ABSORPTION THIS SUMMER. BY Julie Dargan RN, ND, BHSc, Juice Therapist
WHAT COULD BE HINDERING THE ABSORPTION OF VITAMIN D
??
When
UVB rays strike the surface of your skin, your skin converts a cholesterol
derivative in your skin into vitamin D3. However, the vitamin D3 that is formed
on the surface of your skin does not
immediately penetrate into your bloodstream. It actually needs to be absorbed
from the surface of your skin into your bloodstream. This fat-soluble vitamin
is actually more like a hormone, as it is synthesized by the body itself. The
action of sunlight on a cholesterol derivative in the skin oils prompts the
formation of a precursor, provitamin D, which then is absorbed through the skin
back into the body, and goes to the liver for initial processing, and then to
the kidneys which produce the active Vitamin D3, also called cholecalciferol,
it in its final form, a process that takes about 36 hours. THIS IS WHERE THE
CONTROVERSY SETS IN READ MORE FOR THIS THEORY.
The
oils on the skin are easily destroyed by soap. A good analogy of this is when
we wash dirty clothes or dishes with high oil content we need soap break down
the oils. This is what happens if we jump into a shower straight after a run in
the sun, day out in the sun etc. We then go crazy and get a good lather up,
thus removing all natural body oils and much of the vitamin D3 your skin
generated,. There is little evidence to back up this theory but it does make
sense. Why are there so many people in Australia with very low levels of
Vitamin D? Many people are now washing twice a day and lathering up each time.
I receive a lot of scepticism on this theory but what I say to people is what
do you have to lose? Do you really need soap all over your body every time you
wash? In reality, you only need to use
soap underneath your arms and your groin area. You just want to avoid soaping
up the larger areas of your body that were exposed to the sun. Try this out
this summer and see for yourself the change in your Vitamin D levels.
One
of the precursors for vitamin D is cholesterol. Vitamin D is actually formed by
exposing cholesterol found in the skin to sunlight. Cholesterol is the basic
building block of vitamin D in the human body. Therefore, low levels of
cholesterol can lead to vitamin D deficiency. So if you’re taking drugs to
decrease cholesterol or statin drugs, you’ll lower your cholesterol levels.
This in turn will decrease your body’s ability to manufacture vitamin D. This
is yet another potential reason why so many people’s vitamin D levels may be
low, or have trouble optimizing vitamin D levels.
Since
cholesterol is a precursor to vitamin D, inhibiting the synthesis of
cholesterol will also inhibit the synthesis of vitamin D. Since sunlight is
required to turn cholesterol into vitamin D, avoiding the sun will likewise
undermine our ability to synthesize vitamin D. And since vitamin D-rich foods
are also rich in cholesterol, low-cholesterol diets are inherently deficient in
vitamin D.
Cholesterol-containing
body oils are critical to this absorption process. Because the body needs 30-60
minutes to absorb these vitamin-D-containing oils (once it is absorbed from the
suns UVB rays), it is best to delay showering or bathing for one hour after
exposure. The skin oils in which vitamin D is produced can also be removed by
chlorine in swimming pools.
Vitamin D is not produced by the skin, but by
the interaction of sunlight with natural oils produced by the skin: the same
oils that soap and detergent destroy. Vitamin D will be formed if sufficient
oils are present on the skin. Body Electronics: Vital steps
for Physical Regeneration. Thomas Chavez. 2005.
