Implementation of Supplementation

Supplements are an important part of living Kleenly because they not only fill in the nutritional gaps (hello, multivitamins), but they can also help to keep you Kleen internally. So today I will share one supplement that I have extensively researched and implemented into my own daily routine. And because I'm all about economical lifestyle changes, I have found a few tricks to mitigate the impact of supplements on your wallet.

The Sunshine Vitamin

I am starting with this All-Star vitamin because it is still technically winter here, and winter is when our vitamin D levels plummet. If you remember much from middle school science classes, you'll know that our bodies can make their own vitamin D with proper sun exposure. But what is proper sun exposure? Proper sun exposure is the sunlight produced between the hours of 10AM and 3PM; however, the specific type your skin craves are UVB rays. UVA rays, on the other hand, are those little monsters that burn our skin to a crisp, but they also do nothing for our production of vitamin D. 

Americans are constantly told not to venture outside without your SPF 100, but in reality, our bodies crave about 15-30 minutes of daily sunlight without the Banana Boat slathered all over our pasty bodies. (After that you'll probably want to bust out that Banana Boat though.) This is the way we were designed to obtain our daily dose of vitamin D, but for many this is simply not an option. Fear not! There in lies another option.

Oral supplementation is a great way for all the busy office gurus and Northern dwellers to get their daily dose of vitamin D. Look for vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) not vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol)! As far as dosage, it is possible to overdose since it is a fat soluble vitamin, but extremely unlikely as scientists think it could take millions of IU daily. A good place to start would probably be 4000 IU, but since our bodies can make 10,000 IU in an hour from mere sun exposure, any dose up to that should be fine, but perhaps unnecessary. In the winter months, you might want to try even more.

So now you're probably wondering what the myriad benefits of this miracle sunshine vitamin are... 

1) Vitamin D reduces systemic inflammation

2) It helps promote a healthy, balanced immune system

3) Vitamin D supports cardiovascular health

4) It promotes normal functioning of the nervous system

5) Vitamin D increases absorption of calcium from the small intestines

6) It promotes mineralization and growth of bones

7) Vitamin D can prevent autoimmune diseases, such as MS and inflammatory bowel disease

8) It can lead to the upregulation of genes that control as many as 80 different metabolic processes. 

9) Finally, optimal vitamin D levels can reduce your risk for most cancers, particularly breast and prostate

Obviously it's cheaper to just get out in the sun as much as possible. However, if you want to go the oral supplementation route, I recommend buying them in bulk on Amazon. I have found that the bigger the size you buy, the cheaper per unit, by far. And then, ta-da! You don't think about it (or pay for it) for months!

--Keely