Vitamin D Weight Loss

Vitamin D is one of the essential nutrients our bodies require for optimal health. If you live north of a line between San Francisco to Philadelphia, the odds are you don’t get enough sun to manufacture enough vitamin D in your body. In a study published in Nutrition Research the rate from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey showed that the deficiency was over 41% of the white population and 82% of blacks and 69% of Hispanics. The differences relates to the amount of melanin in the skin which protects from skin cancer but makes manufacturing vitamin D more difficult. (1)

Deficiencies in vitamin D are related to several chronic diseases, cancer, poor bone development, muscle strength, immune function disturbances, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, tuberculosis and premature death. (2)

A benefit of having enough vitamin D in your body is the ability of the body at the cellular level to melt off the extra fat you’ve been carrying around. Vitamin D is essential to every cell in your body, including your fat cells. There are special receptors in the cells that tell the body if they should burn fat or store it for later use.

A lack of vitamin D will also interfere with the actions of leptin, an appetite suppressing hormone. Without suppression, your appetite will lead to increasing weight and a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. Vitamin D deficiency will also reduce the production of insulin and increase insulin resistance in the body, exacerbating type 2 diabetes. (3)

When you have enough vitamin D in your body you’ll eat less but feel more satisfied, store less fat, burn more fat and consequently lose weight. Foods with vitamin D include eggs, fatty fish such as salmon, trout and canned tuna, fortified milk and orange juice, fortified cereals, beef liver and cod liver oil (Yuk!).

You can boost your vitamin D by taking supplements or sitting under special ultraviolet lamps in your home, especially during the winter months when you aren’t outside or if you live north of a line from San Francisco to Philadelphia.

References:

(1) Nutrition Research: Prevalence and Correlates of Vitamin D Deficiency in US Adults

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21310306

(2) Harvard: Vitamin D and Health

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-d/

(3) Life Extension Magazine: Book Excerpt: The Vitamin D Solution

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2010/sep2010_The-Vitamin-D-Solution_01.htm

Resources:

British Journal of Nutrition: Calcium Plus Vitamin D Supplementation and fat mass loss in female very low-calcium consumers

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19263591

Scientific American: Vitamin D Deficiency Soars in the U.S. Study Says

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/vitamin-d-deficiency-united-states/