WHO KNEW?

Vitamin D, Denver, COVitamin D is perhaps the single most underrated nutrient in the world of nutrition. The sun shines and it’s there for everyone. Your body makes Vitamin D when sunlight touches your skin. (pretty convenient, huh?)  Drug companies can’t sell you sunlight, so they’re not out there promoting its health benefits. Truth is, most people don’t know the real story on Vitamin D and health. So here’s some facts:

  • Vitamin D is produced by your skin in response to exposure to ultraviolet radiation from natural sunlight
  • The healing rays of natural sunlight (that generate Vitamin D in your skin) cannot penetrate glass. So you don’t generate Vitamin D when sitting in your car or home
  • It is nearly impossible to get adequate amounts of Vitamin D from your diet. Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way to generate Vitamin D in your own body
  • A person would have to drink ten tall glasses of Vitamin D fortified milk each day just to get minimum levels of Vitamin D into their diet
  • The further you live from the equator, the longer exposure you need to the sun in order to generate Vitamin D. Canada, the UK and most U.S. states are far from the equator
  • People with dark skin pigmentation may need 20 – 30 times as much exposure to sunlight as fair-skinned people to generate the same amount of Vitamin D. That’s why prostate cancer is epidemic among black men — it’s a simple, but widespread, sunlight
  • Sufficient levels of Vitamin D are crucial for calcium absorption in your intestines. Without sufficient Vitamin D, your body cannot absorb calcium, rendering calcium supplements useless
  • Chronic Vitamin D deficiency cannot be reversed overnight: it takes months of Vitamin D supplementation and sunlight exposure to rebuild the body’s bones and nervous system
  • Even weak sunscreens (SPF=8) block your body’s ability to generate vitamin D by 95%. This is how sunscreen products actually cause disease — by creating a critical vitamin deficiency in the body.
  • It is impossible to generate too much vitamin D in your body from sunlight exposure: your body will self-regulate and only generate what it needs
  • If it hurts to press firmly on your sternum, you may be suffering from chronic Vitamin D deficiency right now.
  • Vitamin D is “activated” in your body by your kidneys and liver before it can be used
  • Having kidney disease or liver damage can greatly impair your body’s ability to activate circulating vitamin D.

Even though Vitamin D is one of the most powerful healing chemicals in your body, your body makes it absolutely free. No prescription required.

FEELING D ALL OVER

Just knowing all the ways Vitamin D can help are making people feel better. We’ve talked about some of the more serious illnesses that are being helped by raising Vitamin D levels. But there are a host of other (and less devastating) applications we haven’t mentioned yet.

Vitamin D deficiencies are being linked to nearsighted vision in children. And speaking of vision, it’s also being linked to dry eye and impaired tear function. Sleep apnea? Yep, another one.  Oh, and guys, you probably want to pay close attention to this… researchers recently found that Vitamin D deficiency was more common in men with erectile dysfunction than men without erectile dysfunction. So what’ll it be? D? Or Viagra?

SOMETIMES EVEN FOR THE SPORT OF IT

In a study published by the British Journal of Nutrition it was determined that Vitamin D status is positively associated with cardiopulmonary exercise capacity. The role of Vitamin D in athletic performance has been gaining in popularity over recent years. In fact, research has determined that Vitamin D helps improve muscle strength by increasing the rate of protein synthesis and enlarging muscle fiber size.

A recent article published in the Wall Street Journal described how professional and college sports teams think they have found a cutting-edge advantage in Vitamin D. With scientific research having proven that an optimum supply of Vitamin D is a crucial factor for our health, and with deficiency well-known to be widespread, the sporting world’s newfound advocacy of the “sunshine vitamin” follows the growing trend of health experts recommending a supplementary intake for everyone to support cellular metabolism. As the Wall Street Journal article describes, with millions of dollars at stake elite sports teams are now monitoring the health of their players more closely than ever. In the world of professional sport, winning trophies is directly dependent on maximizing the performance of players and ensuring they stay injury-free. Significantly therefore, towards this goal, teams in all U.S. major leagues, some college athletic departments and the U.S. men’s and women’s soccer teams are all now believed to have started tracking their players’ Vitamin D levels and intake.

GO, D!!

A DOSE OF TROUBLE

Certainly, you know there are a ton of Vitamin D supplements to be found out there (including online). But what’s what? Did you know that there is a D2 and also a D3? (hmmm, never looked at that one, did’ja?) Research shows Vitamin D3 is approximately 87 percent more potent in raising and maintaining Vitamin D concentrations and produces 2- to 3-fold greater storage of Vitamin D than does D2. Taking the wrong one could actually do you more harm than good.

And just how much should you take? Everyone has their opinions. Even doctors. (should you bother to consult one). How much sun are you getting? (the good kind?). What are you eating? (Cheetos don’t count). Is it enough? (You can’t pretty much count on the answer being “no”.) What your body needs, are the particular needs of your body. Not something you can just guess at. So stop trying.

Another undeniable fact is that there are few people whose hormones, including vitamin D, are in balance. Which puts their immune systems and the way their bodies function in jeopardy. From head to toe. So what’s the answer? One, is hormone replacement therapy. Another is DR. STEPHEN A. GOLDSTEIN, M.D, F.A.C.S. AT DENVER HORMONE HEALTH.  WITH HIS EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE IN THE FIELD, HE KNOWS THAT TESTING AND COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION OF YOUR HORMONE level RESULTS ARE CRITICAL FACTORS FOR SUCCESS. ONCE DETERMINING YOUR EXACT NEEDS, HE DEVELOPS AN INDIVIDUALIZED TREATMENT PROGRAM DESIGNED TO HELP RELIEVE AND IN MANY CASES ELIMINATE YOUR ISSUES.

The first way to find relief is to call now for an appointment.

There’s no guessing here.