Well did you know that another reason you may be susceptible to bone breaks or stresses is because you may have a Vitamin D deficiency?

When I was seeing my doctor for my stress fracture, he suggested that I get blood work done to see if I have low levels of vitamin D. Turns out that I did. Very low actually.

I wondered how this could be, seeing as how I spend so much time outside in the beautiful Arizona sun? Afterall, studies do show that people living in sunny cities have much better levels of vitamin D than people living in Seattle for example. Not to mention, my diet has plenty of fish and milk in it.

But I’m not alone, many people are deficient in Vitamin D. Why?

1. People are scared to death of the sun. But did you know 5-20 minutes of exposure is all you need to greatly increase the activity of vitamin D in your body? It’s not like you need to bake all day. Of course, if you have a history of skin cancer, you need to check with your dermatologist first.

And did you know that because vitamin D can be made in the body with sufficient sunlight it is actually looked at as more of a hormone than a vitamin?

2. The second reason, people could be low in Vitamin D is because several enzymatic reactions need to take place in order to convert Vitamin D into the biologically active form that your body can use and absorb. Some people, most likely myself included, lack the cofactors for these enzymatic reactions to take place or have a very slow reaction time to it.

3. Another reason some people may be deficient in vitamin D could be because it is a fat soluble vitamin, which means that it is absorbed in the intestinal tract, and not excreted in urine. Therefore, anyone with a malabsorption issue is probably going to have poor vitamin D levels.

But what else does it do? Check out all the cool things vitamin D does for YOU:

1. It may be best known for its ability to help with the absorption of calcium. It can get dietary forms of calcium into the blood and into the bones to aid in mineralization.

2. helps prevent osteopenia and osteoporosis.

3. helps elevate your mood. It is often used to treat people who suffer with seasonal affective disorder, which is when you feel “bummed” in the winter.

4. helps metabolize glucose, which in turn helps with weight loss

5. because it is a hormone-like compound it is extremely crucial for male and female reproductive health. Vitamin D is important for proper functioning of the prostate and it helps protect against prostate, breast, ovarian, and uterine cancers.

6. Vitamin D improves immunity against viruses

7. strengthens bones

I highly recommend that during your next doc visit you get tested your Vitamin D levels tested. This sunshine vitamin is way too good for your body for you to be missing out on it. Your doctor will be able to let you know where you are at and how to get where you need to be in a healthy manner.

After I met with my doctor and discovered that I was low in vitamin D, he immediately put me on supplementation and I have faithfully taken it since. I swear, my bones feel stronger than ever! =)

Oh, and by the way, my stress fracture has fully healed and I am back into running(slowly for now)!

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!