Recent studies of Vitamin D show that it acts more like a hormone than a vitamin. It is formed from cholesterol and exposure to sunlight in the skin. This inactive form of Vitamin D then is taken up by most cells and effects gene expression.
So what does all this mean? Animal and human studies have revealed that Vitamin D deficiency is associated with hypertension, cardiovascular heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis and others as well as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), migraines, epilepsy, polycystic ovaries and finally cancer. Prostate, breast, colon, esophageal, uterine, and lung cancer to just name a few.
People at highest risk for deficiency of Vitamin D include breast fed infants, elderly, dark skinned individuals (melanin is a natural sunblock, so it prevents Vitamin D synthesis in the skin), those who wear sunblock daily and finally those who don’t spend much time in the sun. Needless to say, I check a Vitamin D level in almost every patient that walks in my office.
The normal range of Vitamin D reported by some labs is 10-55 ng/ml. However, according to some experts in the field, optimum range for cell health (prevention of many illnesses, like cancer and MS) is between 40 and 65.
Of course the best way to get Vitamin D is via sunlight. That is not to say, you should throw out your sunblock and not worry about skin cancer. According to Dr. Holick, the discoverer of the active form of Vitamin D, all you need to do is spend a certain amount of time in the sun three times a week.
How to determine this minimum amount of time? You need to stay in the sun, ideally noon time, and find out how long it takes to turn slightly pink. Then, spend one fourth of that time in the sun three times a week, exposing your four extremities and either your face or abdomen or back, with no sun block on of course.
For those who have no time to spend in the sun or are afraid to do so, check with your doctor and consider supplementation under supervision of course.
