We call it the “Sunshine Vitamin.”
Vitamin D is a very important factor for good health. Unfortunately, it is one of the most taken-for-granted nutrients by Filipinos. We have plenty of sunshine in the Philippines and one only needs to go out to soak in its benefits.
For many countries around the globe, sunshine does not come that easy. One study estimated that around 50% of the population suffers from vitamin D insufficiency. About 1 billion people have Vitamin D Deficiency (VDD).
This has serious implications on global health, especially during a pandemic, because vitamin D has important immunological functions in the body.
So, what exactly is Vitamin D?
What’s The Sun Got To Do With It?
It’s called the “Sunshine Vitamin” because the sun’s rays initiate vitamin D production.
The human skin has “precursors” of the vitamin. These are substances that are practically one step away from becoming vitamin D.
So let’s say you’re at the beach, or tending to your garden. When you go out under the sun, those UV-B rays hit your skin. When that happens, these precursors are activated and turn to vitamin D. The UV-B rays serve as catalysts to transform those “precursors” into vitamin D.
This form of vitamin D is then sent to the liver where it is converted to a form where it can be stored in the body, ready to be used when necessary. (Vitamin D happens to be one of the four vitamins that are fat-soluble, which means it can be stored in the fatty tissues of the body and also the liver.)
3 out of 5 Filipinos Are Deficient In Vitamin D.
This is counterintuitive in a country as hot and sunny as the Philippines.
But exactly because it’s so hot outside, Filipinos have adopted an “indoor lifestyle.” Office workers toiling from 9-5 don’t exactly get the sunlight their bodies need. Going by the sunlight that passes through glass windows does not do the trick because glass filters the UV-B rays. Meaning, that kind of sunlight exposure does not produce vitamin D.
According to experts, the best time to get sunshine is from 10 AM to 3 PM. (Five to thirty minutes of daily exposure should be enough.)
Unfortunately, Filipinos choose to stay indoors during these times, and if they do go out, they wear pants and long-sleeved shirts to protect against the sun. They also put too much sunscreen where 90% of vitamin D producing rays is blocked by SPF 8 and higher.
Another reason for the vitamin D deficiency among Filipinos would be our skin color. Studies have shown that the more melanin in the skin, the more intense sunlight is required for the synthesis of vitamin D. By comparison, lighter-skinned folks need less sunlight to produce a similar amount of vitamin.
Beyond those already mentioned, many other factors can cause vitamin D deficiency in our populace. Even the smog that covers our cities can be a contributing factor.
So How Much Vitamin D Do I need?
According to the UK’s National Institutes of Health (NIH), an average person needs 600 IU (International Units) per day. This is for people 1-70 years old, and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers as well. People above 70 would require 800 IU, while infants below 1-year old require 400 IU. (The safe upper limit is at 4,000 IU.)
Aside from the sun, vitamin D can also be found in food. Sources containing vitamin D include milk, eggs, cereals, yogurt, mushrooms, liver, and fish (eg. salmon, tuna, sardines).
Milk that you get from the grocery is usually fortified with vitamin D to the tune of at least 100 IU a cup. Plant-based alternatives like soy milk, almond milk, and oat milk are fortified as well. Breakfast items like cereals, orange juice, and yogurt are also fortified.
What’s Vitamin D Good For?
Helps make bone and teeth strong
Vitamin D helps regulate the blood’s calcium and phosphorus levels. (Both nutrients are essential for bone health.) It helps the intestines absorb calcium that would otherwise be eliminated from the body through the kidneys.
A chronic and severe deficiency of Vitamin D would present in children as rickets—a softening of the bones resulting in a bowlegged appearance. In adults, a similar condition is called osteomalacia, which is what happens when a person has poor bone density and weak muscles.
Osteoporosis, which is common in older folks and post-menopausal women, places a significant number of the Filipino population at constant risk for broken bones and fractures.
By making sure that calcium is absorbed by the body, vitamin D is an essential factor in health. (Who knew there was a connection between the sun and strong teeth?!)
Supports the immune system
Vitamin D helps the body fight diseases. Scientists had their first clue when they discovered vitamin D receptors in almost every type of cell in the immune system.
Vitamin D works in many different ways, but one of the ways is by facilitating the production of microbe-fighting proteins and decreasing the activity of autoimmune white blood cells.
Studies have shown that people who are low on vitamin D are at a greater risk for infections, autoimmune diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, and Type 1 diabetes.
Adults who report cough, cold, or upper respiratory infection also are found to have more likely low levels of vitamin D. Incidentally, for countries with winter months, the seasonal flu often coincides with that time of the year when there is the lowest level of sunlight and lowest levels of vitamin D production.
May Have Even More Benefits
More studies are needed to solidify the science, but vitamin D has been correlated with many other health benefits:
· It is said to help regulate mood and alleviate depression.
· It just might be the key to losing weight.
· It has promising insights for cancer research.
· It correlates with lower risks of heart disease and stroke.
Vitamin D And Covid-19
Vitamin D came to the forefront in the past two years when it was proposed as one of the treatments for the coronavirus.
This comes from the long-known immunomodulation activities of vitamin D. It is an active component of the immune system and can ward off respiratory tract infections. If Covid attacks the respiratory tract, and one needs a healthy immune system to combat the virus, then vitamin D must have some role in preventing Covid.
In addition, during the pandemic, it was observed that hospitalized Covid patients with low levels of the vitamin were more likely to require ventilators. They were also more likely to die of Covid.
A study from Israel points to a correlation between a deficiency in the vitamin with the severity of Covid. As Omicron was making the rounds, it was estimated that a vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of severe Covid 14-fold.
Filipino researchers found that patients with low vitamin D levels are 19 times more likely to suffer from severe Covid-19.
But as with the virus, our knowledge of the “Sunshine Vitamin” is continually evolving, and things are not as straightforward and delineated. The biological pathways and chemical cascades are complex. Data from research has been a mixed bag, and we can’t discount the studies that did not find any significant difference caused by vitamin D levels.
For example, a study has not found any favorable outcomes for hospitalized Covid patients treated with supplemental vitamin D. That research also did not see any increased risk and severity for patients with low levels of vitamin D.
In another study, patients treated with vitamin D did not have improved outcomes compared to a control group.
Because of conflicting results, and the various limitations of the various studies, the efficacy of vitamin D on Covid remains unestablished.
That said, because of what we already know about vitamin D, regardless of its effectiveness as a Covid deterrent, it’s important to have sufficient stores of it in the body.
So don’t forget to claim those sunshiny benefits: 10 AM to 3 PM for 5-30 minutes.
Sunscreen, at least SPF-15, is still recommended.
BloodWorks Lab is your partner in health. We are the one-stop-shop for all your blood test needs—offering a wide range of screening tests, immunological tests, and neurological assessments.
We are also proud to be the first laboratory in the Philippines to offer the Anti Acetylcholine Receptor (lgG) Antibody Test and the Anti N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor (Anti NMDA Receptor) Antibody Test.
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