Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash Written by Luke Kornblatt You already know the saying, “Good things come in small packages.” That is certainly the case when it comes to herbal tinctures. At InVite® Health, our healthcare professionals understand the multiple health benefits one can …
Photo by Mathew Schwartz on Unsplash The Role of Vitamin D in the Body Vitamin D, commonly called the ‘sunshine vitamin, is an essential nutrient and hormone that plays a major role in many of the body’s functions, including in the skin, hair and bones. …
Vitamin D, commonly called the ‘sunshine vitamin, is an essential nutrient that plays a major role in many of the body’s functions, including in the skin, hair and bones. Vitamin D has been shown to promote calcium absorption, support healthy cell growth and healthy immune function. Sources of vitamin D include the sun, some foods like fatty-fish and cheese (though small amounts), and supplementation.
Could a Vitamin Deficiency be to Blame for Your Hair Loss?
It has been estimated that approximately 70% of North Americans have a Vitamin D deficiency. This is due to a combination of factors: low levels of sunlight for most of the year, obesity, sun avoidance, and low consumption of foods high in Vitamin D such as fatty fish (salmon, tuna, sardines). Inadequate Vitamin D in the body often leads to conditions such as rickets and osteomalacia, which bring on symptoms like bone and muscle pain, enlarged joints, and easily fractured bones. Given the high prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency, this could be the most essential of all the conditionally essential vitamins.
According to Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences Department of Internal Medicine, vitamin D deficiency is high in winter because of the reduced exposure to sunlight. However, in summer, there seems to still be low vitamin D levels in individuals in places with high humidity and a sultry climate. In the Universities cross-sectional study, blood samples from men and women ages 10 to 70, a total of 351 subjects, were taken towards the end of the summer and in the winter. The levels of vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase and PTH were measured. Results of the study shows that, although the area had a high humidity climate, seasonal variation of vitamin D was still statistically significant, and was a high in the summer as the winter.
Speak with your doctor or a nutritionist about your vitamin D intake, in all seasons. Need help finding a nutritionists. Click here to meet one in your area!
Photo by Pablo Heimplatz on Unsplash A new study conducted by researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Seoul National University suggests that individuals with a vitamin d deficiency may be at a much greater risk of developing diabetes. The …
Photo by A. L. on Unsplash A study performed by the University of Eastern Finland has found a link between higher serum Vitamin D levels and lower plasma cholesterol levels in primary school children. What is Vitamin D? Vitamin D, commonly called the ‘sunshine vitamin, …
According to data presented in Barcelona at the European Society of Endocrinology annual meeting, higher levels of belly fat are associated with lower vitamin D levels in obese individuals.
The study reports that vitamin D levels are lower in individuals with higher levels of belly fat, and suggests that individuals – who are particularly overweight with larger waistlines – should have their vitamin D levels checked to avoid any potentially health damaging effects.
Vitamin D, commonly called the ‘sunshine vitamin, is an essential nutrient that plays a major role in many of the body’s functions, including in the skin, hair and bones. Vitamin D has been shown to promote calcium absorption, support healthy cell growth and healthy immune function. Sources of vitamin D include the sun, some foods like fatty-flish and cheese (though small amounts), and supplementation.
Could a Vitamin Deficiency be to Blame for Your Hair Loss?
It has been estimated that approximately 70% of North Americans have Vitamin D deficiencies. This is due to a combination of factors: low levels of sunlight for most of the year, obesity, sun avoidance, and low consumption of foods high in Vitamin D such as fatty fish (salmon, tuna, sardines). Inadequate Vitamin D in the body often leads to conditions such as rickets and osteomalacia, which bring on symptoms like bone and muscle pain, enlarged joints, and easily fractured bones. Given the high prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency, this could be the most essential of all the conditionally essential vitamins.
Originally tied to only bone health, recent studies have shown low levels of vitamin D to be linked with higher rates of respiratory tract infections, auto-immune diseases and cardiovascular diseases.
In the study, researchers from VU University Medical Center and Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands examined how the amount of total body fat and abdominal fat measured in participants of the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity study related to their vitamin D levels. After adjusting for a number of possible influencing factors, including chronic disease, they found that the amounts of both total and abdominal fat were associated with a vitamin D levels in women, although abdominal fat has a greater impact. Lower vitamin D levels were also found in men with both abdominal and liver fat. In all cases, the greater the amount of belly fat, the lower the levels of detected vitamin D.
The researchers now plan to investigate what may underlie this strong association between vitamin D levels and obesity.