Studies show that in winter, people are most often prone to depressive conditions. The day is shorter, there is little sun, the cold is already tired, the mood is always bad, there is no strength. Plus to this is added apathy, irritability, drowsiness. Sound familiar? This is how vitamin D deficiency manifests itself.
Vitamin D is more of a “prohormone” than a vitamin. It is able to independently form in our body under the influence of sunlight. But if this practically does not happen in the summer, then in winter its deficit becomes even greater. The main function of vitamin D in the body is to maintain calcium and phosphorus levels. They affect bone growth and bone strength.
In the human body, vitamin D performs very important functions, such as the exchange of calcium and magnesium, restoration of DNA structure, support of immunity, increasing the sensitivity of cells to insulin, regulation of cell reproduction.
Vitamin D is fat-soluble, which means it’s best absorbed through meals that contain healthy fats. In addition, vitamin D is best drunk together with vitamin K2, this will allow it to penetrate even better into the cells of our body.
In winter, you can increase the amount of foods in the diet that contain vitamin D.
These products include:
Fish fat
Herring meat
Salmon
Sardines
Tuna
Egg yolk
Milk products
Numerous studies show that people with lower vitamin D levels are more likely to have the following conditions:
Dementia
Strokes
Peripheral artery disease
Prostate cancer
Ovarian cancer
Pancreas cancer
Fibromyalgia
Epilepsy
Fractures
Multiple sclerosis
Lupus
Rheumatoid arthritis
Asthma
Autism
Psoriasis
The importance of vitamin D is clear, and supplementation is critical to your health. To check the level of vitamin D in your blood in a laboratory, you can have a test called vitamin D 25-OH. For this, you do not need a referral from a doctor, you can take this test of your own free will. Normally, according to the preventive medicine reference, vitamin D is considered to be from 90 to 100 ng / ml or from 200 to 250 nmol / L.
If you have been tested for vitamin D and your result was within the normal range or slightly reduced, then vitamin D can be drunk in a maintenance dosage of 5000 IU. Or you can take it as part of a multivitamin. This is necessary in order not to “go” into new deficits.
If the level in the tests turned out to be significantly lower than the norm, then you need increased dosages of vitamin D, which should be prescribed by a specialist – your doctor or nutritionist.
