Deceptively Ingenious Vitamin D
Creating new and innovative vitamins is a bit of an obsession for us at Pure Synergy. That’s why we’re so excited to announce our newest vitamin combo — D3 + K2 Complex®.
Now you might be thinking, “hold on a minute, there’s nothing new about those vitamins. I can buy them at any supermarket or pharmacy.”
But wait! We’re here to tell you how deceptively ingenious this new product really is, why it’s so cutting-edge, and what makes it head and shoulders above any other vitamin D supplement out there. But to shed light on our sunshine vitamin, we first need to step back and understand a little bit about this essential nutrient.
Types of Vitamin D
Vitamin D3, or cholecalciferol, is nicknamed the sunshine vitamin because it’s produced in our skin when the sun’s UVB rays shine on it. We also get vitamin D3 by eating oily fish like salmon, mackerel, or sardines, as well as from egg yolks and fortified milk, juice or cereal.
Vitamin D2, also called ergocalciferol, is another form of the nutrient made by some plants, mushrooms, and yeast. But here’s the thing, before our bodies can use either D3 or D2, both need to be converted into the active form of vitamin D, calcitriol, by our liver and kidneys.
This is important because recent studies have shown that vitamin D3 is more effective at boosting calcitriol levels in the body. In other words, vitamin D3 is converted into a useable form of the vitamin more efficiently than D2.
Vitamin D Supplements
The majority of D3 supplements are made with synthetic cholecalciferol which is derived from the lanolin from sheep’s wool. Lanolin is a fatty substance secreted by the skin glands of sheep to condition their wool which has the chemical precursors for making vitamin D3. This is done by processing the lanolin until it is concentrated into a purified vitamin D3 supplement.
Some people, such as vegetarians and vegans, may feel queasy about using a product that comes from sheep. In this case, there are several vegan vitamin D alternatives. The first, least optimal, option would be to take vitamin D2. But, as stated above, taking D2 is not as effective as vitamin D3.
Another vegan option is D3 extracted from lichen. Lichen looks somewhat like tree moss and can be found living on forest trees or on rocks. It’s a unique organism that is a cross between an algae and a fungus living symbiotically together. But here’s the rub, in order to make vitamin D3 from lichen, it needs to be harvested from the wild and is often over-harvested in an unsustainable way. That’s a no-go for us at Pure Synergy since we refuse to make any product at the expense of an ecosystem.
A Different & Better D3
So, what’s a vegan to do? Here’s where our new and innovative D3 solution comes in! Our vegan vitamin D3 is extracted from algae that’s grown in sealed indoor tanks. No wild harvesting necessary! It is processed using cutting-edge technology and is highly purified with no chemical solvents used at all. It’s ultra clean, made with organic ingredients, Non-GMO, vegan, gluten and dairy free. It is truly the crème de la crème of D vitamins and is a great option for everyone, not just vegans.
Importance of Vitamin D
This is great news because a heck of a lot of people are vitamin D deficient and could use a high quality D3 supplement. Although our bodies produce the nutrient, many people don’t get out in the sun enough, especially in winter, or they use sunscreen which can block the UVB rays that are required to make vitamin D in our skin. There are many other reasons why a large portion of the population may be lacking enough of this essential vitamin.
Vitamin D is both a fat-soluble nutrient and also a pro-hormone, or a precursor of a hormone. It helps regulate hundreds of genes throughout the body and is vital for healthy bones, muscles, and teeth; healthy immune and cardiovascular systems; a healthy mood and cognitive function, and much more. Research studies keep popping up that discover more ways the vitamin promotes our wellbeing. Let’s dig into some of the most important health benefits of this essential nutrient.
Bone Health
Vitamin D has long been known to help the body absorb and retain calcium, which is critical for building bone. Without enough vitamin D, the intestines cannot efficiently absorb calcium which leads to a domino effect resulting in weaker bones. Because blood calcium is critical for heart and nerve function, the body doesn’t allow blood calcium levels to fall. Instead, if we don’t have sufficient vitamin D and can’t absorb enough calcium, our body pulls it from our bones, which lowers bone calcium density, making them weak and prone to fracture.
There’s another key player for bone health — vitamin K. In fact, vitamins D and K are the Batman and Robin of the nutrient universe. While vitamin D ensures that calcium is properly absorbed, vitamin K makes sure the calcium is integrated into our bones. Without D3 and K2, calcium cannot do its job effectively. To learn more check out D3 & K2 — The Dynamic Duo of Bone & Cardiovascular Health.
Health D-fense
Vitamin D helps keep our immune system balanced and functioning properly, and there are vitamin D receptors on the surfaces of all white blood cells, the warrior cells that seek and destroy germs inside our bodies.
The role that vitamin D plays in promoting optimal health is like that of a tightrope act. By helping to maintain the right balance of immunity reactivity and reserve, Vitamin D plays a central role in keeping us healthy.
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked with both extremes of this immune balancing act. So maintaining levels of Vitamin D in the optimal range is essential for keeping our immune response in check, ensuring that our immune cells react when they should and rest when the threat is removed.
Vitamin D supplementation, therefore, is a great idea during the dark winter months, when we are more likely to stay indoors and not get sufficient sun exposure to produce enough of it in our skin. Winter is also when we need to pay extra attention to our respiratory health, which is more of a reason to ensure we have enough D vitamin support for healthy immune function.
Healthy Heart
A growing number of studies indicate that vitamin D deficiency has significant adverse effects on the heart and cardiovascular system. The heart has receptors for vitamin D, and the vitamin helps regulate the function of immune cells that play a role in cardiovascular health. It also helps to keep arteries flexible, which in turn helps to maintain healthy blood pressure.
Brain Health
Numerous studies have linked vitamin D deficiency with reduced brain and cognitive function. For example, studies suggest that vitamin D protects against dementia by helping to break down and sweep out Alzheimer’s disease-related proteins by enhancing blood flow to the brain. Vitamin D also activates and deactivates enzymes in the brain that are involved in neurotransmitter production and nerve growth.
Healthy Mood
The sunshine vitamin has also been connected to sustaining a sunny mood and positive well-being throughout the year, even during seasonal changes in temperature and daylight that often sap our energy and dampen our outlook. An example of this is Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which is a type of depression that’s related to changes in the seasons and begins and ends at about the same time each year. Most often SAD symptoms start in the fall and continue into the winter months, sapping a person’s energy and making them feel down in the dumps.
Researchers with the National Institute of Mental Health believe that with less daylight in the winter, people with SAD often have lower vitamin D levels, which may hinder the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin, the “feel-good hormone.”
Get the Sunshine Vitamin on Your Side
With such a broad range of profound health benefits, it’s easy to see why you need to get enough vitamin D. One way to ensure that you are not deficient is by asking your healthcare practitioner for a vitamin D test. Ideally, your vitamin D intake should be personalized to your specific needs and lab results.
If you determine that you need to add a D supplement to your routine, why not consider D3 + K2 Complex? It combines vegan sources of vitamins D3 and K2 along with fermented K1, plus an organic food complex of shiitake mushrooms, camu camu berry, collard greens, spinach, parsley, and cruciferous sprouts. Providing powerful immune and overall health benefits, without any added chemicals fillers or solvents, D3 + K2 Complex is the most innovative and high-quality D vitamin that you’ll find.
