The Vitamin D Conspiracy
There’s a new trend out there, ladies and gentlemen. It’s not a stylish pair of shoes, nor a hot song and dance straight from South Korea, nor a baby stroller that doubles as a spaceship. Nope. It’s a vitamin.
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Vitamins haven’t always been trendy, but Vitamin D and its PR team didn’t let that stop them! Suddenly it seems like vitamin D is on magazine covers and in the headlines each week, and everyone I know is talking about the benefits and taking supplements and having their levels checked.
The other vitamins must be so jealous! You never hear anyone talk about vitamin K or vitamin A. It even has a catchy nickname: “The Sunshine Vitamin.” How many other nutrients sport an alias like this?
All jokes aside, until recently, the only time I heard about vitamin D was in relation to breastfed babies – my doctor suggested giving vitamin D drops to my infant because breast milk doesn’t always contain enough. But lately, everyone I know is talking “vitamin D this” and “vitamin D that.”
Vitamin D Importance
This past summer I blogged about how I’d been diagnosed with a vitamin D deficiency at my latest check-up. According to my doctor, Vitamin D is key in helping your body absorb calcium and low levels can cause things like osteoporosis and heart problems in women. That was enough to get me to sit up and listen. I coughed up $20 for Vitamin D supplements and ditched the sunblock…and ended up tomato-faced! (I’m fair-skinned to begin with).
Staying Healthy
Then, just as I began gulping down a big greasy pill everyday, my hubby was notified by his doctor during his annual exam that he too was vitamin D deficient, and that in men it can cause erection issues. Luckily, not a problem for us, but who wants to play with fire!? Pretty soon we were sharing that bottle of supplements and buying more.
Several weeks later, my husband’s cousin paid us a visit and was genuinely distressed to discover he’d left his own bottle of supplements at home. So, off to the pharmacy once again!
And the scientists seem to be riding this bandwagon, too! Just this week yet another study touting the benefits of vitamin D in the journal “Pediatrics” found that low levels during pregnancy impacts baby’s brain. Yikes!
So there you have it. Since I posted my blog, people have been coming out of the woodwork to say they’re in the same boat and have been wondering how to get vitamin D into their diets. Friends, co-workers and strangers on the internet — it turns out we’re all popping vitamin D pills and daring to get some sunshine. And if it’s supposed to make you smarter, healthier and sexier…who can blame us?
So, here I am, trapped in a conspiracy while the vitamin D gods laugh all the way to the bank. But hey, I can find comfort in the fact that for once, at least, I’m part of the trend.
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