Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Guest blog - Vitamin D and Immunity by Naturopath Belinda Kirkpatrick

I think that nearly everyone must be aware of what a big Vitamin D fan I am but I just can't resist sharing the latest research with you! Testing your vitamin D is easy with a simple blood test that I can refer you for from the clinic- this is important for us all - especially women who are pregnant, doing preconception care, undergoing IVF or ART treatment and also babies and the elderly.

Vitamin D is essential for 'switching on' the immune system to fight invading pathogens.
•    In latest news, severe vitamin D deficiency (which I see every day in clinic!) has been linked to worse outcomes in pneumonia patients. 
•    Low vitamin D levels at birth appears to increase the risk of developing lower respiratory infections and wheezing in infancy and early childhood.
•    Evidence also shows that vitamin D3 may be up to 800% more effective in preventing the flu than vaccinations!

Maintaining your vitamin D levels can be assisted by consuming foods including:
•    Sardines
•    Organic egg yolk
•    Organic butter
•    Moderate amounts of full-fat dairy products 

Belinda Kirkpatrick is a Sydney based Naturopath and Nutritionist offering holistic dietary, lifestyle and wellness advice to help patients achieve their optimal health potential. She is an expert in herbal medicines and nutritional supplements and is passionate about helping each and every patient get the most out of life. Get in touch with Belinda at http://www.belindakirkpatrick.com.au

6 comments:

TedHutchinson said...

Birmingham UK NHS path lab offer postal 25(OH)D tests.
City Assays Vitamin D Blood Spot Test
Single test £25 UK but if you share a 10 pack with friends/family/online buddies you Save £5 each. They are easy to post in Large Letter.
While food sources are always useful we have to bear in mind skin creates 10~20,000iu if you lay naked at noon, 20~30mins, providing skin doesn't burn & you've not been cholesterol lowering (7 dehydrocholesterol is the precurson molecule that UVB acts on to create Cholecalciferol (vit d3))and you don't live in a city or near a motorway (urban pollution blocks UVB). So at the very best food sources can provide only 10% of our daily needs. The RDA for vitamin D is only sufficient to prevent rickets.
If we want to benefit from the full anti inflammatory action of D3 we have to keep 25(OH)D levels around 125nmol/l or 50ng/ml. If we think human milk should be a complete vitamin D replete food for human babies then 150nmol/l 60ng/ml is the target. If you are fighting cancer and want to ensure there is always a sufficient reserve of Vit d then maybe levels around 200nmol/l or 80ng/ml would be best.
To reach the first of those thresholds generally takes 1000iu/daily vitamin D3 for each 25lbs you weigh. 5000iu/drops or gelcaps are available in the UK but probably cheaper from the online USA discount providers.

Anonymous said...

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rawdysearch said...

Keep blogging and thanks for this idea i have many ideas to share regarding source of vitamin D .

Anurag Pandey said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anurag Pandey said...

Thanks to sharing informative post like this.. I like this Post!


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