Winter Immunity for our families
The role of Vitamin D in immunity
The role of Vitamin D in immunity
Vitamin D is important in normal neuromuscular function and optimising bone health, but it has other roles within the body such as enhancing immune function. Deficient levels may play a role in immune disease pathology, hormone imbalance, and is important for gamete (sperm and oocyte) health. It is also imperative for normal functioning mood, lung health and is auto-immune protective.
A recent PubMed article has suggested Vitamin D is six times more effective than the flu shot.
Dietary Sources:
Egg yolks, full-fat dairy products (butter and ghee), oily fish skins, mackerel, herring, kipper, tinned salmon and sardines and maitake mushrooms are all sources of Vitamin D.
Lifestyle factors:
Vitamin D can be absorbed through sun exposure, therefore is it advised to ensure you have sun exposure to your long bones 20-30 mins per day without the use of sunscreen or sun protection.
30 mins of sunlight each day
1/3 of your body needs to be exposed between 10am-3pm
* no sunscreen or sunglasses
Environmental factors:
Unfortunately, the environment is often the primary cause of vitamin D deficiency, just like not getting enough direct sunlight. These environmental examples include:
Chemicals found in plastics (i.e., BPA)
Glyphosate (Roundup)
Toxicity via exposure to polluted air or water
Latitude and altitude
Season
Time of day
Aside from the apparent cause of Vitamin D deficiency, limited sunlight, toxic chemicals like BPA and glyphosate (roundup) specifically target vitamin Dās hormonal functions.
Pollution increases your risk of Vitamin D deficiency because it blocks UV radiation. Toxic agents that pollute air or water can produce their own ozone layer and prevent UV rays from penetrating through to the Earth. Thus, the effect of little to no UV rays in the atmosphere is equivalent to not getting enough direct sunlight. This can lead to a low Vitamin D level.
5 TOP TIPS FOR STONG IMMUNITY
Include 1 cup bone broth in the diet per day
30 minutes of sun exposure daily (unprotected)
increase organic green leafy vegetables
minimise toxins (glyphosate, EMF, BPA, parabens, SLS, preservatives)
Rest and ensure adequate sleep
REFERENCES
https://oldwayspt.org/blog/vitamin-d-sources-vegans-and-vegetarians
https://mindd.org/importance-of-vitamin-d/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6121423/