Are you deficient in Vitamin D?
Vitamin D deficiency is now a problem on a vast scale. Which is why Public Health England recommends that everyone should take a vitamin D supplement in the winter months.
People nowadays simply do not get enough sun exposure to achieve an optimum level of vitamin D. Not only is low vitamin D status a risk factor for many diseases, including heart disease, depression and cancer, but vitamin D deficiency can make many diseases more severe.
A recent study conducted at Boston University showed that vitamin D deficiency actually affects your DNA. The researchers commented:
“Any improvement in vitamin D status will significantly affect expression of genes that have a wide variety of biologic functions of more than 160 pathways linked to cancer, autoimmune disorders and cardiovascular disease.”
10 signs you’re not getting enough vitamin D
- Depression or anxiety – in one study 65% of patients with depression had low vitamin D
- Contracting colds or flu or frequently getting ill – indicating low immunity
- Fatigue and generalized weakness – a vitamin D supplement may especially help women
- Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
- Joint, bone or back pain – there is a relationship between lower back pain and low vitamin D status. Vitamin D plays a crucial role in calcium absorption and bone metabolism.
- Blood sugar issues and diabetes
- Muscle cramps and weakness
- Slower wound healing – patients with vitamin D deficiency are more likely to have higher levels of inflammatory markers that can jeopardise healing
- Mood changes and irritability
- Weight gain
Common extra risk factors for vitamin D deficiency
- Getting older. As you age, your kidneys are less able to convert vitamin D to its active form, D3 or calcitriol, which can lead to a deficiency.
- Having a dark skin – so less sunlight is absorbed
- Being overweight or obese, because fat absorbs vitamin D and less is released into the circulation to deliver its health benefits
- Low intake of vitamin D-rich foods (oily fish, red meat, liver, egg yolks) or foods which are which fortified with Vitamin D (eg. in the UK, most fat spreads and some breakfast cereals; in many countries cows’ milk is also fortified, but not in the UK)
- Living in Northern countries (UK, northern Europe, North America, northern Asia)
- Staying or working indoors
Leading scientists in the field have now established that the optimum level of vitamin D3 is a lot higher than previously thought.
Yet solving a vitamin D deficiency is really simple.
For a free report on Vitamin D – and the opportunity to get a free pack of vitamin D for the winter months go to: https://nutrishield.com/the-products/vitamin-d/
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ou can buy Vitamin D3 (the preferred form of natural Vitamin D) from here. Our special offer is for 1 bottle of 120 capsules of 2,000IU D3 free when you buy 2.
Dr Paul Clayton designed NutriShield as a comprehensive health
supplement with OPTIMUM levels of essential nutrients including Vitamin D. See more detail elsewhere on this site or click on the button.
Dr Paul Clayton’s best-selling book Health Defence is available from bookstores or from Uni-Vite Healthcare here.
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See online here for delicious recipes from the Health Defence Cookbook incorporating healthy foods featuring in a Mediterranean Diet. 
References:
Depression is associated with decreased 25-Hydroxyvitamin D… Witte JG Hoogendijk MD PhD, Paul Lips MD PhD, Miranda G Dik PhD et al. JAMA. 2007 December 5
Influence of vitamin D status and vitamin D3 supplementation on genome wide expression of white blood cells: a randomized double-blind clinical trial. Hossein-nezhad A, Spira A, Holick MF. PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e58725. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058725. Epub 2013 Mar 20.
Vitamin D deficiency and depression in adults: systematic review and meta-analysis.Anglin RE, Samaan Z, Walter SD, McDonald SD. Br J Psychiatry. 2013 Feb;202:100-7. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.111.106666.