Strengthen your immune system with a good vitamin D level
November is here, we have changed the clocks, and so the darker season begins, and with it the risk time for a vitamin D deficiency!
In winter, however, vitamin D supply is particularly important, in this case not necessarily just for your bones, but also to support your immune system!
That's why in today's podcast episode "Winter Fit with Vitamin D" I talk about the most important facts about vitamin D, how you can recognize a deficiency and what you can do to be well supplied.
You can listen to the episode here:
[g_podcast id="21077966"]
What does vitamin D do?
Vitamin D is extremely important for our body, and for many functions. One indication of its importance is that there are receptors for vitamin D in every organ, muscles, tendons, ligaments, connective tissue, etc. There are receptors for vitamin D, the so-called VDR receptors. This is the body's way of ensuring that every organ is well supplied with vitamin D.
There are countless studies on vitamin D that have found out what vitamin D is important and necessary for. Vitamin D:
- strengthens the immune system and thus helps us to fight infections [1];
- is necessary for calcium absorption to strengthen our bones [2];
- is needed for muscle function and physical performance [3];
- can be the cause of tiredness and fatigue [4] - there are many possible reasons for being tired all the time, but vitamin D levels are not routinely measured. Scientists don't yet know why, but a lack of vitamin D can make you feel drained, so it's worth checking your blood levels;
- activates serotonin - the 'happiness hormone' - as well as oxytocin - the 'love hormone' - which means that low vitamin D levels can affect our mood [5];
- accelerates wound healing [6];
- stimulates hair growth [7], [8];
- blocks a hormone that raises blood pressure, similar to some blood pressure medications, but more research is needed. [9]
Why vitamin D is so important, especially now
Vitamin D is also known as the sun hormone because our body produces it itself with the help of sunlight and cholesterol. However, this requires sufficient time in the sun and, of course, free skin that can absorb the sun's rays without sunscreen treatment.
In our latitudes, however, vitamin D deficiency is quite common because theperiod of vitamin D intake is very limited, namely roughly the months from March to October, and there between 11:00 and 15:00.
When or for whom is it worth testing your vitamin D level?
There are definitely symptoms that can indicate a vitamin D deficiency, but since many of these symptoms can also have other causes, I consider it very important that you check your vitamin D level from time to time!
Of course, it depends on when you test. At the end of the summer, i.e. now, you should have a sufficiently high level so that you have enough in reserve for the winter. At the beginning of spring, the level is typically at its lowest.
In principle, you should not fall below a vitamin D level of 75 nmol/L, which corresponds to 30 ng/ml (converting the two values is a matter of dividing/multiplying by 2.5). People with inflammation or chronic complaints should aim for a level of 100 or 40.
It is quite possible to reach 100 in summer, in winter it becomes difficult for many people, so measuring in the fall is definitely a good investment, actually for everyone!
To give you an idea of what a deficiency can cause or when you should be alert, I will now list a few symptoms of deficiency:
Typical symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency
As vitamin D has so many different functions, a deficiency can lead to a whole range of possible symptoms.
- Susceptibility to colds or flu, also a tendency to bronchitis and pneumonia
- Tiredness and exhaustion for no apparent reason, chronic fatigue
- Back pain, especially in the lumbar region
- Bone pain and myalgia
- Low bone mineral density and osteoporosis
- Thyroid complaints
- Muscle pain
- Depression, especially winter depression
- Slowed wound healing
- Hair loss
- Increased stumbling, particularly in older people and especially "stumbling up stairs"
- Coordination difficulties
As already mentioned, vitamin D deficiency is not so unusual in the northern hemisphere. This is partly because we do not produce it all year round can.
Additional risk factors for low vitamin D levels
Some people have additional risk factors that make a vitamin D deficiency likely.
- People with dark skin.
- People who often work at night.
- Older people, especially residents of care homes.
- People with limited mobility.
- Children and young people who spend a lot of time indoors (e.g. playing computer games)
- People with obesity.
- People who wear full-body clothing (veils), e.g. for religious reasons
- People who consume little fish and dairy products, especially vegetarians and vegans.
- People who always apply sun cream before going outside.
- People with malabsorption (e.g. due to inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome), chronic renal insufficiency or chronic liver disease
Currently 15% discount on our vitamin D
We want to support you with your vitamin D intake. For this very reason, we have developed a product that enables you to absorb it easily via the oral mucosa. Our VITA D3 LIQUID with 2000 I.U. provides you with 2,000 international units per drop. The bottle contains approx. 400 drops, so you can easily work out how long one bottle will last you. Apart from vitamin D3, the only other ingredients are MCT medium-chain fatty acids based on coconut oil. We have completely dispensed with superfluous additives so as not to burden your body unnecessarily.
To make the start of winter a little easier for you, we have decided to give youa 15% discount on our Vita D3 Liquiduntil November 30th!
https://arktisbiopharma.ch/shop/vitamine/vitamin-d3-tropfen-vita-d3-liquid/
Aids for calculating the dosage of vitamin D on Sonnenallianz
Prof. Dr. Jörg Spitz provides a vitamin D requirement calculator on the Sonnenallianz website, where you can use your vitamin D level and your weight to calculate how much vitamin D you should take to reach your target value.
https://sonnenallianz.spitzen-praevention.com/vitamin-d-bedarfsrechner/
And there you will also find a good leaflet with some additional information about vitamin D:
https://sonnenallianz.spitzen-praevention.com/download/vitamin-d-das-fundament-ihrer-gesundheit/
Should vitamin K2 also be taken?
Most people are well supplied with vitamin K2 if they have a balanced diet and also eat vegetables. We therefore do not recommend taking vitamin K2 across the board.
However, if you have had a blood test that shows a vitamin K deficiency, there is of course no reason why you should not take it.
[1] Schwalfenberg GK (2011): A review of the critical role of vitamin D in the functioning of the immune system and the clinical implications of vitamin D deficiency. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2011 Jan;55(1):96-108. [2] Lips P (2006): Vitamin D physiology. Prog Biophys Mol Biol. 2006 Sep;92(1):4-8. [3] Lips P (2006): Vitamin D physiology. Prog Biophys Mol Biol. 2006 Sep;92(1):4-8. [4] Johnson K, Sattari M (2015): Vitamin D deficiency and fatigue: an unusual presentation. Springerplus. 2015 Oct 7;4:584. [5] Patrick RP, Ames BN (2014): Vitamin D hormone regulates serotonin synthesis. Part 1: relevance for autism. The FASEB Journal. Jun;28(6):2398-413. [6] Bashutski JD, Eber RM, Kinney JS, et al (2011): The impact of vitamin D status on periodontal surgery outcomes. J Dent Res. 2011 Aug;90(8):1007-12. [7] Almohanna HM, Ahmed AA, Tsatalis JP, Tosti A (2019): The Role of Vitamins and Minerals in Hair Loss: A Review. Dermatol Ther (Heidelberg). 2019 Mar;9(1):51-70. [8] Mahamid M, Abu-Elhija O, Samamra M, et al (2014): Association between vitamin D levels and alopecia areata. Isr Med Assoc J. 2014 Jun;16(6):367-70. [9] Legarth C, Grimm D, Wehland M, et al (2018): The Impact of Vitamin D in the Treatment of Essential Hypertension. Int J Mol Sci. 2018 Feb 3;19(2). [10] Legarth C, Grimm D, Krüger M, et al (2019): Potential Beneficial Effects of Vitamin D in Coronary Artery Disease. Nutrients. 2019 Dec 30;12(1).
We are participating in the Human Microbiome Online Congress on 28.11.2021
Roman has been invited to speak at the Human Microbiome Online Congress of the kPNI Academy. We are honored to have him speak alongside other top-class experts such as Dr. Alessio Fasano!
Here you can read more about the congress and register if you are interested:
https://humanmicrobiome.de/?pid=39945&prid=7344
You can also find out more about the congress and the extremely exciting kPNI therapy method in last week's podcast episode, as Julia interviewed the organizer of the congress and head of the kPNI Academy Germany, Tom Fox:
DG121: What is kPNI - Interview with Tom Fox
https ://arktis-wp.dev.intocommerce.de/121
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Enter the coupon code podcast15 before you complete your order.
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