Suzi’s Sexi Secrets

Suzi asks Gynecologist and health educator, Dr. Machelle Seibel, about the importance of vitamin D

Do you know your vitamin D level? Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin. Since 10 million Americans over age 50 and over 40% of the entire population are low in this essential vitamin, Dr. Seibel is finding low levels every week among his patients. But the reality literally ‘came home’ recently when three of his family members were found to have low levels. And, I just went to the doctor for my regular check-up and asked her to check my vitamin D level. Glad I did, because it was extremely low and she gave me a tiny capsule to take once a week.

We get vitamin D when sunshine stimulates our skin to make it from precursor hormones. Vitamin D is also found in fish, egg yolks and fortified grain and dairy products like milk. But for a whole lot of people, that’s not enough; especially as we age and the vitamin D making ability of our skin reduces. Safe sun exposure is a powerful and inexpensive intervention that can have profound benefits on your health. 15 minutes of exposure to natural sunlight daily is very important for nutrition and essential for mental health, bone density, vitamin D production and other health benefits. So, ask your doctor to check your vitamin D level and take a vitamin D3 supplement if it’s too low.

Vitamin D is essential for getting calcium into our bones and teeth. It also helps keep our muscles strong, our moods up, and our arteries free from plaque, and low levels are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer and heart failure. If your vitamin D level is low and you treat it, you’ll feel stronger, better, and lower your risk for some pretty heavy-duty illnesses.

Dr. Seibel stresses, “You need at least 600 IU/day before age 70 and 800 IU/day after that just for maintenance. Take a multivitamin. To see if you need a higher dose, ask your doctor to get a vitamin D blood test called 25(OH)D.”

So, spread the word and share my sexy secrets—

Suzi Kirsh