volume 6.
i’ve talked about vitamin d before. never specifically done a post ON it though and, my friends, it deserves a post of its own for sure. do you know that most of us are deficient? in fact, at steve’s last physical his bloodwork came back showing he was very deficient (made worse by the winters here, i’m sure). but, i suspect (and many doctors do too) that MOST of us ARE deficient and need much, much more than we are getting. (and, for the record, steve knows right where to find the cod liver oil that is in our fridge… thus, i accept no responsibility for his deficiency. what, should i spoon feed him!?)
why are we so deficient? well, the sun has gotten a bad rap over the past several years. no doubt you’ve heard. a lot of sun is bad for you, sure. some sun is good. really good, in fact (barring any major melanoma issues and extreme fair skin, of course). and, perhaps, more sun than you think. so don’t immediately slather yourself in sun screen (but, when you do, let it be a good one! we like this one. it gets a 2 on that skin deep website which is pretty good.). but, really. whenever i take the kids to the beach, we all go about thirty minutes sans sunscreen before i put it on them (no one is toooo fair skinned here or else maybe i’d make it less.). vitamin d is made by our body (which helps to fight autoimmune diseases, regulate weight, keep your mood normal through the darker winter months, boost the immune system–apparently more than vitamin c even!–and helps maintain healthy bones much like calcium) when our body absorbs it. when we’re covered in sunscreen, our body is not absorbing it. so, DO use your sunscreen but DO get some sun before you cover yourself with it!
we use the nordic naturals brand pictured above. but carlsons is another reputable brand! and, if you can afford it, this one is best of all because it’s fermented and the ratio of vitamins a to d is best. if i had more cash, that’d totally be the one i would get. parker even likes the one above and eats it right off the spoon. (you can take it while pregnant too! i did. just check with your doc on how many IUs.). they suggest we get at least 600 IU per day but most docs recommend we get between 1500 and 2000 IUs. one teaspoon of the above is 1000 IU, by the way. there are lots of types of vitamin d but the most important ones for us are D2 and D3.
you’ve maybe heard about how mercola rescinded his suggestion to take cod liver oil and now suggests krill oil (but sometimes i think he’s got a bit too much profit to gain with his recommendations and what he sells, so i take some of his recommendations with a grain of salt.). here’s the findings weston price came up with on a search of vitamin d. and here’s a good post i found on the whole issue as it relates to the vitamin a in cod liver oil.
so, in conclusion… i’d say the sun is the best source but, through winter months especially, (and in places with a true winter), definitely find an additional source.
cheers to vitamin d!
Bridget, do you take this everyday even during the summer months?
good question. i try to take it every day during the winter (and forget even then) but summertime i am way more lax about it because we're outside so much. i would be really interested to see a test that shows how much it really does fluctuate between winter and summer months. maybe we're still deficient even in the summertime? i'm not sure. anyway, to answer your question–sparingly thru summer (also saves money because it's not cheap!)
Well! Praise the Lord! I always knew sun without sunscreen was a good idea! 😉 I can't wait till the spring time and summer to sit out in it. It's so good for my soul!
Great series; I love anything holistic. Will be pinning and tuning in.
I LOVE this series when you do it. I definitely took you up on the colloidal silver, and wouldn't you know it we didn't get the flu this winter!! Really awesome.
HMMM. I'll have to get me some of this. Clearly my mood has gone to hell in a handbasket this winter, so I probably could use some more Vitamin D!
i take this in pill form (much more preferable) every day and svea take it in liquid form. all thanks to one BCH.
saving lives, one dose of fish oil at a time.
Yes! Us Oregonians take vitamin D like it's candy:-) xoxo
I just found your blog and LOVE this series 🙂 We're in the process of simplifying and naturalizing our home and this has been super helpful. Thanks! Oh, and I live in sunny South Texas and am positive that we don't get enough sun all summer long…due to crazy mosquitoes, crazy humidity and crazy heat over 100 degrees. Oh, we do enjoy the winters though!
thanks jessica! welcome!
Seriously. If there's a zombie apocalypse, I'm hanging out with you. It's the only way I'll survive in the wild.
of course you're coming along when said apocalypse takes place!
I thought this was going to be about Vitamin E when I saw the teaser in my feed… my mom used to used that on us CONSTANTLY when I was growing up. Or make us take the capsules whole.
I'm going to have to check out this Vitamin D, though… and I'm intrigued by the pills Ahn mentioned. I do know about the importance of balancing sun and sunscreen, and I try to maintain that, but I'm sure I don't get enough D.
I found out I was deficient when I had my pregnancy blood work done!! I started supplementing with soft gels (2000 IUs) since I just take plain old fish oil and immediately felt SO MUCH better!!! The person above who asked about taking it in the summer would maybe benefit from knowing that although we can potentially get enough D from the sun in the summer, the essential fatty acids from a fish oil are still incredibly vital to good health so it's important to take something all year round – perhaps cod liver oil in the winter and fish oil in the summer?? Of course this is your series and so I'll butt out…but I love it! Thanks Bridget.
rita! that reminds me – you're totally right. i remember it being fish oil in the summer, cod liver in the winter. do you take the green pastures brand ever? i hear it is THE BEST.
so incredibly important. ryan got really sick (last year… better now!), and since then, we've been taking 5,000/day~ and doing the same in regards to sun screen. btw~ so happy to be reading/commenting again… had to take a major break… but i've always loved your posts in regards to health.