The Incredible Benefits of Vitamin D

Vitamin D is important for many daily body processes. It is also the ONLY vitamin that we can manufacture for ourselves, the result of sunshine on our skin. Scientists think

that's the reason Vitamin D is so important---we have to have it, so we manufacture it ourselves under the right conditions.

And there's something else you need to know. Vitamin D activates a factor pathway that enhances immunity. So, for all these reasons, it's very important to maintain healthy levels of Vitamin D in our blood. More on that later.

News flash! If you want to have strong kids, you have to make sure that your blood Vitamin D level is more than adequate. There's lots of proof for this. A UK study very recently determined that expectant mothers' children demonstrated better muscular strength during early childhood to the degree that their mother had Vitamin D in their blood during pregnancy.

Here are the details of that particular study. 678 women in Southampton had their blood levels of Vitamin D tested late in their pregnancies. Then, four years later, they tested their offspring's muscular strength with grip testing as well as measuring their muscle mass. Muscle mass was increased mildly among children whose mothers had higher Vitamin D levels in late pregnancy. Grip strength among those four year olds was dramatically greater. There was a definite correlation noticed; the higher the Vitamin D levels was in the mother, the greater the muscle mass and grip strength of the child.

A South Korean study found that mothers with higher Vitamin D levels delivered children with much lower risks of respiratory tract infections. And overall, the mother's blood Vitamin D level helped to determine the child's immune system strength.

What the scientists found as a result of these several studies is this: the importance of building up a mother's blood Vitamin D level before the fetus is feeding from the mother's cord is paramount. It's also important that an adequate level of Vitamin D build up in a mother's breast milk.

Sunlight exposure

Bare skin exposure to sun (or in UVB tanning beds for 15 minutes) can produce between 10,000 and 20,000 IU (international units) of Vitamin D3. It's important to note that the body stops producing Vitamin D3 once your blood levels are high enough.

Remember, Vitamin D is a multi-tasker in our bodies, we need it for many daily processes.

As we age, our sun/skin conversion factor declines. It takes four to six months of supplementing Vitamin D3 for your blood levels to peak.

How much is enough?

One expert, Dr. Bruce Harris, MD & PhD, has been researching Vitamin D for over 30 years. He feels that most adults should take over 2,000 IU daily. He (and others) consider that the 600 IU recommended daily intake is woefully low and actually dangerous, as it invites long-term poor health and chronic diseases.

Your blood level of Vitamin D is best determined by the 25 (OH)D blood test. In the US, we use ng/mL (monograms per milliliter). The conversion factor is 2.5. Use 2.5 as a divisor to change a ng/mL reading to a nano mols per liter, which is the accepted International reading used.

Here are the currently established 25(OH)D reading standards in ng/mL

* under 30 is deficient 

* 30 to 50 is insufficient to adequate 

* 50 to 70 is optimal 

* 70 to 100 is therapeutic for heart disease, cancer and other diseases 

* over 100 is excessive and can lead to toxicity.

Have your blood level Vitamin D test to make sure of your level and supplement it if you need to. Remember just how important Vitamin D is to overall health.