Why our lack of sunshine has severe repercussions for our health.
Recently I have had two experiences of patients coming to me with reoccuring infections, severe fatigue, joint ache, limb weariness and lots of clinical tests that resulted in no explanation for the problems. One lady was hospitalized for the fatigue. No amount of rest was relieving the symptoms. Sleep came too easily and her doctor told her that it was just part of the menopause.Both ladies were bright white in colour and looked severely anemic. I treated both of them with acupuncture to no avail and suggested they have more in depth blood tests investigations. One doctors reaction was what do you need more blood tests for?
Both turned out to be severely deficient in Vit D.
The sunlight on our skin causes the body to produce Vit D which the liver then takes up and changes it to a substance called 25[OH]D. When your doctor talks about Vit D levels he is referring to the amount of 25[OH]D in your blood. Cholestrol is necessary for the liver to perform this function so anyone on statins has a reduced capacity to allow this process to happen at all.
The acceptable levels of Vit D are as follows, the information coming from the Mayo Clinic site, who’s guidelines were updated in 2010, 20 ng/ML is acceptable and anything below needs supplementation.. It is vital that a blood test reveals this level as self medicating is not recommended. I do think that during the winter months that everyone should take a good supplement that has at least 1000IU of Vit D and also contains magnesium and calcium. There has been extensive research involving 155,000 people across Europe and USA that suggests a good Vit D level protects against high blood pressure. For every 10% increase in Vit D concentrates there is a 8% drop in the risk of developing hypertension. The other diseases linked to this problem are as follows: Heart Disease, M.S.,PAIN, Depression, if you are obese you have an even greater chance of being deficient,Diabetes, Dementia and of course the obvious one Osteoporosis. If an expectant mother has a deficiency it is automatically passed on to her baby and our elderly due to the time they spend indoors are much more susceptible.
Finally a study done available on PUBMED 21177785 indicated that humans should take Vit D3 not D2 as it is more easily absorbed by the body. This form is readily available without prescription the health shops. I hope you find this helpful and for other information please search the web as lots is available.
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