Category Archives: Vitamin D

Liposomal Vitamin D3/K3, Vitamin D, Vitamin K2

The Perfect Pair of Nutrients? Why Vitamins D3 and K2 go Together So Well

It’s fair to say we need a generous helping of vitamins and minerals in our diet to ensure we remain healthy and our body functions as it should. In that regard then, is there one vitamin or mineral that’s more important than another? Well, it’s probably best not to look at it that way. Do two or more of these nutrients go together better than the others? Again, it’s surely best to try and consume as many of them as possible. And yet, that said; there are two specific vitamins that do seem to pair off particularly well – and to that end are often available together as a natural supplement – the Vitamins D and K2.

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Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Vitamins & Minerals

Magnificent Magnesium: An Essential Super Nutrient

If you’re someone who’s nutrient deficient then you’re in for bad news. It’s because you’re consuming vitamins, minerals and other nutrients in the right quantities and to the right levels why you may get ill and not feel at your best a good deal of the time. If you seem to get ill more often than other people, it could well be because you’re nutrient deficient.

But how do you know for sure? And how do you know which nutrient – or nutrients – you’re deficient in? Well, that’s a bit tricky to ascertain, as lacking enough of a specific nutrient would likely be revealed by very specific symptoms – but then there are crossovers that suggest you may be lacking in another nutrient.

All that said, though, one of the leading nutrient deficiencies in adults is of magnesium, which isn’t that surprising given the roster of important things that magnesium’s responsible for in the human body; at least 300 different biochemical functions, in fact, that see it play pivotal roles in heartbeat rhythm regulation, energy production, enzyme and neurotransmitter function and the balancing of nitric oxide levels.

In fact, it’s estimated that as many as eight in 10 adults are deficient in this vital mineral; believe it or not. How do you know if you’re not getting enough magnesium through your diet? Clues could be if you tend to experience muscle aches and/ or spasms, poor sleep and digestion and anxiety and exaggerated worry. Yet, again, from this it would be hard to pinpoint you’re definitely lacking in magnesium, as they’re rather general symptoms – to that end, it’s best to check with a doctor or medical professional.

Not Enough Magnesium – What happens?

So much for what magnesium does in the body, but when it’s not present in high enough levels, what conditions can its absence help cause? The list’s a long one – underlining just how crucial the nutrient is to us:

  •  Alzheimer’s disease, glaucoma or multiple sclerosis owing to peroxynitrite damage1
  •  cardiovascular disease and hypertension1
  •  damage to the kidneys and liver 1
  •  impotence1
  •  increased premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms1
  •  mood swings and potential behavioural disorders1
  •  osteoporosis1
  •  recurrent bacteria- or fungal-based infections1
  •  restless leg syndrome1

How can you Boost your Magnesium Intake?

<style=”text-align: justify;”>It’s often said that increasing your magnesium levels via supplementation may cause disruption of your body’s nutrient balance. The thinking here goes that, because (in spite of its importance) we need relatively little magnesium compared to other vitamins and minerals, consuming large, regular amounts of magnesium could create an imbalance.

To that end, ideally one should seek to get their adequate helping of magnesium from their diet – along with all their other required vitamins and minerals – and foods that are rich in magnesium and advised for widening your diet include vegetables like avocados, bananas, black beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, mung beans, potatoes, spinach and Swiss chard, as well as nuts and seeds like almonds, cashews and pumpkin seeds2.

And yet, if for whatever reason, you’re incapable of altering your diet to include a fair number of such foods then the expert thinking is that natural supplementation’s an effective way to overcome Magnesium deficiency. This in no small part is because of, in addition to magnesium’s health-giving properties, its relationship with other nutrients in the body such as calcium – it’s thought that taking magnesium supplementation has the handy, added bonus of counterbalancing levels of calcium, should you also be taking supplements of the latter on a regular basis2.

Plus, if you go the magnesium supplement route it’s also likely to be of benefit if you find you tend to rely on antibiotics to beat infections (although, of course, other natural supplements may help you to avoid infections in the first place!). Why? Well, heavy antibiotic use may result in damaging your digestive tract to the extent that magnesium isn’t absorbed from nutrient-rich foods2. Something to think about.

Magnesium Supplements

The following magnesium-based supplements are all available from The Finchley Clinic:

True Food MagnesiumTrue Food Magnesium –  Offers a highly bioavailable, potent food form of magnesium for enhanced absorption.


Magnesium Malate 120Magnesium Malate – Provides 100mg elemental magnesium per capsule, as well as Malic acid.


Vitamin C 500mg capsuleBioCare Vitamin C – A Magnesium Ascorbate supplement that provides Vitamin C as well as magnesium, in addition to bilberry extract which comprises flavonoids, a potent source of antioxidants.


References:

1. Johnson S. ‘The multifaceted and widespread pathology of magnesium deficiency’. Med Hypotheses. 56 (2): 163-70. Feb 2001.

2. ‘Should you be taking magnesium supplements?’. https://draxe.com/magnesium-supplements.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Muscle health, Vitamin D, Women’s health

IBS and muscle-strengthening: what Vitamin D supplements can do for you

Now that we’re in the summer months, it seems fitting to take this opportunity to talk about Vitamin D. Perennially associated with sunshine, Vitamin D’s an umbrella term for a group of fat-soluble secosteroids, two notable examples of which are vitamins D3 (cholecalciferol) and D2 (ergocalciferol), whose most common consumption method is through the skin via the UVB radiation of the Sun’s rays. Also relatively well known is that if young children are deficient in Vitamin D it can lead to rickets, a form of the bone-softening condition osteomalacia.

But what else? What else do we know about Vitamin D? Well, for a lot of people, that’s probably about it, even though, predictably enough, that’s really only the tip of the iceberg. Indeed, recent research has linked deficiency of this particular vitamin to two – intriguingly – very different but widespread ailments: irregular bowel syndrome (IBS) and loss of muscle strength in post-menopausal women.

That ‘leaky gut’ feeling

Our intestines are home to a whole host of Vitamin D receptors, which enable the nutrient’s presence there to protect the intestines’ lining, thereby preventing inflammation and so-called ‘leaky gut’ and, thus, the development of IBS. The condition doesn’t just result in discomfort, diarrhoea, pain and embarrassment, but is often linked to stress, anxiety and depression – research results have shown that its sufferers can often demonstrate undeniably higher levels of anxiety and depression than non-suffers1. Potentially affecting people’s quality of life then, IBS is a big deal – not least because at least one in five people (20%) suffer from the syndrome.

And IBS’s link to Vitamin D deficiency shouldn’t be understated – a recent study for the British Medical Journal discovered that more than four in five (82%) of IBS patients were deficient in it. Unsurprisingly then, supplemented Vitamin D was proved to do them a great deal of good. According to the conclusion of the three-month study, those who’d taken Vitamin D supplements not only saw increased levels of it in their bloodstream, but their final results also suggested a big correlation between their Vitamin D status and improved ‘quality of life’2.

Build up your muscle strength

Only a fool would suggest that the menopause isn’t a complicated and often difficult time in a woman’s life. And, with all the hormonal changes going on in the female body at this point, bone health can become an issue. Many may not be aware, though, that muscle strength – or lack of it – can also be a concern thanks to ‘the change’. Both during and after menopause, oestrogen levels decrease and this can result in sarcopenia – a gradual, ongoing drop in muscle mass.

Is this enormously serious? Well, inside muscles, Vitamin D acts on special receptors, helping to drive up the mass and strength of the muscle as well as becoming involved in protein synthesis, which enables muscle contractions; thus, it plays a critical role in healthy muscle function. All this means that, due to Vitamin D deficiency, post-menopausal women can be at risk of potential frailty (and so reduced mobility) as well as frequent falls. And it can also help drive that particularly unpopular side-effect of menopause, weight gain – because it leads to a lower metabolism.

Inevitably then, help can come from boosting Vitamin D. A recent nine-month study, conducted at Sao Paulo State University in Brazil, found that post-menopausal women who had received Vitamin D3 supplementation enjoyed a 25% increase in muscle strength, while conversely, a similar group of volunteers receiving a placebo instead actually lost muscle mass – and experienced twice as many falls as those taking Vitamin D3.

Optimisation through supplementation

The results of these studies, as well as the fact IBS and muscle softness among post-menopausal women is common, is sadly not surprising (at least in this country) when one considers that four in every 10 (39%) of UK adults experience low vitamin D levels when the sun’s at its weakest in the winter. Indeed, ageing adults (the most likely to spend a good deal of time indoors) are most vulnerable to this nutrient deficiency4.

It’s pretty clear then that most people could probably do with optimising their Vitamin D levels. The trouble is, of course, this is easier said than done, as for half the year in many parts of the world (and, again, certainly in the UK), there isn’t much in the way of sunlight from which to gain it. So the answer? Supplementation. Happily, there are many supplements that contain Vitamin D on the market and, through The Finchley Clinic, you can get hold of the following examples, all of which we obviously recommend:

Vitamin-D3

 

  • Bio-D – liquid-based; 100 ius of Vitamin D per drop
  • Bio-Mulsion – also liquid-based; 1,000 ius of Vitamin D per drop
  • Vitasorb D – 12.5 ius of Vitamin D per drop (low dosage for children and sensitive individuals)
  • Suntrex D3 – vegan-friendly, lichen-derived form of Vitamin D

 

References:

11 Hyun Sun Cho et al (2011) “Anxiety, Depression and Quality of Life in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome”. Gut Liver. 5 (1): 29–36

12 Tazzyman S. et al (2015) “Vitamin D associates with improved quality of life in participants with irritable bowel syndrome: outcomes from a pilot trial”. BMJ Open Gastro 2: e000052.

13 The North American Menopause Society (NAMS). “Vitamin D3 supplementation helps women build muscle even after menopause: new study demonstrates vitamin effectiveness in reducing degeneration and risk of falls.” September 2015.

14 NICE. “Vitamin D: increasing supplement use in at-risk groups”. November 2014. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph56 Accessed 30/10/2015