Skip to main content

Nutrition Tips: The Importance of Vitamin D

Kindred Nutrition is so excited that Dawn Frick RD, LDN joined us in the Fall of 2015.  Our clients just love her and our thriving! Dawn's specialties include Gastrointestinal Health, Weight Management, Picky Eating and more.  Dawn really enjoys assessing our clients' essential vitamins, minerals, and gut health and practices what she preaches. Starting today Dawn will be tag teaming with me, Amy to bring you more of the blogs you love and request. Have ideas or questions you want answered? Comment here and we'll put it in the queue for the coming months! As always, we hope you enjoy our blog!


Just heard the weather forecast for tomorrow – a high of 22° F with30 mph winds.  Winter is definitely here.  I spent this weekend making sure our family is geared up to stay warm and healthy these next few months:  Hats? Check.  Gloves?  Check.  Boots?  Check. Vitamin D?
Well, that’s a work in progress for all of us.

            With many of our winter days spent inside hiding from Mother Nature’s wrath, we lose opportunities to get adequate vitamin D from the sun.  And we definitely need this important nutrient – and not just in the summer.  Vitamin D is responsible for keeping our bones and teeth strong by aiding in absorbing calcium.  Our muscles and nervous system need vitamin D to function properly.  While our immune system is working overtime to keep us healthy, vitamin D is a critical component in fighting off viruses and bacteria.  There’s been a lot of recent research indicating a link between autoimmune disease (such as rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis) and vitamin D insufficiency.  Also, I recently read a very interesting study that showed there may a relationship between vitamin D and IBS – particularly for those with IBS-D (diarrhea dominant).
         When we aren’t getting enough of this “sunshine vitamin” because it’s Antartica-cold outside, we need to look at our diet.  Some foods have been supplemented with vitamin D such as cereals, milk, or orange juice.  Other foods such as egg yolk and salmon contain vitamin D naturally.  When you visit your primary care physician, ask to have a vitamin D check during your next round of lab work.  If your results are low, schedule an appointment with one of us to discuss diet changes and possible supplements to bring your levels to the normal range. 

In Good Health, Dawn

Comments

Unknown said…
Diet and exercise are important factors that impact heart health in men. However, when diet and exercise are not enough, supplementing with Cholesterol focused supplements might help get your cholesterol levels under control. protein powder Canada
January 29, 2016 at 7:22 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Miraculous Misconceptions: Raspberry Ketones

The interwebs are abuzz about the supposedly “miraculous” Raspberry Ketone supplements. Raspberry Ketone popularity started with Dr. Oz's show in February 2012, when he nicknamed it a “miracle weight loss drug.” Some even credit Raspberry Ketones with stimulating hair growth, but for our purposes here, let’s talk about weight loss. Raspberry Ketones are derived from red raspberries. Proponents claim that the supplement will stimulate your metabolism causing weight loss. However, there are no reliable studies to prove this.   Specifically there is no scientific evidence to show how it alters metabolism to promote weight loss. There is also no scientific evidence to determine a proper dosage. If you find a study that claims otherwise, check the funding source. Most likely, that study was funded by a company who produces or funds raspberry ketone products. As far as I know, no major pharmaceutical companies are investing in Raspberry Ketone research. And it is my opinion ...
9 comments
Read more

Food Trends: A note about Stevia (zero calorie sugar substitute)

We’re all on the lookout for that sugar substitute that withholds calories, tastes good, and is natural and safe.   Recently I was asked what my thoughts were on Stevia?   Well to tell you the truth I didn’t have many thoughts on the product because basically I didn’t know much about it, except that in my mind it was a zero calorie product that could be substituted for table sugar.   I put this thought in my attic with the hopes of getting more acquainted at a later time. As I get myself more familiar lets start with the derivation.   Stevia is an herb that comes from South America and has been used by the Guarani Indians of Paraguay for over 100 years.   This is advertised on the Stevia website along with a statement that it provides zero calories because the body doesn’t metabolize glycosides from the leaf or processed forms.   Essentially Stevia is absorbed by the gut and broken down into Stevol which is excreted from the body as a waste.   Th...
5 comments
Read more

Family Nutrition: What’s the deal with Multivitamins?

This is definitely one of my top ten questions from clients and frankly it’s a hard question because there isn’t a generic answer.   The internet and such stores as the Vitamin Shoppe and GNC continue to place a lot of focus on vitamins and minerals and some of my clients swear by their regimen.   I’ve even had some clients tell me they can tell a difference within hours of taking certain supplementations.    Since this is a subject I try to tame my responses too, I was very glad to see the article “Multivitamins, So Many Types, So Many Labels” by Melinda Beck in the Wall Street Journal published June 21, 2001.   Did you know that the multivitamin is the number one dietary supplement producing $4.8 billion back in 2008 and that one third of American’s take multivitamins religiously?   As Melinda points out there are many different varieties of multivitamins yet there is no specific formulation that specifies what a multivitamin should look like.  ...
4 comments
Read more