The Vitamin that Makes You Sexy

 Adequate levels of this vitamin ensure a good balance of sexual hormones (estrogen in women, testosterone in men), providing approximation to your ideal weight and a strong immune system.

Today we will learn how vitamin D influences weight loss, what concentration is required to maintain adequate levels of sexual hormones, and how it provides immune protection and, ultimately, anti-aging.

Vitamin D3 can be formed when a chemical reaction occurs in human skin, breaking down a steroid called 7-dehydrocholesterol by UVB light from the sun or so-called "tanning" rays. However, the amount of the vitamin absorbed can vary greatly.

When we synthesize vitamin D from the sun, it binds to the D-binding protein 100% and its effects last much longer than the concentration obtained through foods that contain it or from supplementation.

The following are conditions that decrease UVB light exposure and therefore vitamin D absorption:

• Using sunscreen: Properly applied sunscreen can reduce vitamin D absorption by more than 90%.
• Wear full clothing that covers the skin.
• Spending little time outdoors.

Please note that since ultraviolet rays can cause skin cancer, it is important to avoid excessive exposure to the sun and tanning beds should generally not be used.

 

Let's see how vitamin D makes you look sexy

1. The connection between vitamin D and excess weight loss

Several studies have shown that there is a high chance that overweight people have a deficiency of vitamin D because this vitamin is fat-soluble, meaning that it gets trapped in stored fat and cannot perform its function.

A study published by the National Library of Medicine showed that after 6 weeks of intervention, the means of weight, body mass index ( BMI ), waist circumference ( WCi ), and hip circumference ( WCa ) decreased significantly. Previous studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency was more prevalent in obese people and that there was an inverse association between vitamin D and BMI and WCi. The relationship between vitamin D and lipid profiles such as glycemic indices, anthropometric indices, C-reactive protein ( CRP ), and blood pressure is unclear and requires further study in the future.

Adequate levels of vitamin D ensure that insulin reaches the tissues, since it is insulin that “pushes” glucose into the cells and if there is not enough, both insulin and glucose are stored as fat.  In this order of ideas, a person who is resistant to insulin may have difficulty getting vitamin D into the cells.

The good news is that losing excess weight releases vitamin D from adipose tissue, opening the floodgates for you to enter wherever you want to go, as demonstrated by a study published in 2021.

14 male volunteers fasted for 8 days, resulting in increases in 24,25(OH)2D3 and 3-epi-25(OH)D3 levels, implying that fasting stimulates vitamin D metabolism. The effects of exercise on serum vitamin D metabolites, which are more pronounced after fasting and in subjects with serum 25(OH)D3 levels greater than 25 ng/mL, support the notion that fasting and exercise increase vitamin D metabolism.

 

2. Vitamin D and your hormonal health

After being synthesized in the skin, vitamin D is stored in the body's fat and released into the bloodstream to later become a HORMONE. Vitamin D transformed into a hormone regulates 5% or more of the protein encoded in the human genome. Imagine walking around without testosterone if you are a man or without estrogen if you are a woman; this is a steroid hormone, not a simple vitamin.

Vitamin D transports hormones, including sexual hormones, throughout the body. To achieve this, the concentration of vitamin D in a woman's body should be between 70 and 90 nmol/L of blood.

Another study shows that the active metabolite of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, regulates a number of enzymes involved in the production of steroid hormones, including adrenal steroid hormones and sex hormones, as well as sex hormone signaling.

 

3. Immune function

There are vitamin D receptors on immune cells and the reason for this is that when the vitamin D hormone binds to a receptor it activates a number of genes and as we know genes act by enabling the organism to respond to environmental changes, for example, in this case, regulating immune function. ( article )

There have been nearly 25 studies in which vitamin D deficiency was given daily or weekly to people with vitamin D deficiency, and in more than half of the people treated, the risk of respiratory tract infection was reduced with vitamin supplementation alone. Even in people who had normal vitamin D levels, supplementation provided a protective effect, reducing the risk of infection by a further 10%.

3. Anti-aging effect

According to a study published in the US National Library of Medicine, the active metabolites of vitamin D3 (D3) and lumisterol (L3) exert various anti-aging and photoprotective effects on the skin. These are achieved through immunomodulation and include anti-inflammatory actions, regulation of keratinocyte proliferation and differentiation programs to build the epidermal barrier necessary to maintain skin homeostasis.

In addition, they induce antioxidant responses, inhibit DNA damage and induce DNA repair mechanisms to attenuate premature skin aging and cancerogenesis.

Therefore, active forms of vitamin D3, including its canonical (1,25(OH)2D3) and noncanonical (CYP11A1-derived) derivatives, as well as L3 derivatives, are promising agents for the prevention, attenuation or treatment of premature skin aging and could be administered orally and/or topically.

Finally, it should be noted that sunbathing in a sunny office or driving a car does not help to obtain vitamin D, since window glass completely blocks UVB ultraviolet light.

 

Risk of vitamin D overdose

The tolerable upper intake for humans has been estimated at 4,000 IU per day, but studies have shown that even people who have ingested 10,000 IU per day for years have not suffered from hypercalcemia or any problems related to this intake. However, too much vitamin D is “said” to be toxic.

Ideally, however, you should have a blood test that can measure your vitamin D levels. There is a tendency for people with levels above 60 nanomoles per ml of blood to have a slight elevation of calcium without this being a cause for concern. However, there are meta-analyses of studies where vitamin K1 and/or K2 have been tested and found that both improved bone mineral density and protected against hypercalcemia.

If you're wondering what the difference is between vitamin K1 and K2, the answer is that K1 goes to your liver and is involved in blood clotting, and when there is enough vitamin K1 circulating in the body, this vitamin dislodges calcium from the bloodstream and places it in places where it needs to work, whether it's the bones or the muscles.

Vitamin K2, on the other hand, stays in the periphery and does not go to the liver, but instead simply takes calcium out of the bloodstream and into the bones and muscles. So when taking a supplement, you can choose one or the other, or both a couple of times a week.

Vitamin K1 is found primarily in dark green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale, and it can be so easy to supplement if you include them in your weekly menu.

Vitamin K2 is not so easily found in the Western diet, it is found mainly in some fermented soy products, such as natto, for example.  For this reason it is recommended that if you are going to use a vitamin D3 supplement that it contains vitamin K2.

Food sources containing vitamin D

Few foods are naturally rich in vitamin D3. The best sources are the flesh of fatty fish and fish liver oils. Egg yolks, cheese and beef liver contain smaller amounts.

Some mushrooms contain vitamin D2, and some commercially available mushrooms contain higher amounts of D2 due to intentional exposure to large amounts of UV light.

Many foods and supplements are fortified with vitamin D, such as dairy products and cereals. You would find the highest concentrations in descending order,

Cod liver oil

Salmon

Swordfish

Tuna

Orange juice enriched with vitamin D

Dairy and vegetable milks enriched with vitamin D

Sardines

Beef liver

Yolk

Fortified Cereals