vitamin d Archives - Fusion Health and Wellness

Supplements Everyone Can Benefit From, Pt. 1

A lot of people think that given today’s nutritionally poor food, combined with mineral depleted soils, that it isn’t possible to meet all of your nutritional needs through food alone. The truth is that we most certainly can get all the nutrients we need in our diet, but you have to be willing to go out of your way to consume plenty of seafood, seaweeds, dark leafy greens, organ meats and fermented foods – things that in America and many parts of the western world aren’t exactly common place.

Luckily we live in a time and place where we can easily buy a few supplements to fill in the gaps. Of course, this doesn’t mean we should eat foods that completely lack nutrition – one should still maintain a healthy diet, exercise regimen and practice stress reduction if you want to look and feel great.

So without further ado, here are a few supplements almost everyone should be taking.

Vitamin D – Boost immune function, improve cognition, improve hormonal status and bone health, fight off depression

Vitamin D is not just a vitamin, but an important hormone that has a plethora of uses within the body – it helps the body absorb and utilize calcium, magnesium and zinc, boosts the immune system, and affects more than 2000 genes! This means that if you aren’t getting adequate Vitamin D, you’re not functioning properly at the genetic level, which can lead to many problems down the road.

dna-genes-1405932776 — Your Genes on Vitamin D

Vitamin D is also an important neurosteroid, up-regulating amounts of Nerve Growth Factor within the brain and central nervous system, which helps to repair damaged neurons and even to grow new ones. This has implications for learning, memory and even depression, as there is a strong correlation between low levels of neurotrophic factors (of which NGF is but one) and depression. It’s estimated that 1 billion people are deficient in Vitamin D, and it seems to be that the lower the levels of Vitamin D, the worse the depression.

How much Vitamin D do we really need? Recent research is suggesting that the current RDA of Vitamin D – 600 IU for ages 1-70, and 800 IU for 70 and up – is far too low. It’s best to shoot for blood levels of around 50 ng/dl of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, something you’ll have to get your doctor to test for. Aim to ingest 2000 IUs of Vitamin D on days you aren’t getting sun exposure. I personally use this brand, as it gives well over a year’s supply and is mixed with the next supplement on the list, Vitamin K2. Vitamin D also needs to be balanced with Vitamin A – as I stated in my post for vegans and vegetarians, vegetables are unfortunately a poor source of true Vitamin A, so if you aren’t willing to consume plenty of liver, cod liver oil, or eggs from pasture raised hens, I’d use this Vitamin A supplement if you aren’t vegan, and this one if you are, one pill every other day.

Bottom Line – Vitamin D may improve your mood, decrease the likelihood of you getting sick, improve the expression of positive genes while silencing ones that can cause disease, and even help you remain mentally sharp.

Vitamin K2 – Essential for Bone Health, Prevention of Calcium Deposits in Soft Tissues and Improving Hormone Status

Vitamin K1 is ample in the diet, and most people know that it plays an important role in blood clotting. Few people have heard about Vitamin K2 however, and it’s much harder to come by in the diet, only being present in fermented foods or foods coming from grass fed animals.

Vitamin K2 is a critical factor in the process of calcium utilization – more precisely, it makes sure that the calcium you do consume goes where it’s supposed to – mainly in the bones, and not in the arteries, kidneys (kidney stones) or other organs.

Therefore Vitamin K2 is crucial in preventing atherosclerosis, or the hardening of the arteries. Studies have shown an inverse relationship between Vitamin K2 levels and atherosclerosis. It may further prevent cancer, improves insulin sensitivity, and improve prostate health.

As stated earlier, Vitamin K2 is solely a product of fermentation – without bacteria, there would be no K2. The best source is a Japanese dish called natto, a rather stinky smelling food made out of fermented soybeans.

Other sources include certain aged cheeses from grass fed animals, especially gouda, as well as other dairy products from grass fed animals, especially fermented ones such as yogurt, lassi and kefir, eggs from free ranging hens, and organ meats from healthy, free range animals. All of the K2 present in these animal foods are produced by the healthy bacteria in the animals’ guts, which finally make their way into the organs, eggs, meat and milk of the animal. Most fermented vegetable dishes contain K2 as well – sauerkraut, kim chi, unpasteurized pickles and miso should all have some K2, and be sure to consume them with some fat as K2 is a fat-soluble vitamin.

Don’t like fermented foods? You should really work on developing your palate, but in the mean time don’t hesitate to use the Vitamin D/K2 supplement listed above – I make sure to consume plenty of fermented foods but choose to supplement as well. Scientists are still debating how much K2 we should be getting, but a good recommendation is anywhere from 200 to 1,000 micrograms a day – two drops of the Thorne Vitamin D/K2 supplement is 200 micrograms.

Bottom Line – Vitamin K2 helps prevent osteoporosis, prevents atherosclerosis, improves insulin sensitivity and may even improve prostate health

Magnesium – Important for Bone Mineralization, a Healthy Relaxation Response, Improved Hormonal Status and Improves Drive and Motivation

Ahh, magnesium.. Easily one of most crucial minerals to get, yet so few of us are – only 25% or so of Americans are getting adequate amounts of magnesium.

“Magnesium is involved in over 300 biochemical reactions in your body. It affects everything from your heartbeat to your muscles to your hormones,” – Dr. Danine Fruge, Associate Medical Director at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Miami, Florida.

Feeling stressed? Rundown? Are you overweight? Achey, especially after workouts? Do you have restless leg syndrome, or worry about osteoporosis? Having difficulty focusing or staying motivated? You may be one of many who are deficient in magnesium.

Magnesium is another critical nutrient for bone health – magnesium is required to activate Vitamin D into its active form, to allow calcium to find it’s way to the bones. In fact magnesium is required for all of the enzymes involved in Vitamin D metabolism.

Feeling stressed? “Mg deficiency, even when mild, increases susceptibility to various types of neurologic and psychological stressors in rodents, healthy human subjects and diverse groups of patients. Repletion of deficiency reverses this increased stress sensitivity, and pharmacologic loading of Mg salts orally or parenterally induces resistance to neuropsychologic stressors.” In English, this means having adequate levels of magnesium buffers you to feelings of stress. Magnesium is crucial to the relaxation response, helping your muscles and nervous system to relax.

Magnesium has been shown to increase learning and memory, especially the form Magnesium-L-Threonate.

Turns out that dopamine, that wonderful little neurotransmitter that is involved in motivation and feeling pleasure, is a magnesium-dependent molecule :

“Dopamine has been called the ‘pleasure neurotransmitter’ and evidence shows that dopamine is a magnesium-dependent neurotransmitter. It is possible that low levels of magnesium trigger low levels in dopamine in the brain.”

Magnesium also improves hormone status, at least in middle aged men. This study concludes :

In a cohort of older men, magnesium levels are strongly and independently associated with the anabolic hormones testosterone and IGF-1.

This is great news, as we’ve seen national levels of testosterone plummet, likely due to xenoestrogens in the environment, and is also beneficial because these hormones decline with age. Please note that magnesium supplementation brought these hormones back into a healthy range. Magnesium is not a steroid and won’t make any of you ladies grow a beard.

Soda, caffeine, alcohol, refined grains and sugary foods, as well as stress, intense exercise and sweating all increase the need for magnesium.

The Recommended Daily Amount is around 400 mg, but remember, you may need more depending on how much you exercise, how stressed you are or how poor your diet is.

Magnesium is found most abundantly in pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate and raw cacao, bone broth and dark leafy green vegetables. At the center of every molecule of chlorophyl in plants is a magnesium ion, so the greener the plant, the more magnesium-rich it is.

It can still be difficult to ingest adequate amounts daily, especially if you’re stressed or exercising regularly, and for this reason it’s wise to supplement with magnesium in addition to eating magnesium-rich foods. Magnesium citrate is a great choice that is cheap and has the added benefit of helping improve digestion. Two rounded teaspoons is just short of 400 mg – I’d suggest consuming two teaspoons in times of stress or if you don’t have a healthy diet, or one teaspoon if you eat plenty of magnesium rich foods.

Bottom Line – Magnesium improves bone health, reduces stress, calms the brain and improves alertness, improves the functioning of the motivation and pleasure molecule dopamine, improves hormonal status, can help with constipation and may even improve learning and memory.

Stay tuned for the rest of the list of supplements everyone should probably be using, leave a comment if you have any questions, and contact me to learn more about how to fit all this together and taking it to the next level.

Some Love for my Vegan and Vegetarian Friends, Part 1

This is a big topic so stay tuned for the follow up post!

It’s important to remember one thing when it comes to the debate out there over whether one should eat animal foods, either by the truckload, in moderation, or eschew them completely – don’t let your dinner become your dogma. Don’t bash others or look down on them for their food choices, because you don’t know where they’re coming from or their reasons for eating the way that they do. Keep an open mind and remember – it’s just food, and you’re lucky to live in a place of the world where you have access to it.

While it sounds completely unsexy, correcting nutrient deficiencies plays a major role in body composition, mood and energy levels – those things that contribute to your actual sexiness. And while everyone across the board needs to be aware of nutrient deficiencies, most vegetarians and especially vegans should be because the human body has evolved eating both animal and plant foods. This is non-debateable and a fact a life, and because we still have the same body and genetics as our prehistoric ancestors had, we need the same nutrients, and some of these nutrients are only obtainable from animal sources. Luckily for all you vegans out there, you live in a time where you can use supplementation to fill in the gaps.

We’re all just modern cavemen

First, let’s get straight with our definitions. For the purpose of this article, a vegan is someone who completely avoids consuming anything of animal origin, even things that don’t involve that animal’s death, such as dairy, honey, or any animal-derived ingredients in various products such as gelatin. A vegetarian is someone who only allows some milk and/or eggs and/or honey into their diets, but avoids anything that contributes to the death of any creature, which, considering modern factory farming methods and inhumane treatment of bees, could easily include some milks, eggs and honeys.

Remember, I’m not here to tell you being a vegan is better than being an omnivore or vice versa, this post is only to shed some light on nutrient deficiencies so that those who wish to avoid animal products can do so in the healthiest way possible.

We’ll start with the more well known deficiencies that can occur on a vegan/vegetarian diet. First up is vitamin B-12. Let me be very precise when I say that there are NO vegetal sources of this vitamin, zilch, zero. Any time they test plants for this vitamin and get a positive result, they have only detected Vitamin B-12 analogues, which can’t be used by the body and actually block the absorption of real vitamin B-12. If you are hearing otherwise from someone, they are either selling you a vegan product/diet/lifestyle, they haven’t dug deep enough or they have let their dinner become their dogma. The good news is vitamin B-12 is easily supplemented and sourced from yeast. This is a nice broad spectrum B Vitamin product and is the one I personally use – it’s derived from yeast and contains the biologically active forms of all the B Vitamins. Omnivores that eat a healthy diet likely get ample amounts from meat sources.

Except for possibly a certain type of moss, there are also no plant-based sources of Vitamin D3, the kind preferred and used by our bodies. Mushrooms and a few other plants do contain Vitamin D2 but it is poorly utilized by the body. You can easily make this Vitamin from sunlight if and only if you spend at least 15 minutes in the sun during midday, aren’t wearing sunscreen, and you are consuming enough cholesterol, as your body synthesizes it’s own Vitamin D3 from cholesterol (be on the look out for a future post on why your body needs cholesterol and even saturated fats). So if you live somewhere that is sunny year round and you get plenty of time outdoors without sunscreen on, and aren’t following a low fat/cholesterol diet, no need to supplement this vitamin. If you live a bit further away from the equator and have to deal with winter, I highly suggest getting a Vitamin D supplement and using it at least during the months with less light. A good dose is 1000 IU on days during the summer you don’t get much sun, and anywhere from 2000 to 5000 IU in the winter – it’s always best to get blood levels checked, aiming for 50 nanograms per milliliter. I recommend something like this for vegans, as it is purely plant sourced, but even animal sourced Vitamin D just comes from sheep’s wool. This is the product I use as it combines Vitamin D3 with Vitamin K2, another sorely lacking nutrient, has over a years worth of servings in one bottle, and is also suitable for vegetarians.

Most everyone these days know about the importance of Omega 3 fatty acids – they’re essential to health, promoting lustrous skin, improving mental performance, boosting mood, and reducing inflammation. DHA is the star player of Omega 3s, being critical for brain, nervous system and retinal health, and represents a whopping 97% of the Omega 3s in the brain – in fact, it improved memory and reaction time in those lacking the fatty acid in their diet. Further, “DHA has a positive effect on diseases such as hypertension, arthritis, atherosclerosis, depression, adult-onset diabetes… and some cancers.” It is especially important when it comes to pregnant women, newborns and infants as it supports healthy brain and nervous system development. DHA is found in large quantities in fresh, cold water fish, and in decent quantities in breast milk, milk from grass-fed cows and goats, and in eggs from pastured hens. Unfortunately, DHA is rarely found in plants, in fact only in a few algal sources. While the body can convert the plant-based Omega 3 fatty acid ALA into DHA, it does so at an extremely poor conversion rate – up to a meager 9% in healthy women, and a whopping 0-4% for men. So for any vegans and vegetarians out there, I would make sure to have a good algal-based DHA product on hand – at least if you want to remain smart, ward off depression and cognitive decline, and have nice skin and hair.

Fun side note – it is presumed that the reason men are attracted to women with curvy bottoms is because women store large amounts of DHA in their hips, thighs and butts. This signals to males that this particular woman would rear a healthy child, as she has ample DHA to ensure proper fetal development.

Freddie Mercury loves fat-bottomed girls because science

Vitamin A is often thought to be adequately supplied by a vegetarian diet, but this is not technically true. True, preformed Vitamin A is only found in animal foods, but many animal and plant foods do contain an abundance of Vitamin A precursors called carotenoids, the most important and well known one being beta-carotene. Vitamin A is a major player in growth and development, skin, eye and brain health, testosterone production and even the onset of puberty.

So are vegans and vegetarians able to get adequate amounts of Vitamin A through consuming plant based precursors? Well, it’s murky waters – Vitamin A and it’s precursors are fat-soluble nutrients, meaning they can only be utilized by the body when consumed with fat. So for any vegans or vegetarians out there eating a low-fat diet, chances are pretty high you’re deficient in Vitamin A. Further, only 1/12th of the beta-carotene obtained from food sources gets converted into actual Vitamin A. And because Vitamin A is one of those nutrients crucial to proper fetal development and as such is drained from the mother during pregnancy, if you’ve ever been pregnant, you may be Vitamin A deficient.

So what’s the plan for vegans and vegetarians? For the vegetarians, make sure to consume plenty of milk, butter and dairy from humanely raised, grass-fed cows, as well as eggs from pasture-raised hens – these products are rich in preformed, ready-to-use real Vitamin A and don’t involve any slaughtering of animals. Consume this in addition to carotenoid rich foods. For vegans, I recommend buying a Vitamin A supplement that supplies you with the real deal, preformed Vitamin A. I’d suggest something like this supplement, preferably taken until blood levels reach 50-200 micrograms per deciliter (yeah, that means you’ll have to ask your doc for a test next time you’re there), then taken only two or three times a week afterwards as a maintenance dose. Because the product I recommended is Vitamin A palmitate, it is synthetic and thus not animal based, but because it is an isolated synthetic vitamin, be sure to consume Vitamin D3 along with it to prevent toxicity.

For both groups, and for any omnivores reading this, when you eat foods high in pro-vitamin A carotenoids, use liberal amounts of healthy fats, such as olive oil, coconut oil or grass-fed butter. Foods high in carotenoids include dandelion greens, kale, sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, goji berries (my favorite source) pumpkin, butternut squash and many others. Oddly enough, most of these foods taste great along with some fat – who doesn’t like butter on their carrots, squash and sweet potatoes? Perhaps the easiest way to consume carotenoids is by simply having a few tablespoons of red palm oil – one tablespoon provides 80% of your RDA of carotenoids, already emulsified in a healthy source of fat, plus huge amounts of Vitamin E for nail, skin and hair health. I suggest adding it to low-heat dishes, as a straight tablespoon isn’t the greatest, trust me.

Vegetarians whom consume fish can also get a lot of bang for their buck by simply consuming Fermented Cod Liver Oil, or this Fermented Cod Liver / Butter Oil, as both are naturally rich in Vitamin D3, Vitamin A, Vitamin K2 and DHA. Omnivores can also consume everything listed above – grass-fed dairy and pastured egg products, cod liver oil, as well as other liver products, which are no where near as gross as they sound, I promise. A good pâté, with crackers and a fig spread is hard to beat – trust me, you will love it.

Make sure to stay tuned for the second half of this post, as there are many more nutrients that will make a BIG difference in how a vegan or vegetarian will feel.