Facts about Vitamin D
Immune and Mental Health has been spoken of regularly in the past year, and I hope that we have all become more conscious of looking after ours! It’s good to see that Vitamin D has been flagged up as super important in how well we recover from Covid, as it has been found that low levels of the Vitamin are commonly found in those who have unfortunately not survived.
How can you get Vitamin D naturally ?
Get ourdoors
Even though its extra cold at the moment, make sure you get out of the house at least once a day.
Check your moisturiser doesn’t have SPF, or don’t apply until after your outdoor movement session.
Add mushrooms to your diet
For those who aren’t too keen on these immune modulating superfoods, try to sneak mushrooms into your foods such as in your Bolognese sauces for the kids, blended with your soups and added to your stir fries.
I really dislike mushrooms, so I chop them extra finely and they seem to dissolve into nothing, or I marinate portobello mushrooms in 1tbsp miso, 1tbsp tahini, juice of ½ lemon and 1cm of fresh ginger for a few hours, grill and slice them like thin steak carpaccio - the sauce is blooming delicious!
Mushrooms have many adaptogenic properties to help balance the immune system and if you don’t seem to be able to get them as a staple in your family meals please consider taking medicinal
Mushroom supplements to support immunity.
Medicinal mushrooms come in several forms and species, all with specific benefits alongside immunity, such as skin, nervous system, hormone balance and gut health. Please contact me to help you decide which ones may be most suited for you and your little ones. There are very tasty children’s tonics available.
Is it safe to take Vitamin D supplements?
Research tells us vitamin D competes for the same sites in your cells as vitamin A. If we take too much Vitamin D and not enough A, we will end up with an imbalance between the two vitamins. The only time we look at this ratio differently is during pregnancy, where supplementing Vitamin A can cause frontal damage.
Vitamin D is responsible for the correct release of calcium from the pancreas and works with Vitamin K for this to be kept in balance. If there is too much vitamin D present without K2 (KM7 form) we can experience calcification within the joints:
Vitamin D must be present for the body to be able to absorb other important nutrients from food that the body needs to function such as vitamin C and E. These antioxidants help mop up unstable free radicals made from environmental, emotional or physical stress put on our body. These are very important when we are trying to improve our immune system, calm our nervous system and stabilise our mental health. As vitamin D is responsible for the absorption of other vitamins and minerals this can be a contributing factor to many health issues such as cardiac, thyroid, hormonal imbalances, reproductive and fertility, skin, energy and mood!
Vitamin D not only supports all other chain reactions involved in supporting our immune health, but also works independently to aggressively attack bacteria and viruses that enter our systems.
Too much Vitamin D supplementation can cause long lasting irreparable damage on your liver so even if those vitamin D lozenges taste really nice and seem to make you feel great. Don’t take over the recommended daily amount of 4000iu unless you have tested your levels and know you are low. In this case you would go on an intensive course before dropping to a normal dosage after a period of time.
If you're worried about your vitamin D levels I would suggest a Vitamin D test initially so you know where you are starting from. Then you can supplement accordingly. I can help you get a test and also give advice on general immune boosting complexes to avoid the imbalances mentioned above.