Vitamin D Supplements

About Vitamin D Supplements

Vitamin D is an important nutrient that offers a wide range of benefits to optimal health and wellbeing, functioning more like a hormone than a vitamin. The human body can synthesise Vitamin D from cholesterol in the skin when exposed to sunlight, though the process does rely on other nutrients. Even on the Gold Coast of Australia, Vitamin D insufficiencies is relatively common, particularly in seniors who are sun-averse and spend most of the midday hours indoors. 

A scientific paper published by Dr Michael F. Holick in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2004 emphasised the importance of this nutrient for the health of the immune system, bone mineral density, and for the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Dr Holick, a leading international Vitamin D researcher, recommended careful exposure to sunlight to ensure that daily Vitamin D requirements are met, whilst minimising the risk of sunburn.

It has been suggested that Vitamin D may be helpful for conditions such as muscle weakness, fibromyalgia and even chronic fatigue syndrome. This crucial vitamin may also be helpful in the management of seasonal affective disorder, depression and a healthy immune response. Vitamin D assists in the generation of natural anti-microbial proteins called cathelicidins. These proteins are produced by macrophages in responses to infections, whether they are of viral, bacterial, protozoal or fungal by nature. Daily Vitamin D supplementation has been associated with protection against respiratory tract infections, as reported by the British Medical Journal. 

Vitamin D is found in relatively low amounts in food, though cod liver oil has been used to promote a healthy vitamin D status for around a century or more. Cod liver oil is extracted from the liver of the cod fish, which also supplies abundant Vitamin A (as retinol) and the Omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Other food sources of Vitamin D are fatty fish, such as salmon and mackeral, milk and eggs. Vitamin D Supplements are an effective way to ensure your daily vitamin D requirements are met, with Herbs of Gold now offering a vegan friendly product.