Ep. 04 / VItamin D - How do i get it?

Ahh Vitamin D. Where to begin? This brilliant little vitamin is so crucial in so many areas of our body, from the synthesis of serotonin (our happy mood hormone) to making up a part of a very large team of nutrients important for bone-generation and repair. Alongside vitamins A, C, and K, 2 hormones (parathyroid hormone and calcitonin), collagen proteins, as well as calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and fluoride, these all play a role in keeping our bones strong and healthy. Vitamin D’s role in bone growth is to maintain the blood concentration of calcium and phosphorous, which cause the bones to grow denser and stronger. 

Vitmamin D also targets specific immune cells, your brain, reproductive and nervous systems.

So we mentioned about how Vitamin D helps transport calcium to the bones, but where do we get it?

Vitamin D is different from all the other nutrients in that the body can synthesise it, along with help from sunlight, from a precursor the body makes from cholesterol. This precursor of Vitamin D (pre-vitamin D) is made in the liver from cholesterol. UV rays from the sun hit this precursor in the skin and convert it to provitamin D. This precursor then works its way into the body and over the next 36 hours is converted to Vitamin D3 (calcitriol) with the assistance of the body’s heat.  There is no risk of getting too much Vitamin D from the sun like there is from supplementation (although it may make you dry and prone to wrinkles and increase your risk of skin cancer). Sunscreen can help reduce these risks, but SPF over 8 does prevent Vitamin D synthesis. 5-10 minutes on most days of UV sunlight is usually enough to maintain Vitamin D levels. You don’t necessarily need to include Vitamin D in your diet given you’ve spent enough time in the sun for your body to produce enough itself.

 So go get some sun, because it’ll do more than just boost your mood.