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Juanita Weaver-Reiss

Understanding and identifying the cause(s) of your low vitamin D to enhance your immune system

Updated: Dec 27, 2022

An important step in having a healthy immune system - in order to stay healthy - is to know your vitamin D level.

To learn more about this, here is the link to my previous blog post. https://www.nutritionandhealthworks.com/post/what-is-your-number


Factors that might affect your Vitamin D levels


If you have heard you can eat foods to get enough Vitamin D

Certain foods are good sources of Vitamin D. These are salmon, tuna, mackeral, beef liver, and egg yolks. However, these are usually not eaten in large enough amounts to get the needed Vitamin D.


Milk and other foods have been supplemented with Vitamin D. Even with the supplementation, most people don't eat enough of these foods to obtain the needed amount.


Your age can influence how much vitamin D you absorb

Your skin's ability to absorb Vitamin D decreases as you age.


Your skin color affects how you absorb Vitamin D

People with darker skin have a reduced ability to produce vitamin D from sunlight. A person's darker skin affects the ability to activate pre-vitamin D.


If you wear clothes that cover most of your body



Where you live can limit how well you absorb Vitamin D

Regions north of latitude 40, running horizontally from northern California to New York do not receive sufficient sun rays from September to May. This can prevent enough sunlight for a person to obtain enough sunlight to improve their Vitamin D levels.



If you have a body mass index > 30, you may have low Vitamin D levels

Vitamin D is stored in fat. So people with a higher weight have less of the vitamin D levels in the blood where it is available for use by the body.


Certain health conditions

People who have autoimmune issues such as celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and others, may have problems absorbing Vitamin D that can lead to a low level.


Before you just start taking a vitamin D supplement


It is not just about taking a vitamin D supplement by itself to correct a low or deficient level. You also need, what is called co-factors in the right doses, in addition to the vitamin D supplement. I describe these co-factors as keys to the doors inside your body to help the vitamin D get to the right correct location inside your body.


The co-factors you also need for Vitamin D are magnesium and k-2. You also need the correct amount for these as well.


The first step


Get your Vitamin D level checked. If your doctor won't order this test for you, you can go to Quest or Compunet to obtain your level.


Need a dietitian in your pocket to help you with what to do after you have your level checked.


Juanita


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