Why is a Vitamin D deficiency such a big deal? It’s one HUGE jackpot of a Vitamin, making good things happen everywhere in the body.
Our scantily-clad bodies evolved making Vitamin D3 from sunshine interacting with cholesterol in our skin. We’re used to it. We WANT it! We NEED it!
Pigs, chickens and cows also make D from sun. (Yet another reason to buy pastured animals, not those living indoors on concrete). So, yes we can get D in our food as well See more below for sources of Vitamin D in food….
Here’s the key thing to remember about taking and testing Vitamin D:
Every cell of your body has a receptor for Vitamin D, and it turns genes off and on like a light bulb!
Think of it like this. You are standing in a hallway with 50,000 doors, and behind every door is a genetic tendency or trait. There are certain doors you want to keep LOCKED and certain doors that can open or shut with no repercussions.
Blue eyes? Door # 997. Alzheimer’s? Fifth door on the right – step right this way ma’am. Hear that growling and banging behind door #12,463? That’s a T-Rex size tendency in your family tree for colon cancer. And Vitamin D3 takes a proud place among the 33 different locks on that door. Whew!
Do you have a Vitamin D deficiency? Find out! Anytime you run ANY lab work, ask to include Vitamin D. Annually, for sure. There is a nifty at-home finger-prick test too. Cost usually runs $30 to $75 depending on the test.
The cost of opening Door #12,463 for colon cancer? Well, let’s just not go there….
To supplement Vitamin D, buy D3 Cholecalciferol. If you’re taking a cheap mass-market multi, get your magnifying glass out and you’ll see it only says “Vitamin D”, not Cholecalciferol. That’s their way of saying it’s NOT D3, but D2 which does not work as well. The prescription form of D your doctor recommends is also D2. That’s why they have to dose it at 50,000 i.u. a day, instead of the usual dose of 2000 to 10,000 i.u. of D3 a Naturopath might suggest. Test your D annually and take it for life, not just for a super-blast the doctor prescribed.
Have You Tested for a Vitamin D Deficiency?
What’s your D3 level? Aim for 60 to 75, or 70 to 95 if you have, or have had cancer. Keep it there FOREVER using a combination of sunshine (20 minutes daily; in high sun; with no sunscreen – but who does this??), supplements, and FOOD. Fatty fish such as salmon and swordfish, and fish liver oil such as Green Pastures Cod Oil, are good sources. Shitake mushrooms and pasture-raised eggs (the birds are in the SUN, not barns) have some. Mushrooms exposed to UV light provide D – the label will say if they are.
MY FAVORITE SOURCE? FREE-RANGE, PASTURED LARD! Yep, it’s the richest source of D next to Cod Liver Oil. Order it online, get it at the Rancher’s Markets, or make it yourself from pastured pig suet. The Ghee from Pure Indian Foods also contains D, A and the essential K2. It’s terrific tasting too!
Of course, semi-naked sunbathing is fantastic, but it needs to be when the sun is high over head, not slanting too far. This means those in the far north and south will get less than we Texans. Humans can make 10,000 i.u. or more of Vitamin D in 20 minutes. SO TEST, TEST, TEST and keep it up!
Here are the Vitamin D products I sell online. The first has Vitamin A and K with it. This combo is better than D alone. The next is combined with Vitamins A and K2, both important nutrients for the assimilation of D3. Find it here. This is Emulsified D for better absorption. (Yes you can buy the first and last cheaper on Amazon, but it’s great to support your hard-working blogger friends too, right!) And remember, never take a D3 supplement without also making sure you’re getting vitamin K2 (read more about that in this post) – you can use either the Walkabout Emu Oil or OrthoMolecular MK-7 patented form supplements in my store to get K2.
