Vitamin D Pregnancy Elixir

Vitamin D and Pregnancy: Why it Matters

Not only does vitamin D support your baby's growth and bone development, but it also regulates placental function, blood sugar, and insulin levels, leading to improved glycemic control and significantly lowering the risk of gestational diabetes. Multiple studies also show that vitamin D intake substantially reduces the risk of developing preeclampsia and having a preterm birth. This alone makes adding vitamin D to your daily regimen essential for your and your baby's well-being..

Vitamin D and Sunshine

Vitamin D deficiency worldwide is extremely common, mainly due to our lack of exposure to sunlight and partly due to lack of consumption of vitamin-D rich foods, such as fish. Sunlight, though, is our best and most efficient use of vitamin D (Srivastava).

How Much Sun?

Determining how much sunshine you need is really difficult and depends on many factors, particularly your skin tone, the amount of sunlight available in your area., and the season, especially if you live above the 37th parallel.

Above the 37th parallel

About half of the year, from late March to September, the sun is high enough above the 37th parallel to provide the vitamin D exposure you need. During the winter months, the suns angle is too low to provide enough UVB rays for vitamin D production. The shaded area on the United States map represents everything north of the 37th parallel. If you live in Europe, you live above the 37th parallel,

Optimal exposure to the sun

Weekly recommended exposure is 2-3 times per week, between 10 am and 4 pm, for 5 to 30 minutes at a time, depending on your skin type.

Skin type affects vitamin D absorption

A simple guideline for determining sun exposure for a particular skin type is to use the Fitzpatrick scale to estimate your skin's reaction to UV light (burning/tanning), which is a valuable guide for lighter tones, but it has limitations for darker tones.

Keep in mind, once you turn pink, you have a sunburn! If you're unsure of your sun tolerance, consider limiting yourself to half the time it takes your skin to turn pink. After you have soaked up the sun, apply sun screen, cover up, or sit under some shade.

Fitzpatrick Skin Types & Sun Exposure (General Guidelines)

• Type I (Very Fair): Burns easily, never tans. ~5-10 mins to burn.

• Type II (Fair): Burns easily, tans minimally/lightly. ~10-20 mins to burn.

• Type III (Medium): Burns moderately, tans gradually. ~20-30 mins to burn.

• Type IV (Olive/Light Brown): Burns minimally, tans easily. ~30-50 mins to burn,

• Type V (Dark Brown): Rarely burns, tans deeply.

• Type VI (Black): Never burns, tans deeply.

If you are not getting enough sun exposure year round, it is recommended you consume foods high in vitamin D and take a supplement.

Amount of skin exposure

You can dress barely to the buff when soaking up the sun, if you would like, because it is actually your skin that needs ultraviolet light to produce vitamin D. However, exposing your face, arms, hands, and legs is sufficient. And, leave off the sunscreen for those few moments of exposure you need to generate this important vitamin for both you and your baby.

Insufficient sun exposure

If you feel that you are not getting the sun exposure needed to generate vitamin D, it is recommended you consume vitamin D rich food sources or take a supplement.

Vitamin D Food Sources

Mushrooms

Mushrooms exposed to ultraviolet light (UV), either sunlight or lamps, are a good source of vitamin D. But if you want to get vitamin D from mushrooms, you probably should become a connoisseur of the fungal kingdom. Depending on the variety, growing conditions, and exposure to UV light, specialty-grown mushrooms labeled "vitamin D" can supply fair amounts of vitamin D, similar to animal-based D3 (Cardwell).

Fortified food with vitamin D

You can get some of your vitamin D requirements by consuming foods fortified with vitamin D in breakfast cereals, milk products, yogurt, orange juice, and plant-based milks, such as almond, oat, or soy milk.

Dairy, eggs, and liver

Other foods, such as cheese, egg yolks, and beef liver have very small amounts of vitamin D.

Fish and it's partner, Omega 3

Foods highest in vitamin D include fatty fish, such as salmon, trout, and tuna. Fish sources of Vitamin D and Omega-3s pair well. The cold-water fish that provide rich sources of Vitamin D also provide essential omega-3 fatty acids. Unlike vitamin D, however, omega-3 fatty acids cannot be derived from sunlight.

Delicious D3 rich fish

Although fish is a great source of vitamin D, fish alone will not meet your daily requirements.

Food	Vitamin D3, IU
Rainbow trout, farmed, 1 filet	539
Pink salmon, canned, 3 ounces	493
Wild salmon, 3.5 ounces, varies with type	500-1000
Farmed salmon, 3.5 ounces	200-250
Canned, light tuna, 3 ounces	231
Sardines, canned, 3 ounces	164
Cod liver oil, 1 teaspoon	450

Vitamin D Supplements

Prenatal vitamins usually contain the recommended RDA, which is 400 to 600 IU a day. However, most experts agree that it is safe to take 4,000 International Units (IUs) a day during pregnancy or lactation. If you live in the most northern hemisphere, higher doses may be necessary.

When selecting a vitamin D product, choose one with a good fat as a “carrier.” You store vitamin D in your fat cells, so a good fat source helps with absorption. The most common is organic olive oil.

See if you can find vitamin D with Vitamin K2. In addition to the benefits of vitamin D, studies also show that both Vitamin D3 and K2 work together to maintain proper calcium levels. Calcium reduces the incidence of high blood pressure and preeclampsia.

Talk to your provider about your vitamin D levels and supplementation. It is highly recommended that you get your vitamin D levels checked. The normal range is 30.0 to 74.0 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL).

You can find supplements that are both fish based and plant based. Check out My Favorite Supplements for suggestions on vitamin D sources.

Sources

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