It’s winter, y’all – time for crockpot dinners, cozy nights and mother nature to put on one of her most beautiful displays of color. The flip side of winter fun? Less sun. Not many of us crave more darkness. Hygge and fika trending over the past few years have reminded us that there are wonderful ways of taking the dark and cold days and turning them into cozy, candlelit, restorative months. If you can get behind these practices, winter might just become more bearable.
One thing getting cozy and lighting candles don’t solve: the vitamin D deficiency that over 60% of us face. Here’s a fascinating fact: receptors for vitamin D are present in most, if not ALL cells in the body. All the cells! And if you need further incentive to care about its importance, google “vitamin D deficiency” and go down the rabbit hole of side effects ranging from depression to premature death, bone density loss and everything in between. Yikes.
Important Facts If You’re Worried About Vitamin D Deficiency
1. The best way to get Vitamin D is enjoying a little bit of direct, midday sunlight.
2. Food sources are great, but most likely won’t be enough on their own unless you’re eating them in large quantities every day.
Go for: pastured eggs, salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardines
3. Cod liver oil is a great source of vitamin D.
4. Recent research shows that supplementing of 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily is adequate.
5. You need to get enough vitamin K2 and vitamin A to properly utilize D.
Sources of vitamin K2: fermented foods like sauerkraut and kefir, pastured egg yolks, dairy from grass-fed cows
Sources of vitamin A: organ meats, cod liver oil, full-fat dairy from grass-fed cows
Testing for vitamin D levels is easy and can be done with at your doctor’s office, and deficiencies should always be discussed with your physician. Now time to get your plan D going. Winter is here…
Originally posted 2018-01-30 14:37:32.
