Vitamin D is often called the sunshine vitamin because we can actually get it from sun exposure to our skin. Lately some have been calling it the super vitamin because of the wide range of health benefits that vitamin D takes an important role in. Recently it has been suggested that vitamin D can help fight and improve conditions such as multiple sclerosis, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dimentia, and even cancer. While vitamin D is extremely important in our ability to absorb calcium and thus building strong bones its most important task is supporting immune function. With supporting our immune system which is responsible for fighting infection and disease vitamin D can be incredible important in fighting a variety of conditions.
How Do we get Vitamin D
Their are two ways to insure we are getting vitamin D in our system. First is through sunlight exposure to our skin and second is through our diet. When our bare skin is exposed to sunlight we begin to synthesize vitamin D through a few steps that happen primarily in the Liver and Kidneys. Of coarse many of us do not get enough vitamin D this way especially during colder months. Foods that are high in vitamin D include fish, egg yolks, liver, cheese, and mushrooms. As you can see the list isn’t incredible long and it can be difficult to insure enough vitamin D intake. I recommend taking a vitamin D supplement especially in the colder months to insure our immune system is functioning at its best.
Recommended Dosage
Current recommended dosage for vitamin D is between 1,000 and 4,000 IU a day. To give you an idea how much that is it would be roughly 14 egg yolks. Again a recommendation of a supplement is really best to insure enough vitamin D. 4,000 is considered the safe upper limit of consumption. There is such a thing as to much vitamin D. Common symptoms of too much vitamin D in the body include nausea, constipation, abnormal heart rate and even kidney stones.