My coworker who is a Nutritionist (I work at a health food store) said that some cholesterol is needed for proper vitamin D absorption. Is this true? I have been vegan for about 6 years and have been marked down deficient for vitamin D before.
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Thank you Kathy! :)
This is an intriguing theory! I'll pay close attention to my tanning this summer since I have been showering less lol
I've heard that you shouldn't shower until 3 hours after sun exposure, cause you wash all the fats from your skin where everything is stored in and still should be absorbed through your skin.
All steroidal hormones are made from cholesterol, vitamin D is one of them, but you don't need to consume cholesterol for that, your body produces all that it needs.
I was low in vitamin D (43 nmol/l) so i took a vegan d3 supplement and took 2000 IU based on dr. gregers videos which said 2000 IU would bring me to the sweet spot of 80 nmol/l and that's exactly where it brought me, spot on.
If you don't live in the tropics you probably won't have enough vitamin D quality sun exposure all year.. i think the rule is when your shadow is shorter then yourself you have vitamin D quality sun.
Wow never heard about 'the shadow being smaller than yourself'. Makes sense.
Thank you for your sweet feedback Taka!
:)
the internet says magnesium helps.
Thanks Tai!
I've never heard of this - it sounds like bunk.
Foods that are high in cholesterol (animal foods only) often have high vitamin D. There are no vegan foods that can be relied as having significant levels of vitamin D - unless the food is fortified with vitamin D.
Your body produces all of the cholesterol it requires without the need of additional sources from food - namely animal foods.
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/
Last time I had a blood test my vitamin D level was below the normal range even though I do spend significant time outdoors. This was before summer so I would think my levels increase during summer. I have to take greater care to exposure more of my body to the sun during the cooler months to maintain vitamin D levels.
My doctor mentioned to me that many of his patients who are dark skinned have extremely low levels of vitamin D even in a sunny country - here in Australia. Darker skin is less efficient than lighter skin in absorbing vitamin D. Many dark skinned people here usually wear trousers and long sleeves so they have little exposure to the sun and a result have the extremely low vitamin D levels my doctor recorded. At least I assume this is the reason.
Thank you Peter for your insightful response!
I will just expose myself to sunlight more, I got tested in winter a year ago so I believe that is the cause for deficiency.