The Importance of Vitamin D!

If you live in a Northern climate like I do, we are in the middle of the long winter months.  This means a lot of time spent indoors staying away from the cold.  While there are some days where curling up on the couch in a cozy sweater and warm blankets  is appealing and comforting, for the most part I long for hot summer days with the sun warming my skin.  Some days, okay actually most days, I would love to run away to a tropical paradise.

Vitamin D, also known as the Sunshine Vitamin, is one of the most common vitamin deficiencies in the world!  It’s hard to believe, I mean really, who doesn’t love the feeling of sunshine on their skin!?  There are many factors that contribute to this deficiency, some of which are, lack of direct sun exposure (with no sunscreen on!), underactive stomach, or, liver or gall bladder dysfunction can that hinder the absorption of Vitamin D.

How does a person know if they are deficient in vitamin D?  Here are some signs that you may have a deficiency:

~muscle cramps

~nervousness

~insomnia

~sadness or depression

~irritability

~high blood pressure

~muscle weakness

~brittle bones and dental carries

~weakened immune system

~brain fog and fuzzy thinking

Given all these symptoms, it is apparent that vitamin D is a very important part of your health and happiness!!

So what can a person do to increase the amount of Vitamin D?  During the winter months, even if you do go outside in the sunshine, the sun is not strong enough for you to get adequate amounts of Vitamin D.  There are a few food sources of vitamin D, such as:

~cod liver oil

~egg yolk

~liver

~fish

~portobello mushrooms

~oats

~brown rice

And of course, the quality of these foods is going to affect how much vitamin D is actually in these foods.  For example, an egg purchased from the supermarket that is from a chicken that spends it’s life in a 1’x1′ cage is not going to be very high in nutrient value.  It always pays to purchase the best quality foods that you can afford.  With a little planning, you may be surprised by how it really doesn’t cost that much more to upgrade your food.

If you have one or more of the symptoms of vitamin D deficiency, you may want to look into taking a supplement during the winter months.  And the same goes for supplements as it does for food, quality matters!  I would never recommend to purchase just any supplement.  If it is not a high quality supplement, chances are your body is not actually getting anything out of it, and it actually becomes a toxin in your body that it needs to get rid of.  This puts an extra unneeded strain on your body, AND is a waste of your hard earned money!  Do your research, and only purchase the highest quality supplements you can.