Vitamin D and Kettlebells

Last week I went to the doctor to find out why I was so sluggish along with other symptoms that have been building over this past year.  After many blood tests and such, I found out I have a Vitamin D deficiency.  

Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids, the two major physiologically relevant forms of which are vitamin D₂ (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D₃ (cholecalciferol). Vitamin D without a subscript refers to either D₂ or D₃ or both. Vitamin D₃ is produced in the skin of vertebrates after exposure to ultraviolet B light from the sun or artificial sources, and occurs naturally in a small range of foods.

Vitamin D is of utmost importance for your body because its role is to help your body use the calcium and phosphorus from your food. It also regulates normal cellular differentiation thus preventing cancer and helps insulin secretion.

New research suggests it may also help protect against chronic diseases such as cancer, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and autoimmune diseases.

Yet many adults have low blood levels of vitamin D. Vitamin D is not abundant in our usual food choices, so we get most of the vitamin from sun exposure and multivitamins. The problem is that the sun is not a reliable source for everyone.

The season, time of day, geography, latitude, level of air pollution, color of your skin, and your age all affect your skin's ability to produce vitamin D. Further, the form of Vitamin D found in most multivitamins is vitamin D2, which does not deliver the same amount of the vitamin to the body as the more desirable D3 form.

My doctor had prescribed D2 at a very high level.  I still felt very sluggish throughout the week.  With the urging of a friend, she suggested to switch over to a high level of D3 for a week to see if this would be better for me.  I took the higher D3 yesterday, and I  do feel a little better today.  I will track this during this second week to see how I am feeling.  This could mean that not only is D3 better for us, but it may work faster too.

So why is D2 being prescribed instead of D3 if D3 might be better for us?  D2 is the only form that physicians can prescribe.  Hmmm...it does make me wonder about all the politics behind prescriptions and pharmaceuticals.  D3 is a natural source unlike the synthetically processed D2 counterpart. It is a shame that an industry that is supposed to make you feel better might be prescribing medicine and supplements that may not be as efficient as a natural supplement. 

I do give my wonderful doctor credit for figuring out my deficiency, and I am very thankful to her for possibly solving the mysteries of my health woes for so many years.

Since I was feeling better today, I tried a new workout.  Yes, on to kettlebells!  I have been getting into this form of workout because it works your overall body and tones while providing you with the cardio.

The newest DVD in my collection is the Kettlebell Goddess Workout with Andrea Du Cane, a senior Russian kettlebell expert.  The DVD is split up into sections so you can choose what type of workout to do: Upper, Lower, Cardio.  Plus it has warm-up and cool down sections.  The workout is thorough in the types of kettlebell exercises.  I am learning some new ones.  I would prefer a little more instruction for form and alignment, but their teaching by good example is good.  The only other negative comment is the fact that it has no music, which makes it a little too serious.  However, I did put on some music in the background which perked up the workout for me.

This workout is very old school, but effective in teaching proper form and the moves by example.   I can see this helping me apply better technique to other kettlebell workouts in the future.

With both the Vitamin D situation and Kettlebell workouts, I realize that life is a series of little trials and experiments.  We can listen to others for advice since that is what we are all here for, to help each other.  Ultimately though, it comes down to listening to yourself, finding what is right for you, and making the changes for a better life.

Love and gratitude,


SDF:O)