Everyone and their brother is taking vitamin D3 right now, but is it really good for everyone? And is MORE always better? This post from Butter Nutrition might challenge what you’ve heard about the popular supplement…
“In recent years supplementing vitamin D has been touted as somewhat of a cure-all, but I’m a huge skeptic, and don’t think it’s quite that simple. But like all other dietary trends, the truth surfaces eventually… and surprise-surprise that truth is that a pill or supplement is NEVER the cure-all we’re led to believe. So if low vitamin D doesn’t mean you just need to supplement vitamin D, what DOES it mean?
What low vitamin D levels can really reveal…
It appears that low vitamin D levels are the result of ill health, but not the cause. Low vitamin D levels can reveal a host of things:
- Ill health- According to a recent study done in December 2013 in Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, “The discrepancy between observational and interventional studies suggests that low 25(OH)D is a marker of ill health.” (source)
- Low calcium intake- Chris Masterjohn explains that vitamin D levels and calcium levels go hand and hand. “Overall, then, we would expect that a deficiency in calcium would cause low 25(OH)D, and that correcting the deficiency would normalize the 25(OH)D, but that beyond a certain threshold, increasing calcium intake might not increase 25(OH)D any further.” (source) Additionally, he adds, “As a rule of thumb, then, I would say that if someone has low 25(OH)D and she is eating two to three servings of dairy products or soft, edible bones, or two to three cups of cruciferous vegetables per day (which have their downsides), then calcium deficiency is unlikely to be the explanation. If one is not eating these foods, however, it could very easily be the explanation. In such a case, the person has little to lose and much to gain by including more calcium-rich foods.” (source)
- Poor digestion– Low vitamin D status can also be a great reflector of poor gut health, especially since good digestion is a precursor to good health. You can’t be healthy without good digestion to break down your food and make it available and absorbable by the body. Digestion is king when it comes to health, and there are a host of reasons people have poor digestion. The ones I see most frequently are due to a slowed metabolism, low nutrient diet, and chronic stress.” Keep reading…
Why I don’t take vitamin D supplements…
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