sunshine hormone d3

Above is a diagram of how D3 is formed in the human body from UVB radiation from the sun.  I have just been reading this fascinating article by Jeff Bowles about the strange history and fascinating promise of vitamin D

http://www.thoughtsforconsciousness.co.uk/the-strange-history-and-fantastic-promise-of-vitamin-d/

Whatever your take on this article, if you live in the northern hemisphere and away from the equator, it is worth asking the question at this time of the year, where you are obtaining adequate supplies of the hormone, aka, vitamin D3.

As the height of the sun lessens during winter in latitudes far from the equator, the angle of the sun's rays is too low to shine UVB onto our skins and produce the hormone vitamin D in this way.  The ensuing deficiency is now thought to be connected to a myriad of diseases and ailments.  The consumption of unpasteurised dairy products, where the D3 was undamaged by heating and also contact with the lanolin from handling sheep and their wool were examples of traditional ways of topping up with D3.  Nowadays for various reasons such as changed lifestyles  D3 deficiency can easily happen.  This can occur even in summer due to indoor living and it is also important to be aware that the darker your skin, the more sunshine is needed to produce D3 so the more likely you are to get deficient in northern latitudes.  Between September and March is the time in Britain when we cannot obtain D3 from sunlight.

Vitamin D3 is sometimes known as the sunshine vitamin and is documented to increase levels of happiness

We use a D3 supplement from Premier Research Labs who are renowned for their quality control  The D3 in it is derived from the lanolin of sheep's wool.