What Does Vit D Do in the Body?

There are a number of important jobs that Vit D does:

• Promotes calcium absorption in the gut
• Maintains appropriate calcium and phosphate levels in the blood
• Normal bone mineralization
• Ensures that muscles contract properly
• Monitor cell growth
• Modulate cell differentiation and death
• Neuromuscular and immune function
  
• Activation of various genes and their associated proteins

Measuring Vitamin D status
Generally the next question I get from a lot of people is how do I know if I'm getting enough Vit D. Currently the best way to do this is to measure it in the blood by look at the blood or serum concentration of calcidiol (D2). Wait, didn't I say that the active form is calctriol (D3)?  The reason is the 1/2 life of D3 is too short to make it a good indicator as well as it being regulated highly regulated by parathyroid hormone, calcium and phosphate. D3 levels also do not normally decrease significantly until Vit D deficiency is severe. 

How Much Vit D is Needed?
If we understand how important Vit D is, the next thing my patients often ask is how much do I need?
As we mentioned above, to know if you personally are getting enough, getting your levels checked is going to be the best option. However, there are general recommendations made by the government which are based on what is called the RDA or Required Daily Allowance.  This depends on the average of what works best for a healthy population and maintaining basic requirements for health. In the case of Vit D that's enough to bone health and calcium metabolism, and then in addition the RDA is set based on minimal sun exposure as well. All of this combined, the current daily recommendation for adults and children over 4 years is 400 IU.

If we're trying to raise our levels of Vit D, 400 IU is definitely not going to be enough.

Can I Get Enough from the Sun?

Most people meet at least some of their Vit D requirements from the sun. However, what most people don't realize is that this depends. You need to be outside at the right time of day, and depending on where you live, time of year as well. We need to be exposed to UVB rays at wavelengths of 290-320 nanometers. Other factors that can affect this are: cloud cover, smog, melanin content of your skin (the darker your skin the more difficult it is to 'absorb' enough sun).

Optimal Sun Exposure
The factors previously mentioned and current research that's been done still makes it challenging to know exactly what the right amount of sun exposure is for each person. However, these guidelines are helpful to get some helpful exposure:
- In general, approx 5-30 mins of sun exposure between 10am -3 pm twice a week to arms, face, neck. legs or back without sunscreen [NOTE: if you are monitoring risk for skin cancer, than keep in mind any recommendations from your healthcare provider]
- Spring, Summer and Fall are the optimal times of year, particularly those who live in more northern latitudes

Take Home Message
- Vit D is important for our overall health, and we're still figuring out the full extent of what this entails
- Vit D is present in the diet, and through exposure to the sun we are able to synthesize Vit D
- The drawback is it's tough to determine how much we're getting, so many of us will need to supplement with it at times
- There are safe and unsafe levels of Vit D, and finding out what works best for us personally is likely going to require getting our levels checked periodically.



Have questions about Vitamin D or making sure you're getting what you need to live your best life? Connect with me and we can get a personalized plan together that takes your individual needs into account.




Note: Talk to your Naturopathic Doctor today about getting assessed and treated if needed, and as always talk to your health care provider before beginning any new medication or supplement. This information is not meant to replace the advice/guidance of a medical professional, nor should it be acted upon by individuals unsupervised by the appropriate healthcare provider.

If you’re feeling this way, and trust me I can relate, may I make a suggestion?      STOP!
That’s right, I mean you Mom running around trying to get all the errands done before school lets out. That means you too Dad, organizing the kids for hockey while also trying to help the others finish their homework. Whatever your family’s particular rhythm, just STOP for a second.

So many of us fall into the trap of the routine. Routines help us function in our everyday life. If we had to make a new decision about everything, everyday we’d go crazy. However, when we fall into the trap of routine, then time can fly by without us noticing it and we miss being present in the moment. For anyone who practices mindfulness, or has read some Buddhist philosophy, you will know how important it is to be in the moment.

KEEP ON GROWING! If I can help you with this or any other aspect of your health you’re looking to improve, you know where to find me ;)

When women were surveyed about stress related to work these were the results:
Women were more likely than men to report work stress — 28 per cent said they had high-strain positions and 17 per cent said they had low-strain jobs, while 20 per cent of men reported high-strain jobs and 24 per cent said they had low-strain positions. (CBC News, 2007).
One-third of women surveyed said they were a bit or extremely stressed most days at work — versus 29 per cent of men (CBC News, 2007).

Then I ask them what’s the quality of that interaction? Do you have the time and space to be patient with your kids when they are attempting to drive you insane? What’s your relationship with your husband/partner like? If this at all describes you, you know what the answers are already. You lose your temper easily, when you don’t mean to. You love your kids, but you are at the point where you do what you do for them begrudgingly. What relationship with my husband? I’m lucky if I see him, forget spending anything that resembles quality time with him.

Well that has to do with the composition and state of the small and large intestine.  There’s anywhere from about 10-100 billion microbes present in the small and large intestine. This helps us understand why giving a probiotic or eating fermented foods makes a difference, because there’s enough probiotics present in the average capsule to replenish and encourage growth of good bacteria. Also, the small intestine is approximate 20 ft long, so it houses about 95% of the bacteria that live in our intestines. The large intestine on the other hand is only 4 ft long, but because things are moving much slower through the large intestine the bacteria layer in the mucosa can be up to 200 cells thick, compared to 1 cell thick in the small intestine. This allows this shorter stretch of organ to still accommodate 10-100 billion microbes. 

Research:
As I mentioned before there are many studies that have been done and are currently being done on the effects of probiotics and the microbiome as a whole. If you did a simple google or pubmed search you would come up with 1000s of results. I can’t summarize all of them, but here are a few highlights:

INFANTS AND PROBIOTICS
Eczema, asthma and allergy have become much more of a problem over the past few decades than they ever were before. In the Swansea baby Allergy Prevention Trial they looked to see if intervening with probiotics at an early age could reduce the incidence of allergy, and atopic conditions by extension. The intervention was given to newborns for the first 6 months after birth. The outcome was a follows:
 
Placebo group: Almost 10% of infants had atopic eczema at 6 months; Approximately 13% of infants had atopic eczema at 2 years.
Probiotic group: Approximately 3% of infants had atopic eczema at 6 months; almost 6% of infants had atopic eczema at 2 years.
 
The overall reduction of infants with allergy was 57% at 2 years. Remember, they only received treatment for the first 6 months. This demonstrates that the positive benefit of intervention goes beyond the intervention period.

PROBIOTICS AND ANTIBIOTICS
Most people are aware that we should take probiotics when we take an antibiotic. However, how much, when and for how long make a difference? One study, The Cambridge Clostridium difficile trial looked at the impact of probiotics to prevent/reduce C. difficile infection and associated diarrhea in patients receiving antibiotics. The outcome was as follows:
 
Antibiotic/Placebo group: When tested at Day 28 they still had overgrowth or dysbiosis present
Antibiotics followed by probiotic: They had a growth of bacteria up to Day 7, but then at Day 28 there was a significant decrease in bacterial overgrowth
Antibiotics with Probiotics: There was no overgrowth of bacteria at Day 7 or 28 because the probiotics were present throughout antibiotic treatment

This study demonstrates that by taking probiotics while receiving antibiotics you can decrease the chances of bacterial overgrowth occurring at all. However, it is still beneficial to intervene with probiotics later on as it will help to bring bacterial overgrowth under control. 

Choices: Making sense of what’s available on the market
As happens with most things in the market, as they get more popular there tends to be more people interested in developing a product for it. Over the last few years we’ve seen a huge increase in the number of probiotics available at the store. Knowing you have all these choices, how do you make the right choice for you? Well, there’s no short and easy answer to that. There are a number of factors you want to consider:

• Do you have any gut problems (eg. IBS or Ulcerative Colitis)?
• Are you experiencing symptoms such as gas, indigestion, eczema, etc.?
• Do you have any current allergies or sensitivities?
• Do you know how many strains are best for you?
• Do you know which strains are best for you?
• Do you know roughly how many billion you need?

 
Knowing these things makes it much easier for you to select an appropriate probiotic. If you don’t know the answer to these questions or aren’t sure, then you may want to speak to a Naturopathic Doctor or other healthcare professional. When I go through this process with my patients, we figure out which probiotic (if any) might be best for them so it’s much easier to find what they need when they go to purchase a product from the health food store.
 
 
Have questions about probiotics or how to improve your gut health overall? Please email me through the website ‘contact’ page or get in touch with me directly. 

The Stats
 
In the US:
·  Number of people in the U.S. who have either allergy or asthma symptoms: 1 in 5.
·  Percentage of the U.S. population that tests positive to one or more allergens: 55%.
 
Internationally:
The prevalence of asthma in different countries varies widely, but the disparity is narrowing due to rising prevalence in low and middle income countries and plateauing in high income countries.

Suffering from allergies can be a very irritating experience. If you or your child is suffering from allergies, it is best to take them to a Naturopathic Doctor who can perform a proper assessment and form a treatment plan that will address your/your child’s needs. Always speak to your health care provider before beginning any new medications or supplements.






References:
Allergy Statistics and Facts. WebMD. Reviewed by Johnson, K. (2012). http://www.webmd.com/allergies/allergy-statistics
Asthma Statistics. American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. http://www.aaaai.org/about-the-aaaai/newsroom/asthma-statistics.aspx
Romm, A. 2003. Naturally Healthy Babies and Children: A Commonsense Guide to Herbal Remedies, Nutrition, and Health. Celestial Arts.
Skowron, JM. 2009. Fundamentals of Naturopathic Pediatrics. CCNM Press. Print.