Vitamin D… WHO 👏🏻 IS 👏🏻 SHE??
In this post, I break down:
- What vitamin D is
- Why your bod needs it
- How much you need
- Dietary sources
- Why it’s called the “sunshine vitamin”
- And whether you should supplement or not!
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What is vitamin D?
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. Fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E, and K) are absorbed with dietary fats and can be stored in the body’s fatty tissues.
Why do I need vitamin D?
Vitamin D’s main role in your bod is to regulate and absorb calcium and phosphorus. A deficiency in this vitamin can lead to rickets in children and osteoporosis in adults.
There have been quite a few studies showing an association between vitamin D deficiency and cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, and depression. HOWEVER, this research is ongoing… Fingers crossed that we will see more definite answers about the relationship b/w vitamin D and the listed diseases.
DO NOTE: The relationship b/w vitamin D and bone health is well-established!
How much do I need?
About 1 billion people in the world have a vitamin D deficiency… Particularly individuals who are obese, those who have undergone gastric bypass surgery, people with certain malabsorption syndromes, and those with limited sun exposure.
The 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (AKA – NHANES) found that women of ages 20-29 and 30-39 consume 4.1 and 4.5 µg/day (micrograms), respectively.
Can you guess what the recommended daily allowance is?
15 µg vitamin D/day !!!
What food has vitamin d?
We LOOOOVE to reach our nutrient goals through our diet, but vitamin D is TRICKY!! There’s a relatively limited number of foods rich in vitamin D.
Let’s discuss:
Fatty fish like salmon and mackerel are the best sources of vitamin D. However, fortified foods provide the most vitamin D in our diets! Fortified foods are foods to which nutrients have been added to it – seems pretty ideal for vitamin D, right? Foods fortified with vitamin D may include: OJ, cereal, yogurt, cheese, and milks.
…WTF does it look like??
- 3 oz boneless, cooked salmon = 11.31 µg of vitamin D (from USDA FoodData central)
- AHTK PRO TIP: 3 oz is about the size of your palm
- 1 cup of calcium fortified, fat free milk = 2.93 µg of vitamin D (source)
- AHTK PRO TIP: 1 cup is about the size of your fist
- 1 oz of cheese = 2.13 µg of vitamin D (source)
- AHTK PRO TIP: 1 oz cheese is about the size of 3 dice cubes
- 1 whole egg = 1.24 µg of vitamin D (source)
Why we call vitamin D the “sunshine vitamin”:
About 50-90% of vitamin D is absorbed through the skin via sunlight while the rest comes from the diet. Skin makes vitamin D from cholesterol when the sun hits it. 20 mins of sunshine daily with over 40% of skin exposed is required to prevent a vitamin D deficiency.
What’s the kicker?
- We don’t get much sun in the midwest…
- Sun exposure w/o sunscreen poses an increased risk of skin cancer. I’m kinda psycho and wear sunscreen in the winter and driving gloves. A little bit of unexposed sun is okay, but we want to be on top of our skin’s health & integrity too.
To supplement or to not: