Vitamin D is an essential ingredient for normal body health.
It assists with the health and well being of the following systems:
- Muscular and skeletal
- Immunological
- Neurological
- Anti-cancer
- Anti-ageing
It is known that patients with low Vit D levels have a worse prognosis in Breast Cancer and Melanoma, and have a higher incidence of Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s Disease.
The best way of obtaining normal Vit D is by exposure to the sun. This exposure must be without sunscreens being applied to the skin. Fair skinned individuals require less exposure than darker skinned individuals.
No-one really knows how much time we need, but it needs to be regular exposure, especially in Winter. Any part of the skin is OK, but generally we recommend the linmbs. Ideally this exposure should be in the morning or afternoon, before and after the peak UV periods (10 am – 3 pm). Typically 10 – 20 mins will be an adequate exposure time.
You must not get sunburned!
It is essential when getting this sun exposure that NO sunscreen be applied, as modern sunscreens completely block out UVB rays, the very rays that stimulate Vit D production in the skin.
Oral Vit D supplements are very poorly absorbed from the gut, and are an unreliable source of Vit D. Additionally, it is possible to absorb too much Vit D from the gut leading to toxic levels!
Please note that current blood tests of Vit D are unreliable, as they only detect how much Vit D is circulating at the point of the blood test, and do not necessarily reflect body stores of Vit D.
If you would like more information on the benefits of Vitamin D or to book a complimentary consultation, please call our friendly team on (08) 9368 6888.
