The right supply of D3 in the cold season

Especially in the last third of the year, the sun vitamin becomes more and more important. Find out why this is so and with which simple tips you can achieve an optimal vitamin D value. Do you actually know what vitamin D3 has to do with sheep?

From summer to autumn
After a very hot summer, the cooler autumn sometimes comes in handy. The magic of colorful autumn leaves, decelerated walks in wonderfully refreshing air and a cozy cup of tea in my favorite armchair, are images that immediately come to my mind for the 3rd season. I like autumn very much and yet it has its downsides not only figuratively speaking.

Autumn is not just felt by the plants, but also for us humans and our organisms changes a lot. In addition to the falling temperature, the hours of sunshine also become fewer. At the same time, the sun shines with less and less intensity throughout the autumn and into winter - less and less UV light reaches the skin.

Why is UV light important for us?

Your body produces vitamin D3, also known as the sun vitamin, only when exposed to sunlight. It has a simple but ingenious recipe for this:

Cholesterol + UV light = vitamin D3

While in summer at midday about 10 minutes with a little bit of free skin are enough to produce enough vitamin D, the production drops in autumn and even comes to a complete standstill from November to February.

Actually, the body is prepared for this and builds up a depot for these times, which secures the supply over the winter. This is because vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin and can be stored very well in the fat cells and in the liver as a reserve.

The prerequisite for this is, of course, that sufficient vitamin D was formed in the summer and not only the daily requirement was covered. Otherwise, in winter at the latest, one slips into a deficiency, which can have an effect on the immune system, muscle function and bones, among other things.

Vitamin D3 fulfills about 80 different functions in the body and is often scientifically studied in various contexts. Even though there are still many questions regarding vitamin D3 - one point is fact - it is absolutely important for the human body.

The vitamin D status can easily be determined in the blood, just talk to your doctor about it. A small prick is enough to safely start the winter with a good vitamin D store.

4 tips for the fall:

- Make the most of the sunshine

- Spend a lot of time outdoors

- Get your vitamin D levels checked

- Supplement with high-quality vitamin D3 if needed

Worth knowing: Vitamin D3 is not just vitamin D3

Vitamin D3 is usually derived from sheep's wool. The wool wax, also known as lanolin, is washed out of the previously shorn wool and then irradiated with UV light in a purified form. This corresponds to the natural formation of vitamin D3. In sheep, the vitamin is created from the wool wax by spending time outdoors and is then reabsorbed by their bodies. For us humans, a similar process takes place. UV radiation from the sun converts cholesterol - a fat - into vitamin D3. Even though this form of production only indirectly uses an animal, many vegans reject this D3. Shearing the sheep is necessary and not harmful, but the keeping conditions are still criticized.

As a vegan variant, vitamin D2 is still in circulation today, which can be found in mushrooms, for example. It is a very similar molecule, but there are doubts whether it is as effective. According to current knowledge, D2 is not a full substitute for vitamin D3.

With regard to vitamin D3, there is only one variant that is truly vegan. It is a product derived from lichen. The vitamin D3 itself is 100% identical in structure to that produced in our bodies and is called cholecalciferol just like the non-vegan product.

The question of which form to use in supplements very often depends on various factors. In terms of effectiveness, the two sources do not differ, that is a fact. But in price, because the manufacturer has to pay a lot more for vegan vitamin D3. A step that not everyone is willing to take. But for us it is more than an alternative - for us it is the only right choice.

"When the value is clear, decisions are easy." - Roy Disney

So, enjoy the sparse hours of sunshine and treat yourself to enough vitamin D.

Yours, Tina from dunatura