If I had to guess, I’d say that you’re not getting enough Vitamin D. How do I know this? Well, if you’re like the majority of my customers, you live in Canada or in the USA.
You may not know, but between October and March in North America (as well as in Western Europe), the sun’s rays simply aren’t strong enough to help your body produce vitamin D.
Vitamin D is produced when the skin is exposed to sufficient UVB rays, prevalent by going outside in the summer, but hard to come by during the cooler winter months unless you live in sunny California or Florida.
Here are 5 facts about Vitamin D:
1. Deficiencies in Vitamin D have been linked to a number of health conditions including Type 2 diabetes, a depressed immune system and an increased risk for some types of cancers.
2. Vitamin D is important for good overall health and strong and healthy bones. It’s also an important factor in making sure your muscles, heart, lungs and brain work well and that your body can fight infection. Research shows that it has anti-cancer properties.
3. In the summer months, when the sun is strong, our bodies can manufacture between 3000 and 5000 International Units (IU) of Vitamin D within minutes of sun exposure. In the winter months? None. Pale skin produces Vitamin D much faster than darker skin.
4. Foods such as fatty fish, beef liver, egg yolks, fortified milk and orange juice, fortified cereals and infant formula all contain Vitamin D, but the levels are too low to be of much benefit to the average person. For this reason, most of us have to rely on supplementation.
5. How much Vitamin D to take depends on who you ask:
- The Canadian Cancer Society recommends 1,000 International Units (IU) daily for adults.
- Health Canada recommends: 400 IU for infants, 600 IU for children aged one to adults aged 70, and 800 IU for adults over 70. Health Canada’s safe upper limit is 4,000 IU per day.
- Osteoporosis Canada advises healthy adults aged 19-50 consume 400-1,000 IU daily, and those over 50, or younger adults at high risk, get 800-2,000 IU daily. The organization advises year-round vitamin D supplementation for all Canadian adults.
- The Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) at the Institute of Medicine of The National Academies (formerly National Academy of Sciences) in the US, recommends 400 IU for babies up to 12 months, 600 IU for children and adults aged 1 – 70, 800 IU for adults older than 70.
It’s obvious that more clarity is necessary and fortunately studies are currently being conducted, which will help give us more guidance regarding dosage. Breastfed infants, darker skinned individuals, the elderly and obese individuals are more at risk from Vitamin D deficiency. Check in with your doctor if you’re not sure as to the dose most suitable for you and your family.
