Vit D..My favorite Vitamin

I can't believe that I haven't done a post of Vitamin D. I'm in love with D. I always knew I liked summer so much for a reason. The sun always makes me feel so happy and so healthy. And it wasn't all psychological! The Vit D I was getting does make you happy and healthy! You ever wonder why people don't get the flu in the summertime? What about that depressed feeling so many of us get in the winter?? A lack of vitamin D is directly connected.
D is amazing. Here's a list of the systems and functions of the body that it directly affects
* Heart health*
* Cell formation and cell longevity*
* Skin health*
* Pancreatic health*
* Aging process*
* Sleep patterns*
* Hearing*
* Reproductive health*
* Athletic performance*
* Eye health*
* Vascular system health*
* Respiratory health*
* Immune health*
* Healthy mood and feelings of well-being*
* Weight management, including carbohydrate and fat metabolism*
* Hair and hair follicles*
* Strong and healthy bones, because vitamin D encourages calcium uptake*
* Muscles*
* Proper digestion and food absorption*
I took this list from www.mercola.com. Dr. Mercola is one of the biggest proponents of Vit D and even sells a safe tanning bed, which I would love to have.

We've been told that the sun is bad and that we need to stay away and slather our skin in sunblock. But think about it. Does this make any sense? God created the sun and we've been out in the sun for thousands of years. Why would the sun be this poisonous, cancer causing thing? It's not..We need the sun to live! You don't want to burn your skin, but a light golden tan is healthy for you. At least 20 minutes a day with 40% of you skin exposed is what you need.
But, those of us who live in parts of the world where that is not possible, it is important to supplement with Vit D. You want to make sure to take D3 the cholecaliferol form. 400iu a day just isn't going to cut it. You want to take around 35 IU per lb of your body weight. Even children! My girls get about 1000 IU a day and they haven't been sick since I've been consistent with doing that. Same with myself! I've yet to get sick since I finally started taking my Vit D daily. If you're sick, you can up your dose up to 20,000 IU for 3 days and then cut back down to the 35 IU per pound.
I can't even begin to tell you how much better I feel. During the winter, I wanted to crawl into a hole and sleep the day away. Now I feel almost as good as I do in the summer! Granted, I still hate cold weather, but at least I have some energy!
So go out and getcha some D! I'm really loving Country Life's 5000 IU D right now. I can really feel a difference!