Here comes the sun - The power of Vitamin D3

Here comes the sun…

Everything on this wonderful planet of ours needs sunlight, we need it for growth and for happiness. The challenge most of us have in our Western, technological based lives is that our daily working routine means we spend most of the day in-doors, meaning we miss out on all of the amazing bright rays of sunlight that hit our planet.

Sunlight delivers so many benefits to our bodies, remember how happy and relaxed you felt after a holiday in the sun, or how wonderfully calm you feel when lying in a park in the Summer. Sunshine warms and reinvigorates every cell in our body, and our bodies need it to make Vitamin D to allow for absorption of calcium and phosphorus to maintain health bones and a healthy immune system. The vitamin acts like a hormone, once activated by the kidneys it travels in the bloodstream to the gut carrying the message - get calcium!

So, Sunny days not only lift the spirit, they provide us with a real physiological benefit.

To maintain optimum health we really need to get outside in the sunshine for at least 10-15 minutes a day and feel the power of the sun on our skin.

Heavy D, Slimmer You

Numerous studies have shown vitamin D's crucial role in maintaining a healthy body weight, so as the moment of truth with your bathing suit inches closer, you might be cursing your sweet tooth for the belly bulge you can't seem to shed but it may well be what you're not eating that's actually responsible.
By fueling your body with the D-rich nutrients it needs to get out of a fat-storage state and into a fat-burning one, you could potentially speed weight loss by up to 70 percent.

Vitamin D3 is a very unique micro-nutrient that may have an affect on maintaining a healthy weight. It acts as a hormone that could play a sweeping role in the proper regulation of several body processes including regulating the immune system and also controlling our metabolism.

It has also been discovered that receptors in your brain need vitamin D3 to keep hunger and cravings in check as well as to pump up those serotonin levels, which will elevate your mood. (Good thing, since dieting often comes with a heaping side of crankiness.)
Our bodies can only produce Vitamin D3 if we are exposed to sunlight or by taking a supplement. If you’re mostly working and relaxing in doors you may need to take a supplement of Vitamin D3 to keep your serotonin levels up and help prevent depression.

Vitamin D rich foods

A far more satisfying way to up your Vitamin D level is to get more of the vitamin from your diet. We can absorb Vitamin D from some food types, including Shitake and Button mushrooms, Mackerel and most oily fish including Salmon. Apart from fabulous oily fish, you should also include shrimps and seashells in your diet and to keep your levels topped up consider taking a supplement of fish oil, specifically cod liver oil or a Vitamin D3 supplement daily.

To boost your happiness and health, book yourself a holiday in the sun to start with, stick to using the sun screen though as that plays a vital part in protecting our skin from the damaging uvb-a rays that can cause cancer and think about taking a vitamin D3 supplement to keep strong, happy and healthy and when everyone around is suffering the sniffles you'll be smiling.