항상 피곤하다면 비타민D 결핍 의심해봐야

항상 피곤하다면 비타민D 결핍 의심해봐야

Is this the surprise reason you're always tired?

How vitamin D can give you more energy and lower blood pressure
Published:  18 January 2016

 

 

 

항상 피곤한 느낌이 든다면 태양 자외선에 피부가 노출됐을 때 체내에서 합성되는

비타민D 결핍을 의심해봐야 한다는 연구 결과가 나왔다.

 

 

Research was recently released that said that boosting vitamin D intake can raise energy levels

 

스코틀랜드 퀸마거릿대학교 이마드 알두자이리 박사 연구팀을 인용,

항상 피곤함을 느낀다면 비타민D 결핍을 의심해봐야 한다며 햇볕을 쬠으로써

가장 효과적으로 비타민D를 섭취할 수 있다고 조언했다.

 

 

비타민D는 피부가 태양 자외선에 노출되었을 때 체내에서 합성되며 매일 피부의 10%를

자외선에 15~30분 노출하는 것만으로도 충분한 비타민D가 만들어진다.

이렇게 얻어진 비타민 D는 신체 에너지 수치를 증가시키고 혈압을 낮추는 역할을 한다고 알려졌다.

 

 

알두자이리 박사 연구팀은 실험 참가자들의 자전거 운동 능력을 비타민D 섭취 이전과 이후로

나눠 분석했고, 그 결과 비타민D를 충분히 섭취한 실험 참가자들이 더 적은 힘으로

더 많이 자전거를 탈 수 있었다고 밝혔다.

알두자이리 박사는 비타민D 결핍은 피로 유발뿐 아니라 인슐린 저항 증후군, 당뇨, 류머티즘 관절염,

특정 암 발병 등과도 관련이 있다고 경고했다.

 

하지만, 현대인들은 비타민D의 가장 효과적인 섭취 방법인 햇볕 쬐기를 의도적으로 피하고 있다.

 

늘어난 실내생활 때문에 낮 동안 자연스럽게 태양에 노출되는 빈도가 낮아졌을 뿐 아니라

자외선으로 유발되는 피부암과 피부노화를 피하고자 햇볕을 쬐지 않으려는 노력까지 기울인다.

이로 인해 영국에서만 1천만 명이 비타민D 부족 상태인 것으로 파악되고 있다고 데일리메일은 전했다.

 

특히 여성들은 선크림으로 태양 자외선 노출을 차단하는 경우가 많아 남성보다 더 많이

비타민D 결핍에 시달리는 것으로 나타났다.

전문가들은 햇볕을 통해 비타민D를 섭취하는 것이 좋지만, 결핍상태에 있다면 의사의 권고에 따라

보충제를 먹는 것도 좋다고 설명했다.

비타민D가 풍부한 식품에는 기름기 많은 생선(연어, 참다랑어, 고등어), 버섯, 계란 등이 있다

 

 

 

 

Catherine Ostler often feels exhausted at the end of the day

A routine blood test found her vitamin D levels to be very low

She started taking a supplement and found her energy levels improved 

 

 

As a mother to three children under 12, I expect to feel totally exhausted at the end of the day. What I didn't realise, though, was that a lack of an essential vitamin could be to blame for my paltry physical stamina.

A while ago, during a series of blood tests for some imaginary ailment (no doubt tiredness related), my levels of vitamin D - essential for the absorption of calcium - were found to be very low.

The doctor didn't seem to think this was significant but, as my mother, aged 78, has osteoporosis, I thought perhaps I should take a supplement. The condition, where bones become brittle, has been linked to a lack of vitamin D, although there are strong genetic factors as well.

 

I'd probably have thought little more of it, but last month, I read about intriguing research which found boosting vitamin D intake can raise energy levels and lower blood pressure.

In the study, by a medical team in Edinburgh, volunteers were asked to cycle for 20 minutes. They were then given either a placebo or vitamin D and, two weeks later, were asked to cycle for 20 minutes again.

Those who'd taken the vitamin D were able to 'cycle longer with less effort' and showed diminished levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which can also cause raised blood pressure as it narrows blood vessels.

Vitamin D deficiency is a peculiarly contemporary phenomenon. The most efficient way of absorbing what is an essential vitamin is through sunlight directly on the skin.

 

But, ironically, in our bid to avoid sun damage - a contributory cause of both skin cancer and premature ageing - many of us just don't get enough.

Indeed, some ten million people in the UK are estimated to have low levels of Vitamin D.

Though the Scottish study only had 13 participants, its lead author, Dr Emad Al-Dujaili, of Queen Margaret University, is convinced of its importance.

'Vitamin D deficiency is a silent syndrome linked to insulin resistance, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and a higher risk for certain cancers,' he says.

 

It all sounds so convincing I decide to conduct my own experiment to see if boosting my vitamin D levels would have a similar effect. First, I arrange for blood tests through online service Medichecks. My baseline reading for vitamin D comes back as 53 nmol/L, which is just within the 'normal' range this time.

The truth is, experts don't agree on where the optimal range, or even 'normal', is, though 25 is considered severely deficient. Nutritionist Dr Marilyn Glenville (marilynglenville.com) says: 'Some laboratories define more than 75 as normal and 80 to 100 as optimal.'

She, too, believes Vitamin D deficiency is one of the health stories of our age. 'Research shows vitamin D can be anti-inflammatory and that, aside from osteoporosis, its levels affect cardio health, type 2 diabetes, breast cancer, joint pains, allergies, fertility and immune function,' she says.

'The trouble is, we have so taken on the skin cancer message - plus sunscreen is in women's skin creams, so we tend to be worse off than men - that we are even seeing the return of rickets.' Rickets is childhood bone malformation caused by a lack of vitamin D and cereals were fortified to try to see it off.

SUNNY SIDE UP 

While the sun is the best source of vitamin D, it is also found in oily fish, mushrooms and eggs

My blood tests also record a mid-range level of cortisol, the fight or flight 'stress' hormone, again implicated in inflammation. My blood pressure, meanwhile, is fine.

The next step in my experiment is the bike test, which I do in my gym. I manage 10.1 km in 20 minutes and feel pretty tired when I come off. Then, for the next two weeks, I take a daily vitamin D supplement with food. Vitamin D3 is the best sort to raise vitamin D levels. It's important to get the right amount so do consult a doctor or nutritionist. Too much vitamin D can be toxic so, as I am under eight stone, I go for 1000 iu which is the maximum the NHS advises people to take without specific medical advice; that will still give me twice the recommended daily amount.

A few days in, I begin to think - imagine? - I feel perkier in the mornings and less manic at bedtime. Ten days in, and I even have enough energy to go for a short run, much to the children's amazement. By the end of the two weeks, I'm not exactly bouncing out of bed but I do feel more focused and somehow, stronger, like the voltage has been turned up.

The results of new blood tests show my vitamin D levels have risen and although my resting heart rate is the same, my blood pressure has gone down slightly and so have my cortisol levels.

The moment of truth, though, is on the bike. I cycle again for 20 minutes and this time I cycle 11km - a boost of 0.9km - and I could easily have carried on.

Grand claims are made for Vitamin D these days, but I will say this: I am going to carry on taking these supplements whole-heartedly because they really do make me feel better. And that is pure, unadulterated sunshine.

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