Vitamin D3 ~ More Important Than You May Think

[Please read disclaimer at bottom of page.]

Since going back to work outside the home in the Spring of '09, I have found myself in a the happy position of learning more about health/home care/personal care/food alternatives ~ right up my alley!

In the next couple of weeks I'll be sharing with you some of the things that keep coming to my attention & I have asked many questions of several people (from my VERY patient store manager, for one) & have done some extra research on. In this business, it's SO easy to want to take every single supplement that graces our shelves (& many customers seem to think we do! . . . "Have you ever tried this?" . . . "Nope." . . . [astonished] "You haven't?!?!?!?!"). Although I'm not against taking Rx meds when necessary, I do however look at some supplements as Rx that I'm not taking, & side-effects I'm not dealing with. Now . . . having said that, not every supplement is necessary for everyone & not everyone can take every supplement. Success with your supplement "cocktail" depends entirely upon you ~ after you weigh your needs, family history, medical needs & body's tolerance.

Some vitamins cross over almost all boundaries & are beneficial for everyone ~ to one degree or another. One of those is Vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is "the sunshine D" & is especially good for women. And because we know we can't always be the "sun worshippers" we thought we could in our younger years (for us Baby Boomers), we HAVE to get our sunshine benefits in the next-best way.

Scientists are finding more & more that almost everything in our body can benefit from D3 ~ almost 2,000 different genes are regulated by it! Astounding. Vitamin D3 can help with pregnancy problems, avoiding some birth defects, depression, skin cancer & many other cancers, heart disease & even multiple sclerosis. Within mere days, many people notice a better feeling of general well-being. Archives of Internal Medicine has said that as many as 77% of the general American population are low in D3 & recommend around 1,000 IU per day; many requiring more.

Even though D3 is fat-soluble, it's rather hard to "over-does" on it. According to an article in Women's Health magazine, we can handle A LOT more than previously thought; "You'd have to inject 10,000 IU everyday for 6 months before before you'd even begin to approach problem levels." When shopping for a D, check the labels & make sure it says D3, this is type of D vitamin that your skin makes.

On top of the benefits I listed earlier, a recent Newmax.com article listed these as the top 5 benefits of taking Vitamin D3:

1. It helps the intestine absorb nutrients, including calcium and phosphorus. This ensures strong bones and a strong immune system.

2. Vitamin D prevents osteomalacia and rickets. Osteomalacia, which causes weakness of the muscular system and brittle bones, is most prevalent among adults with vitamin D deficiency. Rickets is a skeletal deformity mostly seen in children with vitamin D deficiency.

3. Vitamin D provides calcium balance in the body that prevents osteoporosis or arthritis.

4. Vitamin D regulates blood pressure, reduces stress and tension, relieves body aches and pains by reducing muscle spasms, reduces respiratory infections, helps in differentiation of the cells, aids in insulin secretion, helps fight depression, improves overall skin health by reducing wrinkles, makes skin soft, strong, and smooth, and improves cardiovascular strength by providing a protective lining for the blood vessels.

5.Vitamin D is recommended in the treatment of several diseases. It may prevent preaclamsia by improving kidney function, cancer by controlling abnormal multiplication of cancer cells [a big reason why I take it; family history of cancer on both sides], diabetes mellitus by controlling insulin production, hyperparathyroidism by reducing parathyroid numbers, osteomalacia by improving bone and muscle strength, hypophosphatemia by controlling the phosphates in the body, hypocalcaemia by preventing abnormal deposition of calcium, and renal osteodystrophy by regulating calcium content and fibromyalgia.

The benefits of vitamin D can be obtained by increasing exposure to sunlight and including vitamin D rich foods into your diet like fish, cod liver oil, milk, and eggs. Fresh fruits and vegetables are also good sources of vitamin D.

Vitamin D3 is truly an amazing vitamin; the more I find out about it, the more I am convinced of it's benefit. And just in case you are interested, I take Carlson's D3 drops ~ 1 drop a day ~ you can drop a drop in your mouth or many will drop a drop on top of their hand & simply lick it off (kids LOVE to do that); 1 little bottle has enough for 1 person's use for 1 year.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><