Are you getting enough Vitamin D?

By Terrance Franklin


In simpler times, one was be hard pressed to be deficient in Vitamin D. Right now, it is suspected that 50% of people don't get adequate. Actually, if you can think about another person that gets extra sun than you, odds are it is you!

All fooling aside, vitamin D shortage is increasingly widespread which is a problem because of it?s importance in regulating more than 1000 genes. Insufficiency is connected to consequences as diverse as depression to poor bone health.

In the industrial revolution (also in several areas of the earth nowadays) an ailment termed rickets that caused disfigured bone growth in kids was alarmingly widespread, specifically in cities. However, kids of a similar economic background in the country didn't suffer. How could one vitamin have an effect on so many functions?

Why Vitamin D is part of your critical emergency supplies

Vitamin D is essential for the absorption of several vitamins and minerals and modulates several hormones in the human body. The range of hormones is truly broad including testosterone, estrogen, growth hormones, as well as serotonin.

Testosterone and growth hormones particularly are essential for muscle recovery which could be a huge issue when bugging out. Serotonin is probably the most significant neurotransmitters for controlling brain function as well as feelings. There is even a concept for seasonal sadness linked to lower vitamin d amounts.

However the most vital function for people who have children is appropriate bone growth. Vitamin D controls the absorption of calcium, among other things and lack of vitamin D is the major reason behind rickets, a disease that causes forever distorted growth.

Even for those with no kids, the advantages of maintaining strong bones in a post-apocalyptic world must be evident. If you cannot move, you will have a problem surviving.

Various forms, different sources

Vitamin D is a fat soluble molecule (just like vitamin A) which means you can store it if you wish to. There are two dietary supplies of Vitamin D. D2, or ergocalciferol is mostly present in plants and D3, or cholecalciferol is primarily found in animal sources. Just like vitamin A, the animal source is more absorbable to the body.

Where to find Vitamin D

Vitamin D is not a dietary vitamin in the most stringent sense since it could be synthesized by exposure of the human skin to sun rays. There are many reasons leading into how much exact time you would need to get the proper level including type of skin, latitude, time of the year and weather conditions however I was able to find a nifty calculator to figure out how much you will need.

It is bad news if your doomsday fortress of solitude happens to be a silo, underground complex or cave . However don't worry, for it is quite possible to supplement with vitamin D if essential as well. Cold water fish, meats, eggs as well as mushrooms are good sources of vitamin D as well.

If you want to use a supplement - D3 is the most effective in terms of shelf stability as well as potency.




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