Nov. 17, 2011
Vitamin D: The Sunshine Vitamin
The other day I shared a guest post from Joy Paley about Seasonal Affective Disorder. There are a lot of people who deal with SAD on various levels this time of year; Janell and I are among those. That’s why we take extra care to get in our daily workouts, eat right, take our vitamins, and supplement extra with Vitamin D.
Today, I want to share some excerpts from Dr. Benjamin Baechler’s newsletter. Dr. Ben is the Vice Chairman & Chief Medical Officer at Eniva Nutraceutics.
Vitamin D: “The Sunshine Vitamin”
Vitamin D is often referred to as “The Sunshine Vitamin” because your body produces it in response to being exposed to sunlight. You also know Vitamin D is important for helping promote healthy bones and teeth in the body through facilitating calcium absorption. What you may not know is Vitamin D is critical to regulating over 2000 genes in the body involved in multiple areas of health. Vitamin D plays a critical role in supporting a healthy heart, healthy cellular replication, a healthy immune system, a healthy mood and mental health [giving it another nickname, “The Feel Good Vitamin”, comfort within muscles, and even promoting healthy blood sugar levels – to name just a few!
So, what makes Vitamin D so unique in how it works?
Most vitamins and nutritional substances work by acting as co-factors for pre-existing body reactions – meaning they don’t actually direct what happens, but simply “help” to accomplish body processes that have already been started. Vitamin D promotes health in a very different way by acting like a hormone. It can both start and direct specific reactions in the body – including at the DNA level. Vitamin D actually works as a promoter to help “turn on” multiple genes in the body in various organs critical to daily functioning. Plus, research indicates that every single cell in the body has a Vitamin D receptor – even stem cells!
How important is Vitamin D?
Just think of this: in 20-30 minutes a full body without sunscreen exposed to direct sunlight will produce 10,000 to 50,000 international units of Vitamin D – that’s amazing! It also speaks to the importance of Vitamin D in the body. Your body wants to make it as soon as possible and in a large amount because it is critical to health. Unfortunately, studies have clearly shown the majority of individuals in modern societies are deficient in Vitamin D, even if they live in a sunny climate.
The U.S. Government is currently re-evaluating the RDA for Vitamin D and an increase from the current 400 IU is expected at some time in the near future. Most health professionals agree the RDA should be 1000 – 4000 IU.
You can learn more about Vitamin D and try out the one Dr. Ben designed by clicking HERE.
I strongly urge my Chanhassen Boot Camp members to supplement with Vitamin D during the winter months, and even year round.
HAVE FAITH & TAKE ACTION!
Justin Yule, BS, CPT
Justin Yule, BS, CPT is the owner of Fitness Revolution in Chanhassen, MN as well as the Director of Franchisee Support for Fitness Revolution International. Justin holds a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education with a Concentration in Adult Fitness. Justin is also a certified personal trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine, a Workout Muse Metabolic Training Expert, a Youth Fitness Specialist with the International Youth Conditioning Association, a Kettlebell Coach with Kettlebell Athletics, and a Resistance Band Training Specialist with PerforMax Performance Training. Justin has been helping clients achieve their health and fitness goals since 1997, and became a Best Selling Author in 2011 with his contribution to Total Body Breakthroughs. To contact him for training, education or to have him speak at an event please email Justin@justinyule.com.
P.S. – If you enjoyed this post please share it with your friends using the social media buttons below.
P.P.S. – Please ask a question or share a comment with us in the Leave a Comment section at the very bottom of the page. We love your feedback and will use it to develop future blog posts.
PLEASE CLICK THE “LIKE” BUTTON, POST A COMMENT AND SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS…
Powered by Facebook Comments
Posted in Fitness, Guest Posts, Nutrition, Wellness by |
