The sun is the main way our bodies get vitamin D,

it is also available from animal liver as it is a fat-soluble vitamin and stored in the body.

Living in the northern hemisphere means many months of limited daylight and reduced skin exposure to the sun.

Pale skin can absorb vitamin D quickly, this is why exposing your white feet to the hot sun on holiday can give you sunstroke – it is an overdose, therefore toxic and makes us sick.

Winter, we have much less vitamin D, in fact too low.

This vitamin is actually more like a hormone and reacting under the skin; with the parathyroid hormones and absorbing in the intestines to help the metabolism of calcium and therefore bone development and muscle contractions.

Green leafy vegetables also contain chlorophyll, this regulates calcium, performing like vitamin D*, in short, we need to make sure we have lots of green veg and microalgae, but be careful of beetroot greens, spinach and chard as they have oxalic acid that can cause stones :/

 

Weak immune system

What science is saying:

Vitamin D (calcitriol), the immune system B cells and T cells have vitamin D receptors and can respond to calcitriol, good levels of vitamin D and calcitriol keeps the T cells from attacking the body’s own tissues. See ref. below

In other words reducing the autoimmune response, inflammation at a cell level

IBS

This is just my opinion but I would guess anyone with digestive issues will not be absorbing vitamins and minerals as well as they could, iron and zinc being the more common deficiencies but also Vitamin D would be a concern. (private consult only, rather than facebook)

What not to eat

When we get colds and inflammation, mucus and phlegm are often the results – foods that make mucus worse, Don’t eat: Bananas, peanut butter, milk, sugar and alcohol, these will make you super snotty!

Supplements

As with most Western thinking, we head for a superlative – the most, the best the highest. If we do this we will cause an imbalance so better to take a medium to low dose over a few months.

I have opted for a tincture drops, 10 drops amount to 1000iu, but 500iu (five drops) in a warm drink daily.

Exercise

We know that moving and lifting strengthen bones and muscles, but what about the light?

Getting outside will still work but with only our faces exposed , 5% of our body, we will need to spend a few hours a day.

I don’t recommend stripping off to go for a run either, as we exercise and sweat, the pores of the skin open and cold gets into the body, so cover the arms and legs!

Thanks for reading.

Caspar

References

* Paul Pitchford, Healing with Whole Foods

Vitamin D for Dummies

For more on running in winter click here