Vitamin D: Powerful Health Benefits

Vitamin D is such a critical vitamin that deficiencies in it are causative in virtually all diseases.
Vitamin D functions as a hormone, not just as a vitamin.

Vitamin D from sun exposure is the easiest form to assimilate, and it is free. Experts suggest exposing 60% of your total body to sunlight for 20-30 minutes per day. Just what does Vitamin do?

• Has literally thousands of health benefits
• Influences more than 2000 genes in the body
• Is required for the uptake and utilization of calcium and phosphorous, two of the body’s most important minerals
• Has powerful anti-cancer properties
• Vitamin D is found in several different cells of the body
• Fights infection by producing more than 200 anti-microbial peptides
• Can cut cancer risk by more than 60%
• Increases sex hormone production
• Increases steroid hormone production
• Normalizes adrenal function
• Estimates suggest that more than 30% of cancer deaths can be prevented by Vitamin D

How is Vitamin D synthesized?

From sunlight, Vitamin D is synthesized from the cholesterol under your skin. This is another reason why low cholesterol levels are unhealthy. The body needs cholesterol in order to synthesize Vitamin D. It is then converted into cholecalciferol in the liver, kidneys and other organs.

From there it becomes an active form of Vitamin D called 25-hydroxy Vitamin D, which is used by your body for its thousands of functions. The active form of Vitamin D has a life of only 2-3 weeks in the blood, meaning that it is very important to obtain regular sun exposure, to keep active levels elevated.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning that it is synthesized from fats. Low levels of cholesterol and low dietary fat intake are correlated with poor vitamin D assimilation.

What are Ideal Ranges for Vitamin D?

Vitamin D levels are dependent upon your type of metabolism. Carb Types (slow oxidizers and sympathetic types) need much more Vitamin D than do Protein Types (fast oxidizers and parasympathetic types).

There are 2 measurements for Vitamin D:
1-25 DI Hydroxy Vitamin D is the active form in the blood. 25 Hydroxy Vitamin D is the storage form.

Based upon your metabolic type, here are the references ranges that I use for blood chemistry:

• Carb Types (Ketogenic, Sympathetic) 60-70 pico grams for both forms of Vitamin D
• Protein Types (Glucogenic,  Parasympathetic) 40-50 pico grams for both forms of Vitamin D
• Mixed Types 45-60 pico grams for both measurements

Food Sources of Vitamin D

There are not too many food sources of Vitamin D. Since Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, it is found in foods with a higher fat content. Plant sources of Vitamin D is called Ergocalciferol, which is Vitamin D2. The animal source of Vitamin D is cholecalciferol, which is Vitamin D3.

It is believed that animal forms of Vitamin D (cholecalciferol, D3) are more easily converted into the active form. Ergocalciferol must undergo conversion in the body.

Vitamin D Food Sources

• Fish Liver, especially Cod
• Raw, unpasteurized Milk
• Egg Yolks, especially raw
• Mushrooms
• Algae (spirulina, chlorella, blue green algae)
• Other Fish and Seafood: Shrimp, Salmon, etc.