I began supplementing my family with vitamin D in the fall a couple years ago. We only supplement in the colder months when, even here in sunny Colorado, the sun is further from the earth and it becomes difficult for us to maintain optimal vitamin D levels from the sun alone. In the summer we always spend at least 10 minutes in direct sunlight before applying any sunscreen. I have noticed a very large increase in my families immunity since we began supplementing in the colder months. Could this be the reason we were getting sick so often in winter months, not necessarily because we were inside more and around more germs (what i had been taught) but because our immune systems were just weaker, not getting adequate vitamin D? The school year before i started supplementing, one of my daughters missed 18 days of school from being sick throughout the year. The year I started to supplement, she missed only 4 days of school. So far this year, she has been absent due to illness only 1 day, and we're almost half way through the school year!
Here is some information on Vitamin D from http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind:
"Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in very few foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement. It is also produced endogenously when ultraviolet rays from sunlight strike the skin and trigger vitamin D synthesis. Vitamin D obtained from sun exposure, food, and supplements is biologically inert and must undergo two hydroxylations in the body for activation. The first occurs in the liver and converts vitamin D to 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], also known as calcidiol. The second occurs primarily in the kidney and forms the physiologically active 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D], also known as calcitriol .
Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the gut and maintains adequate serum calcium and phosphate concentrations to enable normal mineralization of bone and to prevent hypocalcemic tetany. It is also needed for bone growth and bone remodeling by osteoblasts and osteoclasts . Vitamin D has other roles in the body, including modulation of cell growth, neuromuscular and immune function, and reduction of inflammation. Many genes encoding proteins that regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis are modulated in part by vitamin D. Many cells have vitamin D receptors, and some convert 25(OH)D to 1,25(OH)2D."
Resources:
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind
http://www.naturalnews.com/029760_vitamin_D_influenza.html#ixzz1fwtMpJoX
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-weil-md/new-recommendation-why-yo_b_446580.html
Here is some information on Vitamin D from http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind:
"Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in very few foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement. It is also produced endogenously when ultraviolet rays from sunlight strike the skin and trigger vitamin D synthesis. Vitamin D obtained from sun exposure, food, and supplements is biologically inert and must undergo two hydroxylations in the body for activation. The first occurs in the liver and converts vitamin D to 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], also known as calcidiol. The second occurs primarily in the kidney and forms the physiologically active 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D], also known as calcitriol .
Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the gut and maintains adequate serum calcium and phosphate concentrations to enable normal mineralization of bone and to prevent hypocalcemic tetany. It is also needed for bone growth and bone remodeling by osteoblasts and osteoclasts . Vitamin D has other roles in the body, including modulation of cell growth, neuromuscular and immune function, and reduction of inflammation. Many genes encoding proteins that regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis are modulated in part by vitamin D. Many cells have vitamin D receptors, and some convert 25(OH)D to 1,25(OH)2D."
Resources:
http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind
http://www.naturalnews.com/029760_vitamin_D_influenza.html#ixzz1fwtMpJoX
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-weil-md/new-recommendation-why-yo_b_446580.html
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