The Sunshine Vitamin Written by Dr Kelly Upcott

Imagine incorporating an inexpensive, single nutrient into your life that encourages you to get a little sunshine and promises to strengthen your bones, prevent different forms of cancer, thwart multiple sclerosis and autoimmune disorders and help fight infections.

Recent research into the preventive benefits of Vitamin D has raised hopes that the sunshine Vitamin, which is produced naturally in the body through exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays, could extend and improve Zoomer’s lives.

Vitamin D was originally discovered in 1918 as a necessary nutrient to prevent rickets. In more modern times, it has become famous primarily for helping your body absorb calcium to keep bones strong.  However, in the past few years, there has been an explosion of research linking Vitamin D deficiency to a wide range of degenerative conditions ranging from osteoporosis, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, many different types of cancer, depression, rheumatoid arthritis, influenza, prostate health, high blood pressure, diabetes, seasonal affective disorder, migraines, and more.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble Vitamin that is found naturally in only a few foods, including fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, and tuna canned in oil. Some foods, including milk and breakfast cereals, are fortified with Vitamin D. A person would have to drink ten tall glasses of Vitamin D fortified milk each day just to get minimum levels of Vitamin D into their diet.  It is nearly impossible to get adequate amounts of Vitamin D from your diet alone.

Vitamin D is produced by your skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from natural sunlight.  The healing rays of natural sunlight cannot penetrate glass. So you don't generate Vitamin D when sitting in your car or home. Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way to generate Vitamin D in your own body.  Studies suggest that up to 30 minutes of sun exposure, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. at least twice a week, to the face, arms, legs, or back without sunscreen usually offers enough sunlight to give you sufficient Vitamin D stores.  The problem is most people are afraid of the sun these days. Many holistic and conventional health care practitioners are concerned that the push to always wear sunscreen has helped contribute to suboptimal Vitamin D levels.  Essentially the same sunscreen you are wearing to prevent skin cancer also blocks your body’s ability to make Vitamin D. Our bodies require UV light to make Vitamin D, and sunscreens block out UV light. Even the all natural, environmentally friendly sunscreens block UV light. A sunscreen with SPF of 8 blocks your ability to synthesize Vitamin D by 92.5%, and increasing to SPF 15 blocks nearly 99% of your ability to make Vitamin D.

In a report released on March 22, 2010, Statistics Canada said that 90 per cent of Canadians from children to Zoomer aged, have levels of Vitamin D in their blood considered inadequate for bone health.  That means ten per cent, or roughly three million Canadians have inadequate amounts of Vitamin D in their blood.  Of these, 1.1 million were considered Vitamin D deficient. Chronic Vitamin D deficiency cannot be reversed overnight: it takes months of Vitamin D supplementation and sunlight exposure to rebuild the body's bones and nervous system.

A Vitamin D supplement is a practical way to ensure adequate levels of this important protector are always available in your bloodstream. Health Canada's guidelines remain at 400 IU daily. Health Canada advises people to take a daily Vitamin D supplement, as following the Canada Food Guide would only provide 200 IU of Vitamin D per day from food.  The Canadian Cancer Society recommends Canadians take in 1,000 IU of supplemental Vitamin D every day. There is growing support for a daily Vitamin D dosage of 1,000-2,000 IUs from all sources (including sunlight, food and supplements) and up to 5,000 IUs in the winter for those of us living in northern regions.

So what should you look for in a Vitamin D supplement?  Recent literature shows that most calcium supplements have too little Vitamin D to be effective, so adding a separate Vitamin D supplement will provide the greatest benefits. I recommend that Zoomers check supplement labels, as many contain Vitamin D2, a synthetic form of the Vitamin that is poorly absorbed and utilized in the body. Most-over-the counter Vitamin D supplements and all prescription Vitamin D supplements contain Vitamin D2.  I encourage Zoomers to look for natural Vitamin D3 which is absorbed more easily, stays in your system longer and with greater effect.