The “Sunshine Vitamin” Beyond Its Role on Bone Health

We have grown to believe this misleading information from commercials, movies, shows, and other sources that depict the elderly as slow and withered and younger people as active and outgoing.

Sure, osteoporosis shows up later in life.

But what they don’t tell you is it doesn’t magically happen to you when you reach your 50s or 60s.

Bone loss starts WITHOUT the obvious warning signs until one of your bones is broken.

So you could be a candidate for this brittle-bone disease and not even know it!

Osteoporosis is dubbed “the silent thief” for a reason—it’s sly and malevolent beyond expectation.

It can support your immune system.

"By fighting off harmful bacteria and viruses, vitamin D can support your immune system," Dr. Lana Nasrallah, MPH, RDM clinical dietician at UNC Health says.

For a good reason, this role of vitamin D is extremely critical during the COVID-19 pandemic, and researchers are interested in discovering more of its potential role in preventing infection.

A 2017 scientific analysis found that daily or weekly vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of acute respiratory infection, especially for people who have vitamin D deficiency.

It can help reduce the risk of some cancers.

“Activated vitamin D is one of the most potent inhibitors of cancer cell growth,” shares Michael F. Holic, PhD, MD.

Dr. Barry Boyd from Yale Medicine explains that “evidence is increasing that vitamin D supplementation may improve cancer outcomes.”

The cancers that benefit from vitamin D, according to the studies, are colorectal, breast, prostate, and pancreatic cancer.

Some research points out that death rates caused by particular cancers are less prevalent among people living in southern latitudes, where levels of sunlight exposure are higher than that of the northern latitudes.

Plus, vitamin D helps balance the immune system and the nervous system, the system responsible for allowing communication between the brain and the muscles.

More research has to be conducted to fully understand other potential benefits of this vitamin to our health.

Still, it’s a fact that vitamin D is the ONLY one of the 13 vitamins that the human body can naturally produce, and for a good reason.

And we’re better off having enough of it than not.

To understand the role of vitamin D better, let’s talk about its family.

2. Vitamin D3 is naturally produced in the body, unlike vitamin D2.

There’s a reason why vitamin D is dubbed “the sunshine vitamin.”

When your skin is exposed to sunlight, it produces vitamin D. When the UVB rays of the sun hit cholesterol in your skin cells, these skin cells are energized, which allows for vitamin D synthesis to occur.

On the other hand, vitamin D2 is primarily manufactured by humans and added to foods.

While you CAN overdose on dietary vitamin D, you CANNOT overdose on the vitamin D3 your skin produces. This is because if your body has enough of it, it then makes less.

3. Research suggests that vitamin D3 is MORE effective than vitamin D2 at developing vitamin D status.

While both forms of vitamin D are effectively absorbed into the bloodstream, the liver metabolizes them in different ways.

Vitamin D2 is metabolized into 25-hydroxyvitamin D2.

Vitamin D3 is metabolized in 25-hydroxyvitamin D3.

These two compounds are known as CALCIFEDIOL, which is the main circulating form of vitamin D.

The levels of calcifediol in your blood reflect how much vitamin D your body has stored.

So, your doctor can estimate the status of your vitamin D by measuring your calcifediol levels.

The downside of vitamin D2 is that it doesn’t seem to produce as much calcifediol compared to vitamin D3.

For this reason, it is suggested that vitamin D3 improves the status of your vitamin D better than vitamin D2.

You might be thinking, “Why do I even need to consider supplementing vitamin D if my body naturally produces it?”

Well, in light of what’s happening in the world right now, your body might not be getting enough sunlight for vitamin D synthesis to happen.

The same thing applies if you live far from the equator where there’s not as much sunlight to expose yourself to.

This leaves you relying on external sources of vitamin D.

However, it’s not that easy to obtain the daily recommended allowance of this vitamin for adults, which is 600 IU (international unit).

... will only give you 400 IU of vitamin D!

So if you don’t get enough sunlight and don’t incorporate enough vitamin D-rich foods in your diet, you might really benefit from a vitamin D supplement.

However, you need to be careful not to develop vitamin D toxicity or hypervitaminosis from taking too much vitamin D.

Because vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin and the body has no easy way of getting rid of such, excessive amounts may build up inside the body.

The main symptom of vitamin D toxicity is hypercalcemia or the elevated levels of calcium in the blood.

An excessive amount of calcium can cause various symptoms and can damage tissues, including that of kidneys.

On the flip side, vitamin D deficiency also has its harmful effects, like loss of bone density and muscle weakness, as mentioned previously.

While vitamin D deficiency can affect anyone, there are groups of people who have a higher risk for it than others…

The best way to know for sure that your vitamin D levels are within the safe and recommended range, consult your health care provider.

They will most likely run a blood test to measure how much vitamin D there is in your body.

From there, you can incorporate more vitamin D in your diet or try and lower your consumption of it.

But it’s really more likely for you to have low levels than have an excessive amount of vitamin D.

Vitamin D intoxication is rare, and it almost only happens when you ingest huge doses of vitamin D supplements.

"My daughter had been admitted to the hospital due to CHRONIC CYCLIC VOMITING… She would continually vomit… We were emotionally, mentally, and financially punished because of her condition… But then we had her take FERN-D… And the next thing that happened was THE VOMITING WAS TOTALLY GONE!"

- Aimee Magbuhos Gualberto, Puerto Galera

"I had OVARIAN CYST and was scheduled for operation because my belly kept on growing and was very painful. While waiting for the operation date, I took FERN-D for six weeks. When I was finally on the operating table, the doctor was SHOCKED. THE CYST WAS GONE!"

- Barbet Leyson, Iligan City

"Because of my daughter’s WEAK IMMUNE SYSTEM, she was born sickly. She also had PNEUMONIA. So she would get hospitalized every month. But one day, her aunt suggested that I give her FERN-D. And amazingly, in just a matter of weeks, Princess became energetic and cheerful. Now, her HEALTH HAS GOTTEN BETTER with FERN-D!"

- Mother of Princess Fernandez, Caloocan City

From these three testimonials, we see that not only can FERN-D protect against everyday infections, it can also treat seemingly irreversible health conditions!

And you never have to think twice about the quality and safety of this vitamin D3 supplement because…

The material on this site is provided for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always consult your physician or healthcare professional.

Disclaimer: Statements on this website have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your physician before using our products. Not intended for children. You should always consult with your healthcare practitioner prior to starting any new dietary supplement or program.

The information provided on this site is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your physician or healthcare professional or any information contained on or in any product label or packaging. You should not use the information on this site for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem or for prescription of any medication or other treatment. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any diet, exercise or supplementation program, before taking any medication, or if you have or suspect you might have a health problem. You should not stop taking any medication without first consulting your physician. As individuals differ, so will results. Always check with your doctor for risks associated with dietary supplements and your specific health conditions and/or allergies.

LOOK: Vitamin D Can Reduce Cancer Cell Growth, Help Control Infections, and Reduce Inflammation – Harvard

The “Sunshine Vitamin” Beyond Its Role on Bone Health

Osteoporosis — a disease that weakens bones, making them at risk of fractures — is NOT an “old lady” condition!

Recent data estimate about 200 million people are suffering from this disease...

What’s more, is that many of its other important benefits are not known to a lot of people…

Many people are unaware that most of the diseases that lead to death are linked to vitamin D deficiency.

Yes, Vitamin D is not just ONE vitamin—it’s a whole family of nutrients that have a similar chemical structure...

1. Vitamin D2 comes from plants, while vitamin D3 comes from animals.

2. Vitamin D3 is naturally produced in the body, unlike vitamin D2.

3. Research suggests that vitamin D3 is MORE effective than vitamin D2 at developing vitamin D status.

So if you’re taking vitamin D supplements, you should go for Vitamin D3.

4. Aside from the previous point, the quality of vitamin D2 supplements might be lower compared to vitamin D3 supplements.

… because vitamin D2 is just NOT enough!

In fact, very few of us get enough vitamin D we need in our diet!

FERN-D, your DAILY DOSE of sunshine — even WITHOUT the sun!

So you can guarantee the safety and potency of the vitamin you’re ingesting...