Skin & Vitamin D

Vitamin D – the sunshine Vitamin.  Unfortunately in the Northern hemisphere we do not get quite enough sunshine to achieve optimal required nutrient intake, therefore it is useful to top-up your Vitamin D levels through diet and indeed lifestyle measures.

There are two forms of Vitamin D; D2 and D3.  Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) typically derives from plant foods, whereas Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is acquired through animal foods and sunshine.  Both these versions support human health in areas such as immunity, mood, musculoskeletal (bone & muscle) health, gut microbiome polybiosis (where the gut↔skin axis kicks-in), blood pressure regulation and of course skin health.

So, what are the benefits of Vitamin D for skin health?  The skin’s keratinocyte cells in the epidermis are the primary source of the body’s Vitamin D storage.  The skin’s keratinocytes are also responsible for activating the body’s principal Vitamin D receptor (the ‘VDR’), through which the body is then able to convert the Vitamin D it gains from sunlight into its active and most bioavailable form.  (Were the skin’s Vitamin D receptors to be disrupted, the skin would lose its ability to regulate the proliferation of cells in the basal layer triggering hyperproliferation, alongside compromising skin barrier permeability and risking greater vulnerability to immune system over-activation.)

Vitamin D is also a useful anti-inflammatory which is helpful for subduing symptoms of dry skin conditions.  Ensuring you are not vitamin D deficient also contributes to skin cell repair (useful when the skin is injured/damaged), growth and metabolism, (remembering that our skin cells are constantly renewing and migrating from the stratum basale base skin layer to the stratum corneum surface ‘inactive façade’ skin layer), as well as supporting the skin’s own immunity and acting as a protector from free radical inflammatory influences which may trigger premature and exaggerated aging.

So how can we prop-up our diet with Vitamin D?  As a starting point, the following foods are rich in Vitamin D;

• Oily Fish – for example smoked salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, herring.  The recommended intake is three palm-sized portions per week.

• Eggs – the yolk is where the majority of Vitamin D resides.

• Red Meat – just a portion per week is typically recommended as red meat may also be quite pro-inflammatory.

• Mushrooms (primarily Vitamin D2) - chanterelles, morels, oyster, shiitake; be creative with your once-or-twice weekly portion(s).

NOTE: Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin so needs a fat base/carrier to successfully implement digestion and absorption into the systemic places where it is most needed.  This is also why we need a bit of fat in our diet and on our bodies, otherwise we may struggle to acquire the fat soluble Vitamins A, D, E and K.

Vitamin D is also useful alongside Magnesium which helps convert Vitamin D into its active form, so including Magnesium-and-Vitamin-D- rich foods such as oily fish and eggs in your diet will ensure the Vitamin D does its best work both for your skin and systemic health.

It is also worth noting that our skin in able to synthesise (make) Vitamin D3 through exposure to natural sunshine.  Research suggests that when 25% of your body’s bare skin is exposed to natural sunlight (when the sun is at the top of its daily curve i.e. its highest point in the sky), spending just ten minutes (depending on skin tone, but no more than 25 minutes) of sun-on-skin time will suffice to effectively absorb a healthful quantity of Vitamin D.  However, it is important not to overdo this and to ensure you do not let your skin burn otherwise the consequences of too much intense sunshine directly on unprotected skin may have the opposite effect and could cause permanent skin damage.  It is also worth noting that Vitamin D is stored in our fatty tissues (hence skin) and our Liver, so it is quite durable.

So if you want a quick and easy way to boost your skin health, including several portions of Vitamin D foods in your weekly diet is a useful and systemically beneficial way to naturally bolster your levels.  Oh, and when the Sun is out remember to safely & sensibly embrace it for ten-fifteen minutes each day … a walk in the sunshine can also be very uplifting for your sense of wellbeing.

REMEMBER: if you are taking any medications always consult a Registered Nutritional Therapist as well as your Doctor before making significant dietary or lifestyle changes.  This blog post is written for educational purposes only and in reference to ‘food’.  It is NOT advocating taking dietary supplements.  This is especially important with Vitamin D, therefore it is very important to please always consult a Registered Nutritional Therapist or your Doctor before introducing any dietary supplements into your health regime as these qualified professionals will be able to offer personalised recommendations.

If you are struggling with skin and/or nutrient (im)balance issues and you want to discover the inspiring & sustainable diet & lifestyle programmes offered by Nutritional Therapy, get in touch via the Contact Me page on this website, or directly on info@eatdrinkthinknutrition.co.uk for more information about 1:2:1 Consultations with Eat Drink Think Nutrition®.