Vitamin D3

We get this from sunlight right? Well yeah we do and if you live at or near the equator you’ll get enough UV exposure year round to mean you’ll likely never be deficient……. Wait you don’t live at the equator!? Well in that case supplementation with Vitamin D is likely a very good idea.

Vitamin D, or more specifically Vitamin D3 is one of 24 micronutrients essential for human survival, yes you probably get a bit from food and UV exposure and you’re probably unlikely to be deficient in D3 but by the same token you are probably unlikely to have optimal levels as well and this can be problematic as it is involved in so many aspects of your health and wellbeing.

Optimal Vitamin D3 are associated with, Increased cognition (brain gains y’all) and decreased fracture risk, Supplementing with D3 can also reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, Diabetes, and upper respiratory tract infections (seems timely advice this doesn’t it, remember there is no concrete data on D3 and covid-19 just yet however if it looks like there might be a correlation and it’s not going to do you any harm by including it…… why wouldn’t you).

In fact there are a few studies that show a reduction in All CAUSE mortality rates in people with higher serum D3 levels than lower serum levels.

So like I said you may not be deficient in D3 and you can get small amounts from foods like Fish, Eggs and some fortified dairy products but unless you live at the equator then it makes sense from a health point of view to supplement with this micronutrient.

So how do you go about that?

The human body tends to stop solar synthesis when UV indexes are higher than 3 at a level of about 10000iu per day so it wouldn’t make much sense to supplement beyond that, on top of that supplementation above 2000iu per day whilst not being toxic doesn’t necessarily provide any further benefit.

Generally speaking 2000iu of D3 supplemented daily should be enough to meet the needs of most people which is very easily done.

Supplementation with Vit D3 is contraindicated for people with the medical condition Sarcoidosis, should you have that condition you should definitely discuss Vitamin D levels with your Doctor before you take any new supplements, it’s always a good idea to check with your GP if you plan on introducing any new  supplements even if you have zero health issues.