The Benefits of Vitamin D
Your daily dose of chewable sunshine!
As the modern world changes, we too change the way we live our lives. Long gone are the days, for most of us, where we spend the majority of our time outside in the brilliant sunshine, only coming indoors to eat and sleep. The modern lifestyle means less getting out there, and more staying in. We work in offices and warehouses all day, arriving and leaving with little sunshine to spare on either end. At home, there are a thousand things to occupy us right there in the living room. With all the distractions specifically engineered to keep us attached to our screens, it really isn’t surprising that we’ve become accustomed to staying indoors.
So, what does this indoor change in human lifestyle mean for our overall health? Have we all gone too far with this sedentary business or is there an easy way to offset all that time spent under fluorescent lights in front of a computer screen?
The main difference to our bodies is the gradual loss and lack of Vitamin D.
What Is Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is actually more than one vitamin. It is the term used to collectively describe the vitamins that are found in liver, oily fish and eggs - and it does wonders for our bodies. The most prominent place you’ll find Vitamin D outside of these foods - is the sun! Vitamin D is often referred to as the ‘sunshine vitamin’ as it is absorbed best into our skin from direct sunlight. Vitamin D supports our bone and muscle strength by aiding the absorption of calcium into our bodies. People who don’t get enough of it are sometimes more susceptible to having brittle bones and weaker skeletal frames, which can occur in both childhood and adulthood. Having a healthy Vitamin D dose also supports our immune systems and a balanced mood to enjoy our busy lives. So, if you can get out into the sun, can you get the sun to come to you?
Here in New Zealand, we have an abundance of sunshine at our disposal, so Vitamin D should be easy to get a hold of - right?
Well, the answer should be yes! However, our changing lifestyles mean that we don’t get out as much, so we don’t absorb as much sunshine and Vitamin D as our predecessors did. We live in the digital age, and people - especially younger people, are not as interested in regularly getting out into the sun when their phones, computers and tv shows are calling them inward. Some days we don’t get out at all, so we need to be vigilant about getting our Vitamin D in other ways.
The Risk of Natural Sunny Vitamin D
When we do get outside and enjoy the glorious sun, we welcome in a healthy dose of Vitamin D too! But as we all know… a few minutes too long in that glorious heat and we can be turning from pink, to red, to burnt - very quickly! New Zealanders in particular know the dangers of sun damage, skin cancer and we understand the risks associated with burning all too well. But when we avoid the sun, we avoid Vitamin D, too. Obviously it's never a good idea to stay in the sun so long that you get burnt, as that will almost always increase the chances of suffering sun-related damage to your skin. It sometimes feels a little scary - and almost impossible - to figure out where that line lies between reaping the benefits of the sun without having to deal with the very real risks of overexposure.
So, what to do?
Can I get enough Vitamin D from food alone?
In short, you would have to eat a lot of Vitamin D rich food to get enough daily Vitamin D to enjoy the benefits. While it’s a great idea to add some of these foods to your diet, you can’t rely on them solely to give you the amount of Vitamin D your body needs - every day.
Naturally occurring Vitamin D appears in small amounts in
- Eggs
- Oily fish (especially salmon, tuna and sardines)
- Milk and milk products
- Liver
Keeping Those Hormones Level
While we know Vitamin D is a vitamin, do you know it is actually a hormone? Vitamin D has been recognised as beneficial for centuries and has been encouraged as a daily supplement for a long time in countries like the UK and Canada that get very little ‘D’ time in the autumn and winter. In some countries food producers who sell things like margarine, milk, orange juice, yoghurt, and breakfast cereals, are even required by law to add this vitamin to their products! We don’t have any laws like this in New Zealand, however, it’s certainly pretty easy to keep your Vitamin D steady if you invest in adult Vitamin D gummies.
What happens if your D drops?
We have talked about some of the benefits of Vitamin D, but what happens if you don’t take care of your Vitamin D levels? There has been pretty extensive research done on what occurs in the body if there is a Vitamin D deficiency, and it’s not pretty. Studies reveal that deficient levels of this clever vitamin might cause increased risk of osteoporosis, you may suffer fatigue, and in kids it’s been posited that a lack of D causes rickets! What on earth are rickets, I hear you ask?! Rickets is a nasty condition which appears in kids without enough Vitamin D, they can get soft or distorted bones and often this results in bow legs. This extreme lack of Vitamin D can also cause delayed growth and motor skill issues in sufferers. Thankfully our adult Vitamin D supplements are easy to come by and gentle enough for pretty much everyone.
Vitamin D Supplements
If you have a particularly indoors-focused kind of life, work in an office during the daylight hours or just don’t enjoy outdoor activities - there is an easy solution to getting your healthy dose of Vitamin D - without having to change your lifestyle. Supplements are a popular way to get the nutrients you need to support your healthy bones and muscles, and here at The Good Vitamin Co, we’ve made them tastier than ever. Flavoured with natural lemon, our supplements are deliciously chewable, so they are easy to take on the run. Adding these into your morning routine or as a last task of the day may show some great benefits, it’s a little extra peace of mind for those days when you can’t get up from the desk to enjoy even a meagre serve of sunshine!
Our soft chew supplements are uniquely formulated with natural pectin to support healthy digestion from the goodness of fibre - so it won’t be upsetting any tummies! Our chewable doses of Vitamin D are the easy way to support bone health and immunity protection. Not only that, but they are also allergy and culturally sensitive too!
If you want your daily dose of chewable sunshine every day, without the risk of getting burnt or taking time out of your life to force yourself outside - get your supply of delicious chewable supplements
