What Could Be Zapping You of Vitamin D?
By Sara Butler
When the winter months come around, getting enough Vitamin D becomes as important as ever. Vitamin D is of major importance to your overall health, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about 42 percent of Americans are Vitamin D deficient. What causes this deficiency? Some of the answers may just surprise you!
Why Vitamin D is Important to Your Health
If you don’t get enough Vitamin D, then you are at a higher risk for:
- Dementia
- Depression
- Heart disease
- Cancer
- High blood pressure
You get Vitamin D through the things you eat, such as eggs, mushrooms and tuna, and from your body producing it when exposed to the sun. Vitamin D helps your body to absorb calcium, so you need it for strong bones too.
Medications
Some medications can deplete your levels of Vitamin D. Some cholesterol medications inhibit its absorption as does mineral oil. Some weight loss products that work by reducing the amount of dietary fat you absorb can also block the absorption of Vitamin D, as well as other vitamins such as K, A, and E. If you take these medications, then you’ll want to discuss your Vitamin D levels with a medical professional.
Sleep Loss
If you’re not getting enough quality sleep at night, then you might also be Vitamin D deficient. This is because, just as your body needs sunlight to make Vitamin D, it has to get sleep in order to use it. The receptors in your body that absorb Vitamin D won’t work right unless you’re getting enough sleep at night.
Stress
Those special receptors for Vitamin D? They can also be impacted by cortisol, your stress hormone. Cortisol is released into your body when you’re under stress, and it will decrease the uptake of Vitamin D in your body. If there’s no receptor for the Vitamin D because the cortisol is hogging it, then it won’t activate and your body won’t get what it needs.
Chemicals
Some studies are starting to show that BPA and phthalates can disrupt your body’s absorption of Vitamin D. It’s not clear yet whether this happens by throwing your body’s calcium out of whack, which will then lead to problems with Vitamin D absorption. Whatever the answer, it’s just one more reason to add to your list of reasons why using products such as plastic containers with these chemicals are not good for you and should be avoided!