Do you want strong & healthy bones? then you need this Vitamin

Hi
I can’t believe that it is the 3rd week of January!
Whoa, Stop. The. Bus.
My big boy, J, started Grade 1.

And then I did the maths – He’ll matriculate in 2029 – what!?
 
Today I’m sharing the final vitamin in my tablet box.
I started using this vitamin back in September 2017 after I was over the pneumonia and looking to boost my immune system. If you remember I added probiotics to my tablet box back then too.

I added Vitamin D.

I am sure that it has made a difference to my overall health since then.
It really is a remarkable vitamin.
 
Actually, it’s not really a vitamin, it’s just referred to as one.

What Vitamin D actually is, is a steroid hormone that you can get from sun exposure, food and supplements.

The best way to get vitamin D is through sun exposure.
It is made by our skin when we are exposed to UVB rays. Through various processes (our bodies are so clever) the body makes vitamin D.

What is vitamin D needed for?
Well you may not know but it helps to prevent and cure rickets. This is a bone disease.

A child that does not have enough exposure to sunlight or vitamin D supplementation could develop rickets.
Adults get the same disease only it goes by another name – osteomalacia 
 

• Vitamin D keeps bones healthy & strong by keeping calcium in them.
• It aids in keeping gums and teeth healthy.
• It stimulates the absorption of calcium from the digestive system and
• decreases the removal of calcium by the kidneys.
• It aids in maintaining normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus and
• the reabsorption of these 2 minerals back into our teeth and bones.

If you don’t have enough vitamin D then no matter how much calcium and phosphorus you take in, you’ll have poor calcification of your bones.
​BUT if your levels of vitamin D are sufficient and you didn’t get enough calcium and phosphorus you'd still be better off.
 
What else does vitamin D do?
Along with vitamin A it has been shown to lower the chance of getting a cold.
It has been used to

• treat diabetes,
• chronic inflammation,
• visual problems including cataracts & macular degeneration,
• sciatica pain,
• skin problems and
• Alzheimer’s.

It has infection fighting abilities in treating TB, pneumonia (if I only known), colds and flu.
 
It has been confirmed and tested that vitamin D can help to prevent breast and colorectal cancer.
Some 600,000 cases could be prevented each year if vitamin D levels amongst the worldwide population were increased.
Vitamin D can cut the risk of cancer by 60%!!!

Having optimal levels of vitamin D can prevent at least 16 different types of cancer; pancreatic, lung, ovarian and prostate to name a few.

• It helps in the self-destruction of mutated cells,
• Slows down the making and spreading of cancer cells
• Helps in differentiating of cells (cancer cells are all the same)
• Prevents the creation of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones which can help to stop the progress of benign tumours to cancerous ones.

 
Where can we get vitamin D from?
The sun.
How much sun?
About 20 mins per day between 10am – 2pm (I know, that sounds crazy since we’ve been told to avoid the midday sun for how many years?) but it’s all to do with the angle of the rays hitting earth.
                    Anyway, 20 mins with at least 40% of your body exposed.       
That’s like lying on your back with a bikini on, I guess!!!!

 
Food sources include; oily fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel), oysters, eggs, homogenised milk.

Supplements.
I use Solal Vitamin D3 – 1000 IU

 While I was researching vitamin D, I read an interesting article on the importance of Vitamin D for pregnant women.
The upshot of the article was that to prevent high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia, pregnant women need 4000 IU per day. 
                              That is 10x the RDA!!!
I had pre-eclampsia with my first child, J.
I wonder if my vitamin D levels were so low that it could have contributed to my condition?...

Since vitamin D is actually a hormone,
to know what your levels are like you would need to do a blood test.
The optimal amount of vitamin D to have coursing through your veins is 50-70 nanograms/ml.

If you’re treating cancer or heart disease then it can be as high as 100ng/ml.

To find out your blood levels, the test you need to ask for is 25(OH) D which is 25-hydroxyvitamin D.
 Supplements.
I use Solal Vitamin D3 – 1000 IU

 While I was researching vitamin D, I read an interesting article on the importance of Vitamin D for pregnant women.
The upshot of the article was that to prevent high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia, pregnant women need 4000 IU per day. 
                              That is 10x the RDA!!!
I had pre-eclampsia with my first child, J.
I wonder if my vitamin D levels were so low that it could have contributed to my condition?...

Since vitamin D is actually a hormone,
to know what your levels are like you would need to do a blood test.
The optimal amount of vitamin D to have coursing through your veins is 50-70 nanograms/ml.

If you’re treating cancer or heart disease then it can be as high as 100ng/ml.

To find out your blood levels, the test you need to ask for is 25(OH) D which is 25-hydroxyvitamin D.
 
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​I hope you have enjoyed this Tablet box series.

Have you added any of these supplements to your tablet box?
Let me know, I’d love your thoughts….
Lee

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