Vitamin D, is technically a hormone rather than a vitamin. Unfortunately, many Brits, even those who eat a good diet, are deficient in this vitamin.

Research links Vitamin D deficiency to over 200 diseases, aside from the better known issues with immunity. In this country which just don’t get enough exposure to the sun to maintain necessary levels.

Here are just a few of the ways in which Vitamin D - the “sunshine vitamin” - can affect your brain, body and overall health:

IMMUNITY

Vitamin D receptors are found all over the body, including the immune cells. Vitamin D deficiency is responsible for the seasonal nature of cold and flu outbreaks – less sunlight means less vitamin D, which leads to lower immunity and more illness.

BONES

It’s well-documented that vitamin D is essential for the proper absorption of calcium, and it’s been shown to greatly reduce fracture risk in two ways. First, it helps with the formation of stronger bones; second, Vitamin D helps improve balance and prevent falls by enhancing muscle contraction.

MUSCLES

A byproduct of vitamin D’s breakdown, called 1,25(OH)2D, enters muscle cells and affects the nucleus. Once there, the vitamin D metabolite enhances the cell’s ability to contract. Since muscles work by contraction and relaxation, a muscle’s ability to contract is essential to its strength. Vitamin D makes muscles stronger in a very direct way.

LUNGS

A range of anti-inflammatory properties help keep the lungs healthy.

HEART

Their is an inverse relationship between Vitamin D levels and blood pressure. In other words, the lower the vitamin D, the higher the blood pressure. This causes the coronary arteries, serving the heart, to slowly narrow and harden, greatly increasing the risk of a heart attack.

KIDNEYS

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin and as such it helps to regulate kidney function and plays a very beneficial role in trating kidney disease.

MOOD

Low levels of vitamin D have long been associated with a higher incidence of depression. When vitamin D3 supplements were compared to anti-depressants the positive effect of vitamin D3 on mood was comparable to the effects of the anti-depressants.

WEIGHT LOSS

When you don’t have enough vitamin D, you constantly feel hungry. That is because low levels of vitamin D interfere with the effectiveness of leptin, the appetite hormone that tells you when you are full. When vitamin D is replenished and back to normal levels, leptin’s actions are restored, thus creating feelings of fullness and thereby aiding in weight loss.

COGNITIVE FUNCTION

Recent studies have demonstrated a link between low Vitamin D and decreased mental (cognitive) function. It has a protective role in helping to rid the brain of beta-amyloid, an abnormal protein which is a major cause of Alzheimers disease. Senior citizens with low Vit D are condsidered to be at twice the risk of this condition.

WHAT TO DO ?

During bright summer months try to expose head, neck and arms to the sun for 10 - 15 minutes. Always use protectice suncream if staying out longer.
Further exposure than this does not increase the levels of Vitamin D. When your topped up, your good to go!

Topic: Diet and nutrition