By Caylie Warkentin
You know those moments in late autumn when the rain begins to fall continuously, pattering on the roof in an endless cacophony that lulls you to sleep and you can’t recall the last time you actually saw the sun? Or that day in November when you replace your runners with rubber boots and your SPF with self-tan? For those of us who live in Northern climates or places where sunlight becomes scarce during certain times of the year, you’ve likely created routines and cultivated habits that help you cope with decreased sunlight.
For some, though, insufficient sunlight is linked to a deficiency in vitamin D and this has the potential to lead to prolonged feelings of lethargy and sadness, particularly for those living in Northern climates. So when the blues become feelings of listlessness rather than music you once danced to, it’s important to ensure that you’re receiving adequate levels of vitamin D by incorporating supplements and fortified products into your everyday routine. Sufficient levels of Vitamin D enable calcium absorption, promotes strong bone density and overall good health, and can protect against damage from free radicals like environmental pollution.
Here are four key ways to help maintain sufficient levels of Vitamin D.
1. Exposure to sunlight
The most abundant source of sunlight is from the sun. Vitamin D exists naturally in our bodies and is released and converted into the usable form of Vitamin D3 when sunlight comes into contact with our skin. For people with a low amount of melanin in their skin, a sufficient level of Vitamin D can be achieved through fifteen minutes of sun exposure. For people with more melanin in their skin, it might be closer to twenty-five minutes. Physical barriers, like SPF and clothing, can also influence how much Vitamin D we receive from the sun. Other elements, like age, skin tone, and geographic location, also influence how much sunlight is absorbed into our skin.
2. Fatty fish, fortified foods, and egg yolks
Certain foods like fatty fish and oysters contain high amounts of Vitamin D. Wild salmon is rich in Vitamin D3 – just 100 grams of the oily fish contains 50% of the daily recommended intake of Vitamin D. Egg yolks are also high in Vitamin D3. Mushrooms contain high levels of Vitamin D2, which they produce when they come into contact with sunlight. This means that wild mushrooms and mushrooms grown under ultraviolet light are richer in Vitamin D than conventionally grown mushrooms. Other foods are fortified, like certain cereals and even orange juice. There are few plant-based food sources that contain high levels of the vitamin, which is why many food products are fortified, and why people often take supplements.
3. Supplements
Supplements can be a necessary part of a wellness routine when exposure to sunlight is limited. Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) supplements come in capsule and oral tablet form and can be an integral part of a vitamin regimen for those who do not have consistent access to sunlight. Both forms of the vitamin are effective at increasing levels of Vitamin D in the body, though a majority of studies point to Vitamin D3 as being the more efficacious form of the vitamin, yielding a higher amount of calcifediol in the body – the metabolized form of Vitamin D.
4. And now in beauty products!
Not only can you find a safe boost of Vitamin D in your medicine cabinet, but you can also find it in your makeup bag. We designed a lip product that offers a safe and essential boost of plant-derived, organic Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol). This is a synthesized, vegan formulation of Vitamin D3. In cosmetic products, this vitamin can be absorbed topically and can be safely ingested. While our lip care is first and foremost a cosmetic product, the booster amount of Vitamin D is a perfect complement to your supplement regimen, if you have one.
We believe that our beauty products deserve supplements just as much as we do. The integration of essential nutrients with our daily cosmetic products blends beauty with wellness to ensure that our outward glow begins first and foremost with our inner health.
Sources
Arnarson, Atli. “Vitamin D2 vs. D3: What’s the Difference?” Healthline, 4 March 2018. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-d2-vs-d3#Supplements-101:-Vitamin-D. Accessed 24 January 2022.
"The Guide to Immune -Supporting Foods, Vitamins, and Minerals," Goop, https://goop.com/wellness/health/food-for-immune-system-support/?ref=newsletter&nlptrk=Story3-edit-wellness-vitaminguide-reader-versiona&utm_source=Emarsys&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=20220217-newsletter-thursday-reader&utm_content=gwyneths_makeup_free_secrets--&sc_uid=J4nRuBzXyy&sc_src=email_1773545&sc_lid=172478262&sc_llid=24400&sc_eh=b846dd29a064b8171
Hill, Ansley. ”7 Effective Ways to Increase Your Vitamin D Levels.” Healthline, 17 March 2019. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-to-increase-vitamin-d#Supplements-101:-Vitamin-D Accessed 24 January 2022.
Lu, Z., Chen, T.C., Zhang, A., et al. “An Evaluation of the Vitamin D3 Content in Fish: Is the Vitamin D Content Adequate to Satisfy the Dietary Requirement for Vitamin D?” US National Library of Medicine, 2007, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2698592/. Accessed 24 January 2022.
“Vitamin D.” Harvard School of Public Health, https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-d/. Accessed 24 January. 2022.
