Not All Vitamin D is Created Equal

Howdy PHG fam! We hope you all read every word of our last blog on this KEY, ESSENTIAL nutrient. If you didn’t, you can find it here.

We wanted to follow that blog up with a short discussion on QUALITY OF SUPPLEMENTATION. We don’t want you to waste your hard earned money on buying supplements that your body can’t actually absorb and utilize. 

Vitamin D is a fat soluble nutrient. It has been [arguably wrongly] named a vitamin, but is actually more like a hormone.

It is true that humans can make their own vitamin D from the sun and cholesterol, however, because Calgary, Alberta is more than 35 degrees latitude from the equator, even if we happened to spend a lot of time outside sans sunscreen, the angle the sun’s rays hit out skin is not sufficient to activate vitamin D. This leaves the majority of us either deficient in this essential nutrient, or with suboptimal levels.

Are you curious what your vitamin D status is? Our naturopathic doctor, Dr. Mandy Swinden, can test your levels of vitamin D via a simple blood test. We recommend testing your vitamin D levels twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. Even if you are taking a vitamin D supplement regularly, it is very likely your blood levels are still suboptimal. 

The best, most absorbable vitamin D supplements are ones that are liquid, emulsified vitamin D3 in an oil base. Clinical studies have shown that supplementation of this form of vitamin D has significantly greater bioavailability compared to capsule-based supplements.

Where can you find this form of vitamin D? Right here at PHG of course! It’s the lowest costing supplement we sell, it tastes great, and, since it’s fat soluble, you can take your daily dose all at one time.

As a general recommendation, we suggest taking 4000 IU per day, however, if you’d like to test your levels and receive a more individualized dosage prescription, you can always have a discussion with Dr. Swinden about this.

Have a great week PHG fam!

Ps. supplementing vitamin D doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to get outside as much as possible! Sun exposure and fresh air have a slew of other benefits that go way beyond vitamin D synthesis.