Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium and phosphorus, both of which help keep your bones and teeth healthy. Maintaining vitamin D levels may also benefit your immune health. We include vitamin D3 in Future Proof for its benefits for the immune system.

Vitamin D is made by the body when the skin absorbs sunlight (specifically vitamin D3) and can also come from food. However, research shows that just over 40 percent of people are deficient in vitamin D, so for a large group of people, diet and sunlight may not be enough (1).

Most people don’t get enough vitamin D from the sun alone

It’s important to protect our skin from harmful UV rays, so many people wear sunscreen. However, sunscreen may also block the UV light helpful in building vitamin D in the body. But the skin cancer risk of being unprotected in the sun is not worth any gains you might make in natural vitamin D production (2). Even the glass from a window pane may absorb the UV light needed to produce vitamin D from the sun. These are just a few reasons why relying on the sun alone to replenish our vitamin D may not be enough.

Seasonal Immune Support

Depending on where you live, you may experience less sunlight during the winter months. Working in office buildings and living in apartments and condos; we have a lot of conveniences inside, so may not get as much sunlight and time outdoors. Since your body uses sunlight to produce vitamin D3, you may not have enough of this vitamin during the winter season. Your body has different types of immune cells. Innate immune cells recognize threats to our health and fight them immediately. Adaptive immune cells fight specific viruses we have been exposed to before. Vitamin D helps both of these types of cells respond to threats in our body (3).

Supports muscle strength as we age

The way your muscles and your bones “talk” to each other in the body is referred to as neuromuscular function. Having good communication between your muscles and your bones is important for basic movements like walking, sitting, and lifting. Vitamin D supplements may have benefits for maintaining muscle strength (5). When vitamin D is processed by our liver or kidneys, it changes into an “active” form of the vitamin, which can be used by our body’s muscles. In one study of aging adults, there was an increase in falling in those who were vitamin D deficient compared to those who supplemented. So, taking a vitamin D to improve neuromuscular function may protect you as you do basic everyday tasks.

Vitamin D may improve mood

Some people take a walk in the sunshine to help improve their mood. It may not be the natural light and fresh air that cheers people up on their outdoor strolls. The increased sunlight could activate vitamin D production in the skin, and this vitamin has been shown to affect mood (6). In one study of people suffering from depression, the group of people who were given vitamin D supplements reported fewer symptoms of depression than those who received no additional vitamin D.

Is it safe?

Vitamin D is produced in our bodies when we are exposed to sunlight. It also comes from our diet from sources like cod and salmon.

In high doses, it may increase levels of calcium in your body to the point of causing nausea and vomiting, or cause calcium stones to form.

Disclaimer: It’s always a good idea to talk to your doctor before you take any type of supplement. And if you experience any negative side effects when you are taking one, contact a healthcare expert immediately.

How big is the dose?

In Future Proof, we include a dosage of 1000 IU (international units) of vitamin D in our supplement.

New studies are expanding our understanding of how vitamin D benefits our body. This modern research also shows the current daily recommendations are actually too low to raise vitamin D levels in the blood to optimize its benefits. (7)

The National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine (the group who determines the recommended daily allowance for vitamins) has said 4000 IU is safe for daily consumption, though their current recommendation is only 600 IU.

References

1. Prevalence and correlates of vitamin D deficiency in US adults - Retrieved from National Center for Biotechnology Information
2. The effect of sunscreen on vitamin D: a review - Retrieved from National Center for Biotechnology Information
3. Randomized trial of vitamin D supplementation to prevent seasonal influenza A in schoolchildren - Retrieved from National Center for Biotechnology Information
4. Effects of Vitamin D on Muscle Function and Performance: A Review of Evidence from Randomized Controlled Trials - Retrieved from National Center for Biotechnology Information
5. Effects of vitamin D supplementation on symptoms of depression in overweight and obese subjects: randomized double blind trial - Retrieved from Journal of Internal Medicine
6. Higher Vitamin D Intake Needed to Reduce Cancer Risk - UC San Diego Health
7. Evidence that vitamin D3 increases serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D more efficiently than does vitamin D2 - Retrieved from National Center for Biotechnology Information