Vitamin D deficiency risks more than just bone health
Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin because we make it in the skin when it is exposed to UVB rays. A tiny, insignificant amount is also ingested when we eat oily fish, but has our fear of the skin damaging effects of prolonged exposure to sunshine caused the current vitamin D deficiency that is now so prevalent in the UK?
We know that vitamin D is important for the health of our bones and teeth. Vitamin D receptors control and manage the absorption of calcium and phosphate from the gut. But vitamin D receptors are expressed on many other tissues (not just bones): the kidneys, muscle tissue, parathyroid gland, the skin and immune system cells, such as B lymphocytes, dendritic cells, and activated T cells, which shows that this vitamin clearly has a multitude of beneficial roles.
Research has revealed these include renal and cardiovascular benefits, keeping our arteries healthy; metabolic, regulating insulin levels, aiding in diabetes management; and strengthening our immune capabilities to fight infection and deal with abnormal cells that might otherwise develop into cancers. Although still classed as a vitamin, it functions more like a hormone, one that our skin produces when it is exposed to sunshine.
Researchers in Europe and the US collaborated on a project that pooled results from eight separate studies involving more than 26,000 men and women aged from 50 to 79. [1] During the time periods covered, the participants that died from cardiovascular disease and those that died from cancer, were revealed to have had the lowest blood levels of vitamin D which had significantly increased the overall risk of death compared to those with optimal concentrations of vitamin D. More recent studies have shown hospitalised covid patients and those suffering with Long Covid are more likely to have vitamin D deficiency.
Obviously there is a balance, too much high intensity sun exposure that results in burning is clearly bad for your skin, but sensible exposure will enable you to make healthy levels of vitamin D. For some people, their occupation (like night shift workers), or their culture’s traditional clothing, makes the synthesis of this vital nutrient difficult. Indeed, wearing sunscreen and simply staying indoors too much can mean a person’s vitamin D levels fall well below that which is deemed necessary for good bone and immune health. Age is also a factor, in that synthesis of vitamin D declines with increasing age and likewise genetics can play a part.
A simple skin-prick test can determine your vitamin D status. Supplementing with vitamin D3 drops may be appropriate and is certainly advisable for most populations during the winter months, typically between November and April. However, if supplementing, do not exceed the recommended dose advised by your health practitioner, as this is a fat soluble vitamin that the body stores, unlike water soluble vitamins where excess can be peed away. When testing, look to achieve a healthy serum level between 90 – 125 nmol/l. which is the same as 40 – 50 ng/ml.
Contact Eleanor Strang at info@eleanorstrangnutrition.co.uk to find out more.
References
[1] Schöttker B, Jorde R, Peasey A et al. Vitamin D and mortality: meta-analysis of individual participant data from a large consortium of cohort studies from Europe and the United States.BMJ.2014; 348: g3656
[2] Wesley Pike et al., (2027) The Vitamin D receptor: contemporary genomic approaches reveal new basic and translational insights. J. of Clinical Investigation
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