I’m sure you’ve heard everyone talking about Vitamin D lately. It’s on the news, in magazines, and it’s even on Facebook and twitter! Just like most things on social media, or in an office pamphlet, it says you need this, but why? And How much? Let us try to clear things up a little bit for you!

Naturally, we are supposed to get Vitamin D from sun exposure. When UV rays contact the skin our body naturally creates a usable form of Vitamin D. However, in recent years, we have been told the sun is bad, UV rays cause skin cancer, and that we should lather our skin up with as much SPF as possible right? Guess what? You can’t absorb those UV rays if you lather on a pound of sunscreen every 15-20 minutes as directed. Now, don’t get me wrong, repeated OVER exposure to the point of BURNING can produce skin damage. Just like everything, USE YOUR HEAD. If you are outside long enough to start feeling a little crispy, cover up, wear a hat and sunglasses, and use coconut oil as a healthy, safe alternative to sunscreen. But please do not fear the lovely sun. It has created and supported life since before the human race was put on this planet.

Living in the Midwest, it is next to impossible to get enough Vitamin D from sun exposure alone, even in the summer months. We recommend supplementing year round with Vitamin D3. A good recommendation guideline is to take 1000 IUs for every 40lbs of body weight (ie. If you weighed 160lbs, you would need 4000 IUs/day) in the winter, double it.

Now that seems like a lot of Vitamin D right? Let’s get into what vitamin D can do for you. Vitamin D boosts your immune system, it fights cancer cells in the body, it helps regulate the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, and helps with the growth and development of bones and teeth in children. It also reduces your risk of multiple sclerosis, heart disease, cancer, colds, and flus, and overall just helps your cells function better.

Dr. James Chestnut has done numerous studies on Vitamin D and found a deficiency of it to be the number 1 cause of cancer. Not genetics, not smoking, a deficiency of a vitamin that we should be getting naturally! Crazy huh? Luckily, it’s an easy fix. I personally prefer Vitamin D drops, just 2-3 drops a day and I’m good to go! You can also find Vitamin D3 in pill form, or you can get it from Cod Liver Oil if you can handle the taste! You will also be getting Vitamin A and your Omega 3s all in one punch. We don’t recommend many supplements at our office because honestly, most of them are a waste, BUT Vitamin D is one that everyone in your family needs to start taking TODAY!!