If recent news reports are to be believed, many Canadians are not getting enough vitamin D, and yet if you eat a well-balanced diet, you may wonder how this is possible.
You definitely need vitamin D to maintain good calcium levels and healthy bones and teeth. Without it, osteoporosis and broken bones can occur.
Vitamins are organic substances obtained from food sources that are required for proper body functioning. There are two groups of vitamins depending upon their solubility. Vitamins D, A, E, and K are fat-soluble vitamins. Vitamin C and the B group of vitamins are water soluble.
Read Also
Ground rules for farm family communications
Establishing meeting ground rules can help your family find ways to communicate that work for your farm. Here are some…
The big difference is that the fat-soluble vitamins can be stored in body fat, while the water soluble ones merely pass through the body dissolved in water.
Even so, despite your body’s ability to store vitamin D, you may be deficient. That’s because the majority of vitamin D in your body doesn’t come from your diet, but rather is manufactured when ultraviolet light in sunshine comes into contact with cholesterol components in the skin.
Ideally, 15 to 30 minutes of sun exposure to your face, arms, back, or legs twice a week will ensure adequate vitamin D. However, at northern Canadian latitudes the sun’s rays are too weak and exposure during winter months may not be practical. As well, some people may get little sun exposure, such as shift workers and nursing home residents, and the use of sunscreens to prevent skin cancer also prevents vitamin D manufacture.
Although your body is able to manufacture vitamin D, you can also consume it in your diet. Fortified milk and milk products, eggs, animal liver, fatty fish, fish oils, and fortified cereals are good sources.
Unfortunately, food sources may not be sufficient to meet the recommended 1,000 to 2,000 international units daily needed by adults in order to prevent deficiency. A glass of milk contains about 100 international units, so you would need 10 glasses to obtain 1,000 international units.
The recommendations for children are lower at 400 to 800 international units per day.
You may consider taking either a vitamin D supplement or a multivitamin product containing vitamin D. Look for vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol which is more potent than vitamin D2 or ergocalciferol.
While cod liver oil does contain vitamin D, the concentration can be difficult to determine and it is not usually recommended as a first choice for vitamin D supplementation. Keep in mind that it is a fat-soluble vitamin and excess amounts can be stored in your body causing anorexia, vomiting, constipation, weight loss, hardening of soft tissue. Luckily, toxicity is not common.
Vitamin D deficiency is possible and therapeutic doses of vitamin D are usually required, for example 50,000 international units daily. Lab tests are needed to diagnose a deficiency and to check to make sure that the supplements are working. Then, because it is a fat-soluble vitamin, once a deficiency is corrected, weekly or even monthly dosing seems to be effective.
Before you start taking vitamin D supplements, check to see how much you get in your diet. Keep track of what you eat for about a week and count up the vitamin D content. You will want to supplement the difference.
And, don’t forget that you also need a good calcium intake along with that vitamin D.
Marie Berry is a lawyer/pharmacist interested in health care and education.
———
Food sources may not be adequate to meet daily requirements
———
Often you will see on non-prescription pharmaceutical product labels, the words “natural” or “natural source,” and you probably wonder if there is a benefit or if this is just a way of promoting the product. Next month, we’ll look at the wide variety of types of natural products and compare them to other types of pharmaceutical products.
