Vitamin D is considered the sunshine vitamin because the body can produce it itself through exposure to UVB rays. But loud Robert Koch Institute about a third of adults in Germany have a vitamin D deficiency.
The “sunshine vitamin” vitamin D not only supports bone structure, muscle strength and the body’s immune system, but is even said to be able to help with mental health. Vitamin D helps the body to produce the happiness hormone serotonin. Many diseases go hand in hand with a blatant deficiency.
How is vitamin D formed?
As a rule, the body produces vitamin D itself with the help of sunlight and the associated UVB radiation. SWR1 nutrition expert Werner Eckert recommends going outside every day, with your sleeves rolled up for at least a quarter of an hour in the afternoon. It is important that the skin is uncovered and exposed to the sun without sun protection, because vitamin D synthesis is already prevented from sun protection factor 8. Vitamin D can also be formed in the shade, because sunburn should of course be avoided at all costs. Staying in bright rooms is not enough, since the necessary UVB components in sunlight cannot penetrate through the glass in windows or car panes.
Outside in summer, lightly dressed, we normally build up reserves, depots in fat and muscle tissue.
Status is subject to seasonal fluctuations
Unfortunately, the formation of vitamin D is only possible to a significant extent from the end of March to the end of September, after which the angle of incidence of the sun is too flat. Therefore, it is generally advisable to have the vitamin D3 value checked by your family doctor at regular intervals. Very often it is significantly lower than expected. The vitamin D status is determined by measuring 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 25(OH)D for short, in the blood serum. You can use the Robert Koch Institute remove.
If you do not have a medically determined deficit, you do not need any dietary supplements.
What to do if you are diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency?
According to the RKI, inadequate care is associated with an increased risk of diseases such as rickets, osteomalacia and osteoporosis, and even suboptimal care can have possible consequences for bone health. If a deficiency is diagnosed, you can substitute vitamin D3 in consultation with your doctor or naturopath in the form of dietary supplements such as oils or capsules and then have the levels checked again.
Combine vitamin D sensibly
In order to be able to optimally absorb vitamin D as a dietary supplement, there are various points to consider: Magnesium is required to activate vitamin D, which is why taking it together can make sense. Furthermore, vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that can only be optimally absorbed by the body together with oil.
Dietary intake of vitamin D3
Due to the small and very specific food list, the need for vitamin D3 can hardly be covered through food. In contrast to other vitamins, which must be taken in from outside through the food, eating only plays a minor role with vitamin D, according to nutrition expert Werner Eckert. A significant amount would only be found in oily fish such as salmon and herring, egg yolks, liver and some sun-grown mushrooms.
Vitamin D3 overdose
In addition to a deficiency, if you take a very high amount of vitamin D over a longer period of time, you can also become poisoned with vitamin D. This leads to increased calcium levels in the body, which can lead to nausea, abdominal cramps, vomiting or, in severe cases, kidney damage. But here, too, regular monitoring of the vitamin D status can help to counteract this if necessary.