This isn’t an easy topic to write about nor is it an easy topic to find information about since it’s quite complex. However, we will share with you as much information as possibly can about this subject so that you no longer have any questions left un-answered by the end of this article.
We Must Include Vitamins In Our Diet
It’s vital to include vitamins and minerals in your diet to stay healthy and fight off diseases.Vitamin C and Vitamin D, often come up at the top of the list when we discuss the most helpful vitamins for the human bod.
Vitamin C Vs. Vitamin D
While getting enough vitamin C is helpful towards preventing colds, we are led to believe that we need more of it to get better and improve immunity. Easily obtainable and common foods such as fruits (strawberries, melon, tomatoes and citrus fruits) and vegetables (green leafy vegetables, cauliflower, broccoli and brussels sprouts) all contain high levels of vitamin C so a balanced healthy diet will supply more than enough.
On top of that, vitamin C isn’t as effective at improving our immune systems as we are led to believe. Advertising
Latest studies have shown a link between low vitamin D levels and higher cases of common respiratory infections. While it’s essential for bone health, vitamin D is multi-purposeful and is thought to be much better than vitamin C in its immunity role.
A study was conducted involving 19,000 participants using data from a national health survey between 1988 and 1994. Although these studies are just coming through and more research needs to be done, there are more and more strong links between chances of catching colds and low levels of vitamin D.
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Getting Enough Vitamin D For Our Body
This is why diet and supplements are key to getting the sufficient amount of vitamin D we need in order to help prevent colds and flu more efficiently.
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Foods such as egg yolks, canned tuna, liver, cod liver oil, fortified milk, and fortified cereals can give you a boost of vitamin D along with supplements ‒ and a dose of sunlight as vitamin D forms in our skin in response to the sun’s rays (just 10 minutes is enough). While upping your vitamin D intake may help towards preventing yourself from getting sick, a consistent daily intake is needed for it to have a successful effect. Vitamin D and The Common Cold
While more and more research is pointing to increasing your vitamin D levels to fight cold and flu, it’s important to realize that it only helps to boost the immune system and isn’t a preventative measure in itself.
So if you want to know how to prevent a cold this winter, reach for the vitamin D instead of the vitamin C and see if it makes a difference. Featured photo credit: David Mao via unsplash.com.
Effect On Bone
Vitamin D3 keeps your bones healthy by helping your body metabolize calcium, a principal component of bone mineral.