Science continues to learn more about the comprehensive role of essential vitamins in maintaining wellbeing. Vitamin D, for example, has long been associated with bone health. But new research suggests it is also important for general immunity.
In her article for NPR entitled “A Bit More Vitamin D Might Help Prevent Colds And Flu,” Allison Aubrey explores findings from a worldwide study led by Queen Mary University of London. Researchers concluded that vitamin D helps protect against acute respiratory infections including colds and flu.
Vitamin D is referred to as the “sunshine vitamin” for good reason.
As Aubrey mentions, according to recommendations from the Institute of Medicine, most adults need about 600 IU (international units) of vitamin D per day. Adults over 70 should have an intake of 800 IUs per day. So is it time to stock up on supplements? That wouldn’t be the Ayurvedic answer.
Let’s take a look at how the body works. Vitamin D is referred to as the “sunshine vitamin” for good reason. Exposure to natural sunlight—without sunscreens—triggers D3 production in the body. (In this way, it is more like a hormone than a vitamin.) When UVB rays hit your skin, a complex process is set in motion. In brief terms, a form of cholesterol called 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC), which is naturally found in your skin, is converted into the previtamin form of D3. As it is metabolizes, it becomes hydroxyvitamin D. The kidneys then convert that to dihydroxyvitamin D, the form of vitamin D that your body can use.
Vitamin D, along with vitamins E, A and K, is a fat-soluble vitamin. In other words, these vitamins travel around the body by latching onto fat globules and, if not utilized immediately, are stored for later use in our fat tissue. Since we store fat-soluble vitamins for long-term use, an ample supply is mandatory for our wellbeing, but daily supplementation is not.
How would Ayurveda approach maintaining an ample supply of this critical immunity vitamin? Just as vitamin D authority Dr. Michael Holick says, we get—or should get—more than 90 percent of our vitamin D from casual, daily sun exposure. This aligns perfectly with Ayurveda’s understanding that our bodies evolved to live in alignment with nature.
The Ayurvedic concept of dinacharya, Sanskrit for “daily routine”, promotes the use of daily activities for maintaining optimal health. Structured around practices like early-to-bed and early-to-rise, it also includes the habit of taking a 20+ minute morning walk outdoors (without sunscreen). Among its many other benefits, a daily walk helps to provide optimal exposure to UVB rays to ensure an ample supply of vitamin D in the body.
A daily walk is certainly preventative medicine.
Even when it is challenging to walk outside, Ayurveda has a solution. To maintain vitamin D storage levels during winter months, a serving of the right food source can help. For example, oily fish (salmon, herring, sardines) is an excellent source of vitamin D. Eating healthy oils makes perfect sense when the atmosphere is rough, cold and dry. Ayurveda promotes using oils more liberally during winter months. They bring the much needed opposite quality of lubrication to the body.
Final thought. The NPR article talks about using vitamin supplements as an alternative to “doing the work.” That can be tempting in the moment. But there are a couple of things to think about. First, the supplement industry is highly unregulated and science does not fully understand the long-term consequences of use. And secondly, as we approach the spring seasonal transition, the increase of Kapha energy can be the perfect excuse to commit to a vitamin D friendly routine. Starting the practice of a daily morning walk right now lays the foundation for your wellbeing next winter.
