Shedding Light on Vitamin D

Vitamin D Deficiency

Research shows that just under one in four Australian adults (23%) have a Vitamin D deficiency! And during the winter months, when our exposure to the sun’s UV rays is at its lowest, 36% of Australians are deficient in vitamin D.¹ Vegetarians and vegans are more likely to be deficient, since they consume less of the foods that typically contain, or are fortified with vitamin D. Even if you travel to a sunny destination for a holiday this winter, sunscreen is used to avoid the risk of skin damage, but it also blocks the skin’s ability to produce its own vitamin D. The same thing goes for wearing sun-protective clothing and staying indoors.

There are many consequences of vitamin D deficiency, such as a greater risk of bone fractures, falls, weak muscles, and poor immunity.^2,3 Supplementing your diet with vitamin D is one of the most effective ways to make up for our lower vitamin D production throughout the winter. It not only helps you prevent deficiency, but provides many health benefits for your bone mass, immune system and muscle function.

Bone Health

Your bones are dynamic, living tissues that are constantly being recycled and rebuilt. While calcium is the main nutrient needed for bone development, it can’t do its job properly without vitamin D. Vitamin D helps with calcium and phosphorus absorption in the intestines. This is a critical part of keeping blood calcium and phosphate concentrations steady and allowing for normal bone mineralisation.² On average, a person’s bone density and strength reaches its maximum by the age of 30. After this, bone mass progressively declines.4 Getting sufficient calcium and vitamin D, combined with a healthy diet and regular exercise, may reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis. In addition, supplementation with vitamin D can help lower your risk of bone fracture.⁵

A Healthy Immune System

Vitamin D is essential for keeping your immune system working properly and helping your body defend against viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens.⁶ A great example of the connection between vitamin D and your immune system is the presence of vitamin D receptors on most of the body’s cells, including some white blood cells.

When faced with an attack by pathogens, the number of vitamin D receptors on these cells increases.⁷ A well-planned vegan diet is packed with plant-based foods that supply a wide scope of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and enzymes that our immune systems need. An exception to this is vitamin D – which isn’t widely available in plant-based foods.

There are a few foods that vegans should pay particular attention to, in order to get enough vitamin D to support the immune system:

• Mushrooms – especially brown (crimini), portobello, maitake, and white mushrooms, which contain a significant amount of vitamin D. Similar to humans, mushrooms produce vitamin D from exposure to UV rays. You can set them out in the sun to boost their vitamin D content.^8,9
• Soy, almond, and other non-dairy milks that are fortified with vitamin D.
• Orange juice fortified with vitamin D.
• Plant-derived vitamin D supplements.

Sources of Vitamin D

When your exposure to sunlight is low, your body relies more on dietary sources of vitamin D, such as milk or fortified dairy alternatives, egg yolks, fatty fish, such as salmon, mackerel, and tuna, and mushrooms. However, there are likely to be times when these foods are either unavailable or its not practical to eat them in sufficient quantities for optimal amounts of vitamin D. Most of these foods are also not suitable for vegans. Therefore, daily vitamin D supplementation may be an important option for helping to meet the body’s vitamin D needs and preventing deficiency. Vegan Vitamin D3 from Whole Earth & Sea^® _was developed with vegans and vegetarians in mind. It is a unique plant-based source of vitamin D3 (colecalciferol) extracted from wild-harvested lichen. Because this formula contains the natural D3 (colecalciferol) form of vitamin D, it is better absorbed and utilised by the body.¹⁰ Each daily vegetarian capsule contains 1000 IU of non-GMO vitamin D3 to help form and maintain strong bones and a healthy immune system.