Is it a vitamin? If we were starting over with our
nomenclature (our naming and categorizing), we’d be calling vitamin D a hormone
and not a vitamin. It has the same chemical structure as all the
below-the-waist-hormones: estrogen, testosterone and progesterone. It’s built
out of cholesterol, just like they are.
Vitamin D from Sunlight?
You may think if you spend any time in the sun, you’ll get
enough vitamin D. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case since you probably bathe
and shower! The oils our skin needs to draw in vitamin D from sunlight are
stripped away from the soaps we use. Consequently, we can’t get the vitamin D
we need from sun exposure.
Good Blood Levels of Vitamin D
The Vitamin D Council argues that if we get between 40-80
nano-grams per mil per day, our risks of 17 different cancers, brain aging, MS,
kidney failure, heart disease and diabetes plummet! Along with that, our energy production,
metabolic rate, tissue repair and our recovery rate get better!
How much vitamin D does it take to reap these benefits?
I’ve tested thousands and thousands of people, and most
require about 10,000 units per day. That is a critical amount where I like to
start people to make sure they come back to their healthy range. Vitamin D3 is
the important type.
It’s good to periodically check your blood levels of vitamin
D to see where you are, and adjust your dosage accordingly.
With all its benefits, vitamin D is an important supplement
worth our attention!
Dr. Alan Christianson is a New York Times Bestselling Author
and a Phoenix, Arizona-based Naturopathic Medical Doctor (NMD) with two decades
of clinical experience in natural endocrinology. His main focus is thyroid
disease, especially Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. He is the author of The Adrenal
Reset Diet, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Thyroid Disease, and others.
Dr. Christianson frequently appears on national TV shows
like Dr. Oz, CNN, The Doctors and The Today Show as well as print media like
Women’s World, USA Today, Newsweek, and Shape Magazine. When he’s not in the
clinic or writing, he’s probably in the backcountry balancing on a mountain
unicycle or scaling up a vertical wall.
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