Vitamin D

Back in September, we talked about the Stark family from “Game of Thrones” and the family motto of “Winter’s Coming.” Well, it’s here and it’s time for us to make sure we have adequate levels of Vitamin D. To begin our discussion, lets go back to middle school earth science and talk about our planet’s axial tilt as well as its orbits. While Earth’s rotation is mostly circular, we in the Northern Hemisphere are actually closer to the sun during winter than we are in summer. However, because our planet is tilted on its side, we are pointed further away from the sun make its rays not as intense. So even though we have the crisp beautiful sunny days below zero (that I love and my wife hates), we don’t need to worry as much about sunscreen because of the lack of intensity.

The best way to naturally get Vitamin D, in my opinion, is from the sun. This means that we are at a disadvantage living in the North. We can also receive Vitamin D through the foods that we eat—the most common being dairy products. Unfortunately, most foods that contain Vitamin D are fortified, meaning there is an additive product that we do not absorb as readily. Fatty fish like salmon and tuna are also a good way to naturally intake Vitamin D through diet. Minnesotans are two and a half times more likely to have German roots than any other American and while Germany is not considered “Northern European”, the next four most disclosed heritages are: Norwegian, Irish, Swedish, English (according to NPR).  As a whole, Northern European descendants are insufficient in Vitamin D levels.

Why is Vitamin D so important? Well, Vitamin D does so many things in our body.  D3 (a type of Vitamin D) has a molecular structure that looks very similar to that of cholesterol making it the most bioavailable form. This helps the body absorb calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphate, and zinc. Vitamin D will also promotes bone growth and supports immune, cardiac, and neuromuscular functions.

Vitamin D also can be labeled anti-cancer which is a very hot word (that’s why it’s in red).  Let me dive deeper into that. Cancer cells grow uncontrolled.  They lose their ability to be inhibited by growth signals as well as cell death and have a continuous new cell production which eventually invades other tissues. Vitamin D inhibits the reproduction of cells, activates bad cell death, decreases the potential of cells to transfer to other tissues, and activates the immune system. All these things are opposite characteristics of what cancer cells do.

The best thing about Vitamin D is that it does so much for our bodies and is also one of the cheapest supplements on the shelf. We carry Vitamin D in multiple forms. Our most popular also has Vitamin K2 to increase absorption. But we also have Vitamin D in liquid form (this is how I administer it to my boys). As always, if you have any questions please ask me at your next scheduled adjustment or reach out to the clinic.

To your health,

Your family’s in good hands with our family.