Got enough Vitamin D? I bet not. Part 2/2

Seniors:
The older you are the more difficult it is for your body to synthesize Vitamin D from sun exposure. Obesity also inhibits the absorption of Vitamin D. Vitamin D3 plays a very important role in calcium and potassium blood levels and re-absorption helping nerves muscles to function normally and bones to stay strong and not become brittle.

My ill attempt at humor:
What? Your wife and kids don’t want a beef liver, eel, sardines and mackerel omlet for dinner again? How can they get enough vitamin D in their diet in Portland, Oregon’s cloudy and rainy winter months?

Food Sources, Supplementation, or Tanning?:
Vitamin D3 is kind of tough to come by these days in our diets. D3 is only naturally present in our diets in human breast milk, some cold water fatty fish, some animal’s livers and free range eggs (you must eat the yolk too).

Natural sources of vitamin D include:
• Fish liver oils, such as cod liver oil, 1 Tbs. (15 ml) provides 1,360 IU (one IU equals 25 ng). Beware of non-molecularly distilled fish oils as they may contain heavy metals and toxins which can accumulate and potentially toxify your body.
• Beef liver, cooked, (3.5 oz), 15 IU
• Catfish, (3 oz) provides 425 IU
• Eel, cooked, (3.5 oz), 200 IU
• Herring, (3 ounces (oz) provides 1383 IU
• Mackerel, cooked, (3.5 oz), 345 IU
• Salmon, cooked, (3.5 oz) 360 IU
• Sardines, canned in oil, drained, (1.75 oz), 250 IU
• Tuna, canned in oil, (3 oz), 200 IU
• A whole free range egg, 20 IU.

Note: No yolk = No vitamin D. So tell the next person you see ordering an egg white omlet this fact please.
Note: Cows milk has Vitamin D artificially added to it.

How much vitamin D is enough?:
Theoretically, about 3,000 IU of natural vitamin D3 for every 100 pounds of body weight assuming you do not have a systemic disease which may require more. Your age, body morphology, distance from the equator, weather, and daily sun exposure will all affect your requirements. Don’t forget that clothing and many types of lotions and make ups have SPF properties which will block the UV B rays and not the UV a rays thus preventing vitamin D formation naturally within your body. Monitoring for optimal blood levels should be performed seasonally. The human body can convert up to 20,000 units of Vitamin D3 per day with ideal sun exposure. The NIH has set the safe upper limit at 2000 IU, but acknowledges newer data supporting a UL as high as 10,000 IU/day.

Vitamin D testing or vitamin D assays are done for 25 Hydroxy vitamin D3 also known as 25(OH)D3. Testing is performed via mass spec or RIA (Dia Sorin). At home finger prick blood spot tests are also available and are nearly as accurate. Blood levels of 25 Hydroxy D are defined as the following, Deficient: 0-50 ng/ml, Optimal: 50-65 ng/ml, Intoxication: >100 ng/ml. Autoimmune diseases may require more than 65ng/ml.

Take a vacation:
Snowbird or go somewhere sunny for the winter to up your vitamin D levels. In winter try to get as much mid-day sun on your face as you can in Portland. Go eat lunch outside if it is at all sunny. Finally, find safe-tanning beds or one’s with an electronic ballast and 10:1 ratio of UV A to UV B as opposed to a magnetic ballast and 20:1 ration of UV A to UV B. FYI the sun has a 20:1 ratio of UV a to UV B.

General rule for toxicity:
Don’t apply anything to your skin that you are not willing to eat. Your skin is your largest organ. It has the ability to instantly begin to absorb many nutrients and toxins when they come in contact with the skin especially when the skin is warmed and pores and capillaries begin to open.

Don’t scrub your skin with soap for at least 1/2 hour after you get sun exposure:
This one caught me by surprise as well. You can actually wash away the vitamin D3 as it is forming in the more superficial layers of your skin. This would be a great time to eat calcium rich foods or take a calcium supplement as the newly formed D3 would facilitate the absorption of the calcium into your body.

To schedule a Chiropractic exam for your self or a loved one call 503-626-5761 and ask to see Dr. Pierce.


Yours in health,
Dr. Christopher Pierce
Chiropractor


Chiropractic First, llc
222 SE 8th Ave, Portland, OR 97214
12820 SW Second St, Beaverton, OR 97005
503-626-5761
www.c1pdx.com