One of the great benefits of living in Colorado is the amount of sunshine we experience. One of the healthiest things you can do for your brain, your body, and your outlook on life is to get outside.
Countless studies show that the sunshine vitamin, Vitamin D, is one of the most important vitamins for optimal living. Among the most published physicians, the consensus during the COVID-19 outbreak was the more Vitamin D in your system the less chance of catching it and the faster the recovery.
Your body produces Vitamin D naturally when it’s directly exposed to sunlight. You can also get it through certain foods and supplements to ensure adequate levels of the vitamin in your blood. The National Institute of Health recommends thirty minutes a day with no sunscreen to get your daily allowance of Vitamin D.
What does Vitamin D do for you?
• Vitamin D promotes calcium absorption in the gut and maintains adequate serum calcium and phosphate concentrations to enable normal bone mineralization, bone strengthening, and bone growth.
• Reduces inflammation and optimizes cell growth.
• Strengthens your immune system.
Recent Studies indicate that Vitamin D does three major things:
1) Vitamin D fights disease.
• Vitamin D reduces your risk of multiple sclerosis, according to a 2006 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
• Vitamin D decreases your chance of developing heart disease, according to 2008 findings published in Circulation.
• Vitamin D helps to reduce your likelihood of developing the flu, according to 2010 research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
2) Vitamin D reduces depression.
Research has shown that Vitamin D might play an important role in regulating mood and warding off depression. In one study, Journal of Internal Medicine, scientists found that people with depression who received Vitamin D supplements noticed an improvement in their symptoms.
In another study, Clinical Rheumatology of people with fibromyalgia, researchers found Vitamin D deficiency was more common in those who were also experiencing anxiety and depression.
3) Vitamin D boosts weight loss.
In one study, British Journal of Nutrition, people taking a daily calcium and Vitamin D supplement were able to lose more weight than subjects taking a placebo supplement. The scientists said the extra calcium and Vitamin D had an appetite-suppressing effect.
You need to get outside every day!
Take walks, ride bikes, or go on a hike. But just get outside daily if time will allow. Find an outdoor hobby that you love. If not, take a Vitamin D supplement. It’s one of the most important ways to invigorate your life!
Pastor Steve