Hello all!
Let’s chat about vitamin D. Vitamin D is an essential vitamin for just about everything. I know that we can get vitamin D from the sun, and since I live in Texas, I haven’t worried about it.
As you may know from my previous blog posts, I haven’t gotten sick this winter… that is, until we had a week of freak, snowy weather when the sun didn’t make an appearance (and when it did, I didn’t go outside because it was so cold). It was in that week that I got “sick”. Luckily for me, I just ended up with a lot of congestion. There was a lot of sneezing and coughing and phlegm, but no body aches, no fever, and none of the other sick-y stuff. Yay!
Nevertheless, my head still felt awful and full of crud until the winter storm was over and I got to spend a while outside in the sun. I felt so much better within a few hours, and I’ve been taking a vitamin D supplement every day since then.
I am pregnant, and my pre-natal vitamin contains vitamin D, but apparently that was only enough to keep my vitamin levels up, not enough for vibrant health. Since I began taking an extra vitamin D supplement, my skin has begun glowing like never before! (Yes, there’s the whole “pregnancy glow” concept, but my skin only started this after 6 months, so I really doubt it’s that.)
The eczema patches that have persisted on my hand and chest have also gotten better, and I attribute this to the extra vitamin D as well. I learned that vitamin D is a helper vitamin for collagen (Collagen is what keeps our bones and skin working well – that’s why “vitamin D build strong bones”). The body can make as much collagen as it wants, but without enough vitamin D, the collagen can’t get to where it’s needed.
With all that being said, I’m going to continue taking my vitamin D supplement every day. Once I’m no longer pregnant and taking the pre-natal vitamins, I’m going to up my dose of pure vitamin D so that I still get the same amount.
Metta!
Frugal Treehugger 