Vitamin D

Living in the winter wonderland that is Toronto, we spend a large portion of our year covered up.  This means that we likely aren’t getting enough vitamin D.

Where do we get Vitamin D?

Our vitamin D comes from 2 natural sources:

1. Skin exposure to sunlight and, during the months when our skin is covered up, we must get it from our diet.

2. The best source of naturally occurring vitamin D from our diet is fish oils and to a lesser extent beef liver, eggs, and cheese.

Supplementation is a good idea during the winter months – 1000 IU/day.  Make sure you are supplementing with D3 and not D2.  It is absorbed much more readily.

Why do we need Vitamin D?

Vitamin D plays an important role in

  1. fighting infection
  2. fighting cancer
  3. prevention of cardiac disease
  4. prevention of numerous neurologic diseases including depression, dementia, and Multiple Sclerosis.
  5. pain perception – a deficiency of vitamin D results in increased pain

Reference

  1. Matossian-Motley DL, Drake DA, Samimi JS, et al. Association between serum 25(OH)D level and nonspecific musculoskeletal pain in acute rehabilitation unit patients. Journal of Parental and Enteral Nutrition 2014;Oct:doi: 10.1177/0148607114555909.
  2. Mercola.com
  3. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and risk of multiple sclerosis. JAMA. 2006 Dec 20;296(23):2832-8.
  4. Vitamin D deficiency and risk of cardiovascular disease.Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 May;91(5):1255-60. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.29094. Epub 2010 Mar 10.
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