Im just wondering how everyone makes sure they have enough vitamin ~D. I was thinking about this and then realized people spend too much time indoors and there for do not get a chance to absorb this vitamin from the sun. So how do we get this vitamin. And even if we are eating a lot of greens are we absorbing the calcium with out being in the sun all day

We don't necessarily "get" vitamin D; our body produces it after being exposed to sunlight, from what I undersatnd. About 15-30 min. per day, with some skin exposed and no or little sunscreen on. It's easy and fun.

During the summer I get outside more for the sunshine vitamin.
During the winter I take a vitamin D supplement.

I go outside. And I'm starting a regimen of sungazing. Have to start getting up much earlier, though : )

"15-20 minutes" is thrown around a lot but it's far too little.

1. The body can store vitamin D for a long time, it's extremely good at storing it. Don't think nature made a mistake, the vitamin D stored up in the summer can be used in the winter.

2. It's only at certain periods of high sunlight is the 15-20minutes enough. In prehistoric times, we'd have a LOT of exposure to the sun.

If you DO decide to take supplements (I do), then make sure it's the vitamin D3 you get, NOT the fake vitamin D2.

SuperInfinity Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "15-20 minutes" is thrown around a lot but it's
> far too little.
>
> 1. The body can store vitamin D for a long time,
> it's extremely good at storing it. Don't think
> nature made a mistake, the vitamin D stored up in
> the summer can be used in the winter.
>
> 2. It's only at certain periods of high sunlight
> is the 15-20minutes enough. In prehistoric times,
> we'd have a LOT of exposure to the sun.
>
> If you DO decide to take supplements (I do), then
> make sure it's the vitamin D3 you get, NOT the
> fake vitamin D2.


Thanks for all your info. This is interesting Superinfinity. I didn't know there was a D3 and a D2. I checked my supplements which do have vitimin D. They don't say whether or not it is the D2 or D3. So i am assuming that it is the fake one.

maybe ask the manufacturer , there should be a contact number on the bottle if its
D3 or Cholecalciferol \

or

D2, Ergocalciferol

also the D2 is generally concocted from fungal sources (thus the prefix of the word ERGO im presuming ) so anyone with fungal sensitivies might do poorly on D2 compared to D3



...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2009 09:30PM by Jgunn.

Good vit D info on wiki -
[en.wikipedia.org]

Also, since this is a fat-soluble vitamin (prohormone) it is stored in the fat cells, so please don't get the idea that "more is better" & load up on mega doses. (Not saying you are fat!)

But, there can be an issue with fat-soluble vitamins & toxicity, when folks tend to overdo it. I personally stay away from all supplements anymore, and I do make sure to get out in the sun a fair amount each day.

Everything from the raw foods I consume, that is my motto.

Incidentally, I like to use Dulse (a sea vegetable) in my diet, as it provides a good amount of B12. which is difficult to obtain in many foods.

I eat seaweed regularly (for B12) and get in the sun as much as possible (for D). I'm really bad at remembering vitamins, so this is my main way to get these nutrients. Last winter I struggled and am sure I was low in Vit. D, being in New England, but when I spent a week in the sun visiting my son in San Diego, I came home feeling all better. I'm in the sun whenever it is out and never use sunscreen --ever!! I'm storing up for this winter -- and planning a trip to San D. for January!! (Heads up, Zack!!)

seaweed has zero bioavailable (usuable) b12.

i get lots of sun, not enough to tan just plenty of time spaced out over the days.

Since this is a vegan forum, I believe vitamin D3 should NOT be suggested, as it is from animal products.

is there any use in tanning beds to get vit D?

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Jodi,

This is a product I've mentioned before on another post many months ago. Looks promising, but it's an investment, financially:

[tanningbeds.mercola.com]

I wonder if these daylight light bulbs would work for Vitamin D ? Here's some available at Walmart: [www.walmart.com]

coco--
"seaweed has zero bioavailable (usuable) b12."
I read that it did. Can't remember where. So where do you get your B12?

I just found an interesting article from Gabriel Cousens on B12.

[www.living-foods.com]

Hellokitty, I know that you asked about Vit. D, but B12 is also an important vitamin that we need to be aware of.

Coco, thanks for causing me to look this up.

Sundancer Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> coco--
> "seaweed has zero bioavailable (usuable) b12."
> I read that it did. Can't remember where. So where
> do you get your B12?

the librarian in our wee little town has happy free chickens and no rooster. she gives us some unmentionable edibles that we have on occasion. it's either that or eat bugs like our primate cousins and i'm just not down w bugs. if it can't be got w strictly veg i figure nature intends us to get it elsewhere and i have these kids i can't expereiment w so, happy chicken donations it is!

Yeah, Coco; that's my philosophy with my little girl.

my vitiman B12 was ok. I drink sprilina. which has 3up in it. I get the dried organic one. I know its better to have fresh but i don't know where to get fresh sprilina in the uk. Ive never seen it in any health food store.

spirulina does not supply the body w usable b12. that link to the article above is a good read, give it a go.
it takes years for a b12 deficiency to show up but once it does it spells serious trouble. take care.


yah SunnyD, i feel like i can eat whatever craziness i want to and see how it works out for me but with them, well, they're growing NOW. can't really fool around w their nutrition. still, i want to be as natural as possible and supplements just don't seem all that natural to me when there is an alternative that we can eat.

Ok i now read that artical. it was really good. So we need to eat bugs really. yumm.

what about supplements from the health food stores.

for sure, it's recommended that vegan's take a supplement. not such an issue for vegetarians but w zero animal products in the diet, a supplement may be the way to go. i think some of them are grown on yeast but not totally sure.

it's said that a healthy bowel can produce it's own b12 but for most of us we're not really making our own so...

I just bought one. The ingredient used is mannitol as a sorce of b12. what is that?

i don't know if this answers that question very well but perhaps someone else will have another link?
[www.ec21.com]

I take vitamin D. Vitamin D3, the better one to supplement with. I had crippling back pain so that I couldn't walk and when my levels were measured they were about a tenth of what they should be. It took a year of supplementing at very high levels to get my vitamin D up. But, now I only have minor back pain and I certainly can walk again.

I think it's not a good idea for people to assume that their levels are ok. Most people in non-tropical climates seem to have some level of deficiency, whereas toxicity is rare. My own doctor said that in all of the years she's been testing, only one person has ever not been deficient. So, get tested if it's a concern. Make sure it's the 25-hydroxy (or 25,OH). If you are deficient, supplementation can make a big difference in how you function.

If you do decide to supplement, the D3 (cholecalciferol) is better. It's not vegan, but it's what the human body prefers. (The prescription stuff is all D2 - ergocalciferol. Get the supplemental kind. There is even one company that makes it at prescription strength - 50,000IU.)

[jcem.endojournals.org]

I don't know much but I'm trying to be logical on this one:

Given: if b12 is secreted with bile and bile is used to emulsify fats.
Is bile released in the presence of fat in the small intestine? Consequently, if you eat a low fat diet you would be excreting even less b12?

david

david,

That's a real poser, considering some rawists swear that you can restore your B12 by fasting for a while. That is, by not digesting anything requiring the secreting of bile. Hmmmmmm . . . .

a real poser? I don't follow.
As in, a question or problem that is confusing? Or, I'm fronting and style biting?

Regardless, according to these raw foodist the internal flora replenishes the B!2 somehow with the lack of food? I could see that if you didn't eat that your b12 might stay at its current levels. But maybe not, since B12 is used in synthesizing amino acids, right? So you're always using b12, even if its just a little bit.

I can't say that they're wrong, but bacteria need to eat as well.

I'm prepared to believe and not believe anything.

david

I live in the UK, have been raw three years, and do not supplement for Vitamin D.

Here's why:

[debbietookrawforlife.blogspot.com]

david,

The first definition! I like "style biting," though; I will now use it casually : )

The raw foodists that say you can replenish B12 by fasting mean that in the absence of digested matter in the lower intestine, the body can uptake whatever it manufactures, obviating the need to supplement with pills or food. But you say that B12 is secreted in bile, whihc is secreted during digestion. Going to do more reading up, then . . .