Could a common nutrient be the antidote to being overweight in a country? Explore the amazing benefits of a vitamin that is hidden by the naked eye.
It was supposed to be a routine study …
Two years ago, at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Shalamar Sibley examined how reducing calories could affect the passage of hormones. Following a hunch, he decided to try one more variable: vitamin D. “Researchers have studied the relationship between obesity and low levels of this nutrient. So I started to wonder if their rates were related to the ability to lose weight if calories were cut. ”
His hunch was accurate. People with adequate levels at the beginning of the study tended to lose more weight than those with low levels, although they all reduced their calorie consumption in the same way. In fact, even the smallest increase in a key vitamin D precursor caused study participants to burn an additional 200 grams of fat.
For Dr. Sibley this vitamin may be our special ops agent in the war on body fat. According to Anthony Norman, professor emeritus of biochemistry at the University of California: “In the last decade, there has been a boom in vitamin D research.” For example, a study at Laval University in Quebec City found that people who consumed more vitamin D in their diet had less abdominal fat.
Can it be achieved by drinking milk and sunning? Not really. Just over a third of Americans lack this nutrient, even the youngest and healthiest who live in sunny places. And many more (above 50 percent) have below-ideal levels.
Michael F. Holick, professor of Medicine at Boston University Medical Center, tells us: “Lack of vitamin D is one of the conditions most frequently ignored by doctors, and that deficiency negatively affects every cell of your body… including fat cells ”.
GIVE ME A “D” … GIVE ME ANOTHER “D”!
One reason vitamin D has been under the radar of researchers for so long is because, more than just a vitamin, it is a hormone and plays an important role in many bodily processes. According to Dr. Norman, “In the past 20 years, we have found vitamin D receptors in up to 40 different tissues, including the heart, pancreas, brain, muscles, and cells of the immune system.” The doctor thinks of vitamin D as a multifaceted wonder of the body: heart disease? An adequate amount can equal exercise in your ability to fight them. Hypertension? It also helps stabilize your blood pressure. Diabetes? Vitamin D can also combat it. And add to this its potential to minimize memory loss and to prevent certain types of cancer (such as prostate cancer), even helping against the common cold. That is why it is not surprising that it also serves to prevent abdominal bulging. Here are some of the reasons why vitamin D can really be a key element in the battle against being overweight:
1 Eat less and you will be satisfied. When you have adequate levels of vitamin D, your body releases more leptin, the hormone of satiety. An Australian study showed that a vitamin D-rich breakfast controls appetite for the next 24 hours. In addition, Liz Applegate, director of Nutrition at the University of California, notes: “Their deficiency is linked to insulin resistance, which leads to hunger and overeating.”
2 You will store less fat. Michael B. Zemel, director of the Institute of Nutrition at the University of Tennessee, says: “When the amount of vitamin D is low, the levels of the parathyroid hormones (PTH) and calcitrol rise. And the high levels of these hormones make the body a miserable fat, stimulating it to accumulate fat instead of burning it.
3 You will burn more fat … especially from the abdomen. Vitamin D can help you kill the butter around you, but it’s particularly effective with the butter that accumulates on your belt. Studies from the Universities of Laval and Minnesota found that its consumption triggers weight loss in the abdominal region. According to Dr. Zemel, it works with calcium to reduce the production of cortisol, a stress hormone that encourages fat storage in the belly.
4 You will help your heart. Dr. Zemel found that a diet rich in dairy (calcium and vitamin D) helped people lose 70 percent more weight than a diet with the same number of calories, but with few of those foods. A German study showed that a similar diet reduces cardiovascular risk indicators, such as triglycerides.
And why don’t you just let the sun hit you?
When sunlight touches your skin, the vitamin D factory built into the body begins to produce it. And it is a variety that lasts twice as long in the bloodstream as when you consume it through a food supplement. For Dr. Holick, the problem is that to make enough, you would need to sunbathe daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and give way to skin cancer. The amount of vitamin D, derived from sun exposure, would still depend on your geographic location. People living in the north probably generate 10 to 20 percent of the vitamin D they need; regardless of whether it is April or June.
Are supplements the solution?
They are a good idea. In fact, the Institute of Medicine made a new recommendation: enrich both foods and supplements with vitamin D: to have 600 international units (IU) a day. But maybe not even that amount is enough. Dr. Anthony Norman tells us: “The Institute of Medicine is extremely cautious. Their guidelines are based on what they consider good for bone health, but not on needs to benefit the immune system, pancreas, heart, brain, or muscles. ” The Endocrinology Society recently released a consumption recommendation of 1,500 to 2,000 IU per day to maintain good health. Despite that recommendation, if you are overweight, you probably need more vitamin D. Body fat traps this nutrient and prevents your body from taking advantage of its qualities. According to Holick, obese people require two to five times the dose, but controlled by a doctor. What is perhaps less clear is the amount of vitamin D you will need if you are overweight, but you do not reach a degree of obesity, so in that case, a good bet would be between two and four thousand IU. The other problem with ingesting all that vitamin with a handful of pills is that at the end of the day you may not reap the benefits you expected. According to Holick: “Generally, dietary supplements that include vitamin D also have other components that contribute to weight loss.” In short: a supplement is just that … a supplement. What is perhaps less clear is the amount of vitamin D you will need if you are overweight, but you do not reach a degree of obesity, so in that case, a good bet would be between two and four thousand IU. The other problem with ingesting all that vitamin with a handful of pills is that at the end of the day you may not reap the benefits you expected. According to Holick: “Generally, dietary supplements that include vitamin D also have other components that contribute to weight loss.” In short: a supplement is just that … a supplement. What is perhaps less clear is the amount of vitamin D you will need if you are overweight, but you do not reach a degree of obesity, so in that case, a good bet would be between two and four thousand IU. The other problem with ingesting all that vitamin with a handful of pills is that at the end of the day you may not reap the benefits you expected. According to Holick: “Generally, dietary supplements that include vitamin D also have other components that contribute to weight loss.” In short: a supplement is just that … a supplement. The other problem with ingesting all that vitamin with a handful of pills is that at the end of the day you may not reap the benefits you expected. According to Holick: “Generally, dietary supplements that include vitamin D also have other components that contribute to weight loss.” In short: a supplement is just that … a supplement. The other problem with ingesting all that vitamin with a handful of pills is that at the end of the day you may not reap the benefits you expected. According to Holick: “Generally, dietary supplements that include vitamin D also have other components that contribute to weight loss.” In short: a supplement is just that … a supplement.
Meet the family
Fatty Fish Fatty varieties of fish include salmon and mackerel that contain four times the amount of vitamin D as other species. In addition, it offers higher levels of Omega-3, which together with vitamin D promote weight loss and inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Dr. Chris Mohr, Nutrition Counselor for Cincinnati Bengals, tells us: “Of course you also get the added benefit of appetite suppression.”
Dairy is also rich in the amino acid called leucine, which stimulates muscle growth and fat burning. Vitamin D and leucine may be the reason that dairy products are twice as effective as calcium supplements in promoting weight loss, “says Michael B. Zemel. Not all dairy is fortified, just a few brands of yogurt, at 30 percent of the daily value for every 30-gram serving.
Eggs Like fatty fish, eggs have Omega-3s and vitamin D. Few imagine that eating an egg for breakfast, while reducing calories, can improve weight loss by 65 percent, as well as decrease daytime appetite (according to two studies from Saint Louis University). Overload your vitamin D: buy eggs enriched with Omega-3 and not conventional eggs. Eggland`s Best eggs, for example, have much more Omega-3 and twice the vitamin D.