Vitamin D is getting a lot of press lately – it’s like the rumors surrounding Ellen replacing Paula Abdul on American Idol before it was confirmed – everybody’s talking about it, but very few know what’s really going on (I know that was like so 3 months ago, but I’m not current with the celebrity gossip so lets just go with it.).
Over half of the population is deficient in vitamin D and research indicates that this contributes to a variety of health issues like cancer, high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, autoimmune diseases and diabetes.
According to Mark Hyman, MD, “Vitamin D has a huge impact on the health and function of your cells. It reduces cellular growth (which promotes cancer) and improves cell differentiation (which puts cells into an anti-cancer state). That makes vitamin D one of the most potent cancer inhibitors — and explains why vitamin D deficiency has been linked to colon, prostate, breast and ovarian cancer.”
Research indicates that vitamin D can regulate and control our genes which explains why it can do everything from preventing cancer to reducing inflammation. It is like an on-off switch for various cellular responses. If you aren’t getting enough vitamin D your health may suffer as a result.
So what can you do to make sure you’re getting enough Vitamin D?
1. Get tested! The 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood test can measure your vitamin D level. The optimal range when measured in nanograms per milliliter is 40 to 65 ng/ml.
2. Eat foods that contain vitamin D. These include fish oil, fatty fish (salmon, tuna, trout and mackerel) and eggs.
3. For more information about vitamin D and vitamin D supplements click here.
For more information about vitamin D click here.
Very interesting and informative. Well done.
ZB MD