The Sunshine Vitamin

We love the way the sun feels against our face and our skin, and although we slather our bodies with sunblock to prevent sun damage, we also know that it’s preventing us from getting the best source of vitamin D–from sunlight. And with winter fast approaching, it’s even more difficult to get enough vitamin D as most people spend the majority of the day indoors. Even if you are outdoors like we are as we run around doing our errands outside, what makes getting your D even trickier is that you can’t absorb vitamin D from the sun in most cities in the US in the winter.

So what’s a gal or guy to do to get their share of vitamin D in the winter?
Other than getting Vitamin D from the sun, vitamin D is naturally found in fish, liver and egg yolks. So unless you’re getting plenty of these, it can be difficult to get the recommended 1,000IUs from your daily diet alone. That’s why you may want to consider taking a Vitamin D supplement.

Is vitamin D easy to absorb?
You may not know that Vitamin D needs both calcium and Vitamin K to be adequately absorbed. So even if you are currently taking a Vitamin D supplement, your body may not be absorbing enough (1,000IUs) to keep your body functioning at optimum levels. Although getting enough calcium in your diet shouldn’t be too hard since it’s in foods such as milk, yogurt, cheese, beans, and fortified oatmeal, many people do not meet the recommendations either because they don’t like these foods or they don’t eat enough of them. There is good news for you green lovers! If you love your greens as much as we do (hello kale, parsley, broccoli, spinach and other dark green leafy veggies!), these foods can help you to meet your calcium needs. But you’ll need about 10 servings of any of these to meet the recommendations (a serving is ½ cup steamed, so five cups would give you your daily calcium needs as each provide about 100mgs of calcium per serving!
As for Vitamin K if you love your leafy greens as much as we do, then Vitamin K isn’t so difficult to get. On the other hand, if you aren’t a huge fan, then it’s a little harder to meet your vitamin K needs.

If you aren’t getting vitamin D, K and Calcium through your diet, the best way to ensure you are getting your recommended daily dose of Vitamin D, as well as the needed Vitamin K to provide adequate absorption, is to take a combination Vitamin D/K supplement. A great recommendation? Thorne’s Vitamin D/K2 Liquid. It is an all-natural, pure, water-soluble, tasteless liquid that looks and tastes just like water but with just two drops you get your daily Vitamin D and K. It is good for the whole family and can even be used on bottles for newborns. There are other all-natural products out there that are good too! http://www.thorne.com/Products/Circulatory-Support/Cardiovascular_Health/prd~KD500.jsp.

Many Americans do not get enough calcium in their daily diet and some people are calcium deficient without knowing it. If you are concerned about your calcium intake consider these options: AlgaeCal is a natural, plant-derived, organic calcium supplement www.algaecal.com/order-page.html, or this Calcium Citramate that is all natural and coupled with citramate to provide the best calcium absorption www.thorne.com/Products/BariatricSupport/All_Bariatrics/prd~M270.jsp.

If you spend most days indoors, such as if you have an office job, you may want to take Vitamin D supplements all year round. Also keep in mind that your natural Vitamin D absorption fluctuates with geographical location, UV index, skin type, and exposure to the sun.