Vitamin D is Critical To Your Health

There shouldn't be a healthcare provider on the planet today that isn't testing their patients Vitamin D levels. The research is reporting that low levels most certainly cause disease and make metabolic pathways not work.  When vitamin D levels are low, supplementation is recommended or the dosage is often increased. More and more we see how research demonstrates intricate interrelationships with other nutrients. 

We are learning that low vitamin D cannot be metabolized without sufficient magnesium levels. Magnesium is another one of those critical nutrients that MUST also be measured in every patient. Magnesium is required for bone and will help prevent osteoporosis and musculoskeletal disorders, and cardiovascular diseases. Magnesium along with vitamin D is one of the most common nutrients deficiencies in the United States. The critical take home point of this blog is;

"If an individual is deficient in magnesium, then vitamin D will remain stored and inactive." 

The reason I teach my patients to make sure they know their lab values is because any deficiency in magnesium, or vitamin D or even vitamin K will contribute to vascular calcification which will then cause high blood pressure, pain in your lower legs, renal disease, heart attacks, stroke or dementia. Once your arterial lining begins to calcify it is very hard to reverse this damage inside the vessels.

According to a literature review, individuals with optimum magnesium levels require less vitamin D supplementation to achieve optimal vitamin D levels. It is also important to remember that magnesium makes up 50% of bone and helps to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Therefore, a deficiency in either of these nutrients is associated with numerous conditions, such as musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic syndrome.

The standard American diet contains only about 50% of the magnesium required for normal function. This can be attributed to industrialized agriculture and changes in dietary habits. Magnesium levels are low in individuals who consume processed foods high in refined grains, fat, and sugar. There is so much recent evidence mounting that links low levels of vitamin D to an increased risk of type 1 diabetes, muscle and bone pain, and, perhaps more serious, cancers of the breast, colon, prostate, ovaries, esophagus, and lymphatic system. If you want to lower your blood pressure, vitamin D may be just what the doctor ordered. If you're trying to reduce your risk of diabetes, or lower your chances of heart attacks, rheumatoid arthritis, or multiple sclerosis, then vitamin D should be at the front of the line in your daily supplement regimen.

Optimizing your magnesium levels may help to lower the risk of vitamin D deficiencies. Foods high in magnesium include nuts, beans, eggs, green vegetables, and seeds. Most individuals require supplementation of 300-500 mg daily to achieve sufficient intracellular levels of magnesium. In individuals whose levels do not increase, supplementation with glutathione will often correct this.

This review was a great example of the interplay between nutrients and their impact on health and disease. Along this same line of thinking, a study from 2016 that demonstrated that B vitamins had no effect on cognitive decline when omega-3 levels are low. However, when omega-3 levels are in an upper normal range, B vitamins slow cognitive decline and brain atrophy.


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Protocols and supplementation recommendations can be found at my Wellevate e-store listed under MY PROTOCOLS/Vitamin D.
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