What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. More specifically, it’s a family of compounds including Vitamin D1, D2, and D3. Vitamin D plays a role in our cell growth, insulin production, hormone regulation, reduction of inflammation, and it plays a vital role in our ongoing immunity. Vitamin D impacts our mood, and it helps ensure the absorption of calcium and phosphorous in our body. Because of this, in the long-term, if you’re lacking vitamin D you can be at an increased risk for bone issues or abnormalities.

The list of benefits of vitamin D is actually quite long: The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports that when we get enough, it helps reduce the likelihood of developing the flu. The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that it can reduce your risk of multiple sclerosis. Some researchers have even linked a lack of the vitamin to issues including depression, heart disease, pregnancy problems, and more.

When we’re outside on a sunny day (with enough of our skin exposed) for as little as ten minutes, we’re able to experience the benefits of Vitamin D. With that said, many of us either can’t be outside long enough during those specific hours of the day, or we don’t want to experience the potential harmful effects of the sun.

So what do you do when it’s winter, or if your lifestyle is mostly out of the sun, or when you intentionally seek to avoid the sun?

While sunlight is the natural way to get vitamin D (as it is produced in skin as a response to sunlight), food and supplementation are the other two ways to obtain Vitamin D.

D…For Deficient?

In one recent study, about 75 percent of the people examined had inadequate levels of vitamin D in their blood. While that’s just one study, it does support the current argument that more people, in general today, are becoming vitamin D deficient.

Supplementation with Vitamin D3

As mentioned, vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) is involved in quite a few physiological processes in the body. Based on your individual lifestyle, age and other factors, Dr. Bradford can help you with specific nutrition and supplement recommendations so that you can obtain as much of the vitamin as needed.

One thing that the average person does not know is that not all Vitamin D supplements are created equal. Because Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin it can be difficult to absorb with a low quality supplement. At CRC, we offer high quality D3 supplements for our patients with very high absorption rates. This is frequently recommended and serves as a great way to get an additional source of Vitamin D. This supplement promotes all the benefits of Vitamin D, including support of healthy calcium absorption from the intestinal tract into the blood and a healthy immune system.

Learn More About Vitamin D & Your Overall Health

Looking to learn more about the benefits of Vitamin D—including how you can take steps to ensure that you’re getting enough? Talk to Dr. Bradford so that you can get a supplement that is easily and effectively metabolized in your body.

Read On: References/Sources