Boost your fertility with vitamin D
*Originally posted on May 22, 2009
As the sun seems to be hiding a bit more these days and the fact that it’s getting colder here in Michigan, it seems like a good time to cover vitamin D again. Plus, as an added bonus, it’s great for the immune system!
What is it?
Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and exists in several forms. Some of these are basically inactive in the body and have limited ability to function.
Why is it important for fertility? Well, you need it in order for your body to produce sex hormones. And without the right amount of hormones in your system, you can suffer from pcos, PMS, and infertility. Vitamin D is also key in regulating cell growth and deciding how those cells grow.
A study was done by the Yale University School of Medicine (source) with 67 women suffering from infertility. Only 7 % of them had normal vitamin D levels! 7%! The rest had either insufficient levels or an actual clinical deficiency.
Dr Lubna Pal, from Yale, said: “Of note, not a single patient with either ovulatory disturbance or polycystic ovary syndrome demonstrated normal Vitamin D levels; 39 per cent of those with ovulatory disturbance and 38 per cent of those with PCOS had serum 25OHD levels consistent with deficiency.
“Given the pandemic of Vitamin D insufficiency, if indeed our observations are substantiated, aggressive repletion with Vitamin D may emerge as an alternative approach to facilitate ovulation resumption with minimal to no risk for ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome or multiple pregnancy.”
Those are some pretty large percentages too! Almost 40% of the women with ovulation problems had clinical deficiencies! Obviously, vitamin D is important to our reproductive system.
How you get it
Food is the best source of vitamin D, and the easiest way to get it is to eat fatty fish, eggs, and grasssfed beef products (especially dairy). If you do have a hard time getting it in your diet (or don’t like fish or are wary of toxic mercury), supplementing with cod liver oil is also helpful in making sure you’re getting enough. (another great reason to take cod liver oil is the fact that it has the right ratios of vitamin A and D in it1) And just make sure if you buy supplements that the ones you buy contain vitamin D3 and not D2 which actually does not raise the blood levels of vitamin D.
And as most of you know, you can also get vitamin D from the sun. About 15-20 minutes of exposure (without sunblock as it blocks the ultraviolet light needed for vitamin D production) a day can be very beneficial. The sun actually causes your skin to produce vitamin D3 which is then converted by the liver and kidneys to the active hormone form of vitamin D. With proper sun exposure, your body can actually produce up to 10,000-25,000 IU of the vitamin.
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Great Post! Vitamin D is so important for our health!
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I’m finally getting together a co-op to get grassfed meat – so excited! My 11-month-old daughter was in the sun the other day – just 10-15 minutes – and she got a bit pink. I’m hesitant now! It was right at midday, picnic lunch time, so I know I should be more careful about timing. But what to do when you’re just outside and it’s the wrong time? I don’t trust the chemicals in sunscreens…do you have any natural alternatives?
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This is very interesting about vitamin D and infertility.
I've been irregular my whole life except for an exchange in university where I went to a tropical country, so this makes sense. I've been TTC for one year, so I'm going to get me some vitamin D supplements today.
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i’ve been under treatment for infertility for 8 months. last week my doctor tested my vitamin D level. he just called to tell me i was waaaay below the healthy level and told me to go out and buy a vitamin d3 supplement! from what i’ve read on the internet of the research that’s been done, i’m hopeful that this can make a difference. funny thing is i live in Arizona- the so-called “valley of the sun”, but apparently i’m spending too much time inside
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donielle Reply:
January 11th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
@carrie, I would definitely try and get some fermented cod liver oil from http://www.GreenPastures.com then! It’s high in vitamin D as well as A (which I’ve recently found out is essential for absorbing vitamin D). Taking the oil plus a D3 supplement should really help bring your levels up! Hope it’s the answer you’ve been looking for!
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Great information! Just to add: Vitamin D is technically a hormone, so unless one is deficient, one must be careful about obtaining too much from a supplement (it accumulates in your body, rather than eliminating if not needed). Also, the BEST source of Vitamin D is the sun. But we must get direct sun on our bodies for 5-15 minutes a day, a few times a week- that means no sunblock! I live in sunny Southern California, and was shocked when my vitamin D levels were low a few years back.
Good luck everyone!
Jenny
http://www.greentidings.blogspot.com
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donielle Reply:
April 2nd, 2010 at 4:25 pm
@Jenny, Yes, definitely one of those things you don’t want to much of.
One of those crazy “balance” things. Thanks for the reminder!
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Great site Donielle! Happy to see that you are bringing up the importance of vitamin D.
I live in Canada and for half of the year we are indoors and when we are outside in the winter, we are totally covered up…resulting in an obvious lack of vitamin D. I recommend supplementation in the form of D3 to all of my clients (for fertility enhancement and general health). I personally take 5000IU (with food) in the winter and 2000IU in the summer.
I also encourage people to get their blood levels tested for vitamin D (25 hydroxy D). This is a simple addition to any regular blood test and can help determine the amount of supplementation necessary. It also reduces the chance of vitamin D toxicity (which is very, very rare…occuring only with certain medical conditions).
I will be sure to send my fertility clients to your site to take advantage of your great resources!
All the best.
Drew
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donielle Reply:
August 11th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
@Drew Nesbitt, Thanks Drew! What exactly do you do?
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Donielle,
I practise Traditional Chinese Medicine & Acupuncture as well as Orthomolecular Nutrition with a focus on natural fertility enhancement, menstrual issues and menopause in Toronto, Ontario.
Let me know if you ever need an expert in TCM to comment or if you would like to post some of my articles on natural fertility for your readers.
Take care!
Drew
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