Hey guys, Dr. Axe here, nutritionist and founder of draxe.com.
Today, I'm going to be talking to you about how to overcome Vitamin D deficiency.
Listen, the chances that you are Vitamin D deficient are very, very high.
In this video I'm going to talk about how to overcome Vitamin D deficiency with diet,
lifestyle, along with some lifestyle things that you really want to make sure that you're
not doing.
And so we'll get all that into this video in just a short amount of time, and I'll make
it through how to overcome Vitamin D deficiency.
So for starters, let's talk about the importance of Vitamin D and how Vitamin D benefits your
body.
First off, Vitamin D is a prohormone.
So it's essential for balancing the hormones in your body.
Also, it's a fat soluble vitamin so it's important for supporting the brain as well as your bones
and neurological tissue.
We know some warning signs that you're Vitamin D deficient or if you struggle with any type
of mood disorder, like depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder.
Those are all warning signs that you're Vitamin D deficient.
If you struggle with any type of autoimmune disease, like Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Grave's
disease, lupus, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome.
Those are all warning signs that you are Vitamin D deficient.
If you struggle with any sort of weak bones or weak muscles, osteoporosis is a big warning
sign that you are Vitamin D deficient.
And poor immune function, if you tend to get sick more easily than others or you feel like
you're getting sick all the time, that's another big warning sign that you have a Vitamin D
deficiency.
And so, again, obviously you can tell there's a lot of things that have been linked to Vitamin
D issues.
Even cancer, heart disease, and diabetes have been linked to a Vitamin D deficiency.
So in order to overcome a Vitamin D deficiency, let's talk about why you're deficient in the
first place, and really the biggest starter is you're inside too much and you're not getting
enough sunlight.
Now, especially when we move into times of year where you're not getting much sun, maybe
you live up north, or you are indoors all the time.
That's a big warning sign.
We should all be getting about 20-30 minutes of direct sunlight a day, and when you're
getting that sun, actually, just 20 minutes of sunlight is the equivalent of getting 20,000
IUs of Vitamin D.
And the average person should be getting about 5,000 IUs of Vitamin D a day, 5,000 IUs a
day, and most of us even in the summer months aren't getting enough Vitamin D because we're
indoors all the time, we're wearing a lot of clothing.
We're wearing sunscreen which actually blocks you from actually absorbing Vitamin D. So
really the first step in overcoming a Vitamin D deficiency is getting outside more.
Even in the winter months if you can get a little sunlight on your face, a little bit
on your arms, even getting outside 20 minutes a day in the winter is great.
And then especially in the spring, fall, and summer when you can be wearing a sleeveless
shirt, getting outside, going on a walk 20 minutes a day will make a massive difference.
Just that along will get you your daily Vitamin D.
Now the next step in increasing your Vitamin D is getting it through the foods you eat,
and your highest food sources of Vitamin D are wild caught fish, like salmon.
Number two is raw fermented dairy products, like raw cheeses, kefir, and yogurt.
After that it's going to be egg yolks and then mushrooms.
And so you can see from those food sources, none of those are vegan or vegetarian except
for mushrooms.
And so if you are a vegan or vegetarian you definitely want to make sure you're getting
sunlight, but again those are some great food sources of Vitamin D, and wild caught salmon,
raw fermented dairy, mushrooms, and egg yolks are great sources.
And last but not least, taking a quality Vitamin D-3 supplement.
Now Vitamin D-2 two is the synthetic form.
You want to stay away from these cheap Vitamin D supplements and take a high quality Vitamin
D supplement in Vitamin D-3.
And so for most of my patients, I've recommended 5,000 IUs daily, and if you have a severe
deficiency 5,000 IUs, two-times daily.
Now for somebody that's younger, younger in age typically children, they recommend 400
IUs daily.
For teenagers around 2,000 IUs daily when it comes to supplemental doses, but again
you want to consult with your physician on that.
But make sure you're getting plenty of Vitamin D. It is probably the number one deficiency
that people have today is a Vitamin D deficiency.
And you can actually get testing done to see if you're Vitamin D deficient.
Just simply go online and search Vitamin D test kit, and you'll see it's around $50.
You can actually test to see where your Vitamin D levels are, and they should be above 50
IUs or 50 when they test your levels to see exactly where you are at in terms of your
Vitamin D levels.
And so, again, if you want to overcome a Vitamin D deficiency and boost your immune system,
boost your bone health, improve your energy, help your cells start functioning better,
number one get 20 minutes of direct sunlight a day.
Number two, add in some of those Vitamin D foods.
Number three, take a quality Vitamin D supplement those days that you're not in the sunlight,
5,000 IUs a day.
If you do that, it's going to help you greatly overcome a Vitamin D deficiency.
Hey, if you want to learn more about Vitamin D, check out my website, draxe.com.
That's draxe.com.
I've got an article on there on how to naturally overcome Vitamin D deficiency along with a
test kit and other information you'll want to find out about there on draxe.com.
And don't forget, hey, subscribe here if you want to learn more about vitamin supplements
and natural cures to help you be your absolute best.
Hey guys, this has been Dr. Axe talking about how to overcome a Vitamin D deficiency.