Do you find that once the weather turns cold you inevitably come down with the flu or a cold? It is as if the season is out to get you, and no matter how frequently you wash your hands, or how many immunity-boosting remedies you consume, or how painstakingly you avoid germ-infested areas (read: the escalator rail), all too often sickness wins.

Vitamin D deficiency is likely the reason for this and, unfortunately, it is a rampant problem in America.

In order to understand why Vitamin D deficiency causes poor health and immunity, you need to understand how it works in your body. T-cells are essential to our immunity because they are what recognize bacteria and viruses in the body. In order for the T-cells to begin doing their job of fighting off these foreign invaders they must bind to vitamin D.

So, you can have a ton of T-cells and use a host of immunity-boosting measures, but all that is for nothing without this one, very essential vitamin.

Recognizing if you are vitamin D deficient is the first step to taking back your health year long. If you find that you experience a number of the following symptoms you are likely deficient and should have your vitamin D levels tested to confirm.

The 10 most common symptoms of vitamin D deficiency are:

1. Chronic pain
2. Hypertension and/or Cardiovascular disease
3. Psoriasis
4. Constant Fatigue
5. Chronic kidney disease
6. Sweaty head
7. Constant Respiratory problems
8. Muscle weakness
9. Depression
10. Weak immunity (You are continually coming down with a new sickness).

If you’re thinking that you can simply combat your vitamin D deficiency by getting outside and facing the sun a bit more in those cold months, you need to think again. I previously was duped into believing I could get a sufficient amount this way.

Think about how bundled you actually are, and how much more you’ll be indoors to avoid the elements, and if it is only your face exposed, you may be wearing makeup containing sunblock. In short, there likely is not enough surface area exposed to the sun for a long enough time to get a sufficient amount of vitamin D.

Also, what most don’t know is that if their levels are low it can take a lot of time to bring them up to ideal levels –even weeks!

That’s why, if you want to maintain your immunity beyond the sunny months of summer, consider taking Eisenstein Center’s PRO D3 5. This supplement combines D3 with probiotics to maintain gut health for optimal absorption. You can also find very helpful dosage guide at the above link.

The best source of vitamin D is through getting as much sunlight as much as possible (in as much skin area as possible). However, you need understand that that alone probably will not give you all that you need during the months of the year where bundling up is necessary. You can try taking fermented cod liver oil as a dietary source of vitamin D.

However, to be sure you’ve got your bases covered through the jacket-mandatory months, consider taking a daily supplement like the one above.

Sources

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/03/25/vitamin-d-deficiency-is-why-you-get-flu.aspx

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19307527

http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/vitamin-d-deficiency-signs-people-miss/

http://eisensteincenter.com/vitamins-supplements/pro-line/pro-d3-5