Low Vitamin D is First and Foremost a Magnesium Deficiency
Have you ever been told that your Hormone-D (Vitamin D) is “LOW”? I have and unfortunately, I took Hormone-D supplements for a year or two. However, what most don’t realize is that a Hormone-D deficiency is first and FOREMOST a magnesium deficiency.
Virtually NO vitamin or mineral acts on its own. And Hormone-D is no exception to this, as it not only needs Vitamin A to become activated, but it needs A LOT of magnesium...to exist!
Magnesium is needed for almost every step in Hormone-D synthesis AND conversion from storage to active (yes, there are two different kinds). Yet, over 75% of America is magnesium deficient.
As I’ve talked about in my ‘Magnesium: Everything You Need to Know’ post, stress is the #1 culprit of deficiency. Even if you do have enough magnesium, however, there are other potential influencers of Hormone-D deficiency, like:
🥬Low-animal fat diets
🌑Where you live/lack of sunlight
🧴Use of sunscreen
⚡Liver and kidney function
☣️Consumption of herbicides like glyphosate
💊Statin medications
🔥Inflammation
Supplementing Hormone-D can cause:
➖Additional magnesium depletion
❎Suppression of retinol aka Vitamin A (required for Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) activation)
🦴Calcification of the soft tissues through potassium wasting
➕And many other issues...just check out my ‘Vitamin D Series’
Another factor to think about is that conventional medicine only tests for storage Hormone-D. You could have very low storage D, but very high active D and you wouldn’t even know it.
Supplementing Hormone-D might make the storage D on your labs look better, but at what cost?
When approaching Hormone-D deficiency, I always start with addressing stressors and drivers of inflammation, making sure my client is getting enough animal fats and potentially supplementing with magnesium. Looking at things from the holistic sense and not just numbers on a test, you can avoid unwanted side effects and make a true shift towards long-term health.
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This is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare professional before pursuing any changes to your personal healthcare regime.
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References
Deng, X. Song, Y. Manson, J.E., Signorello, L.B., Zhang, S.M., Shrubsole, M.J., Ness, R.M., Seidner, D.L., Dai, Qi. (2013). Magnesium, vitamin D status and mortality: results from US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001 to 2006 and NHANES III. Retrieved from: https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1741-7015-11-187.
Egles, M.J. (2013). The Calcium to Magnesium Ratio- Effect on Mortality. Retrieved from: https://www.naturalhealthresearch.org/calcium-magnesium-mortality/.
Innate Nutrition. (2020). Vitamin D: To Supplement or Not?. Retrieved from: https://www.innate-nutrition.com/blog/vitamin-d-to-supplement-or-not.
Innate Nutrition. (2020). Magnesium: Everything You Need to Know. Retrieved from: https://www.innate-nutrition.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-magnesium.
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