy life can be challenging. In addition, there aren’t many natural sources of vitamin D but it can be found in the following:

oily fish, e.g. salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel
red meat
liver – don’t eat it if you’re pregnant!
egg yolk
butter

Given a low level of vitamin D in many nations across the world it’s easy to find fortified with vitamin D food like:

milk
breakfast cereals
orange juice

Can I take too much vitamin D?

Sun is not toxic as our skin can regulate the amount of vitamin D. So if you think you need to spend hours in the sun and look like mocha to store vitamin D for next year, then I’m sure you know by now that it’s not a good idea as it won’t increase your vitamin D storage but can trigger your skin problems inc. cancer.

Supplements on the other hand can be toxic but this generally happens with vitamin D given in prescription supplements including e.g. lack of its levels checked throughout blood tests and/or not taking as prescribed.

If you are worried or are not sure, it’s always a good idea to book an appointment with your GP and check your blood level of vitamin D.

Current science suggests that vitamin D is easily absorbed and there is no reason to split the dose or consider restricted time of taking vitamin D. Studies on specific timing are very limited hence take the vitamin D when it works best for you so you can be sure you meet your daily recommended dose.

Oh, and one more thing! Supplements are for healthy people so if you have any underlying condition you should consult taking vitamin D and its dose with your doctor who will run a blood test and tailor the dose according to your needs.