Vitamin D and It’s Role in Hormone Health
Vitamin D deficiency is SO common. There’s research showing that approximately 35% of adults in the United States have vitamin D deficiency. Why does this matter? Well, this vitamin (or pro-hormone) plays a role in so many functions in our body. As most of us know, it’s critical for building bone, but it can also reduce inflammation, reduce occurrence of illness and may even reduce cancer cell growth. And although it’s such a simple deficiency to test for, most doctors aren’t doing adequate testing to ensure their patients aren’t deficient.
If you live down south, sun exposure may help you vitamin D levels, but individuals in the north and northeast regions of the U.S. struggle to get adequate sunlight exposure. The amount of time in the sun you need for your body to produce a sufficient amount of vitamin D varies depending on where you live and what season it is. But, as a physician, I always recommend everyone supplement with vitamin D regardless, because chances are, you’re probably not getting enough.
What is Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is responsible for absorbing calcium and phosphate, which are all essential for strong bones and teeth. It is mostly produced in the skin in response to sunlight exposure and a little bit may also be absorbed from the foods we eat. Vitamin D has many roles in the body aside from just keeping our bones strong. It plays a role in reducing inflammation, modulating cell growth, improving immune function, and supporting glucose metabolism, ALONG WITH…helping our hormones thrive.
How Does Vitamin D Impact My Hormones?
Vitamin D can impact many hormones in the body including estrogen, progesterone, parathyroid, thyroid, cortisol, and other sex hormones.
The vitamin regulates the production and activity of estrogen and progesterone, which can help keep hormones balanced. Studies have shown that women with high levels of estrogen who supplemented with vitamin D until their levels were in an ‘optimal’ range, ended up lowering their estrogen naturally (1). As we know, estrogen dominance is very prevalent in women of reproductive age these days so it’s beneficial to get your vitamin D levels tested!
Vitamin D also increases progesterone levels in it’s active form. For patients struggling with infertility, maintaining pregnancy, menstrual irregularities, or PCOS, the clinicians at Reformed Natural Therapeutics always check vitamin D status and recommend supplementing if it’s not within the optimal range. While we’re on the topic of pregnancy, research has found that Vitamin D exerts many physiological activities during the very early stages of gestation in perfect synchrony with progesterone. Both the molecules mutually help and reinforce the activity exerted by each one. A little bit later than progesterone is released, vitamin D secretion rises, but only if pregnancy occurs (2).
Switching over to talking about men now, vitamin D deficiencies are positively correlated with low testosterone levels. Symptoms of low testosterone include low libido, low muscle mass, poor muscle growth, hair loss, fatigue, and erectile dysfunction. It has also been shown that low vitamin D levels poorly effect sperm quality and quantity. This is why it’s so important to test BOTH partners when there is difficulty with conception.
In terms of other hormones, vitamin D deficiency is considered a risk factor for developing thyroid disorders, including autoimmune thyroid diseases (Grave’s and Hashimoto’s) and thyroid cancer (3). At our clinic, we encourage patients to run a full thyroid panel annually, which includes TSH, free T3, free T4, and TPO antibodies. As we age, especially women, we are at an increased risk of developing hypothyroidism, so it’s important to do everything we can to prevent this from worsening.
Other Things Vitamin D Can Affect…
Bone Health - vitamin D helps maintain strong bones, along with other minerals like calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and vitamin K. As we age and our estrogen decreases, we’re more at risk for developing osteopenia/osteoporosis. Supplementing with vitamin D is crucial (along with making other dietary and lifestyle modifications) in order to maintain strong bones and prevent fractures.
Mood - depression and anxiety can be correlated with low levels of vitamin D.
Immune Function - vitamin D helps our immune system fight off bacteria and viruses by enhancing the function of our immune cells. It also reduces the inflammatory response of some white blood cells and increases the production of proteins that fight microbes.
Cancer Development - Higher vitamin D levels have been consistently associated with reduced risks of colorectal cancer and, to a lesser extent, bladder cancer. There is also a well-documented association between vitamin D intake and the risk of breast cancer.
Autoimmune Disease - Low levels of vitamin D have been associated with the development of MS, IBD, SLE, RA, PsA, ankylosing spondylitis, and autoimmune thyroid conditions, as discussed above (4).
What Is ‘Optimal’ Range?
The standard range of vitamin D provided by most lab companies is as follows:
Deficiency: < 20 ng/mL
Insufficiency: 20 - 30 ng/mL
In range: 30 - 100 ng/mL
Overdose: > 150 ng/mL
Every practitioner is going to have a different idea of what ‘optimal’ is, however, I like to have my patients in a range of 60-80 ng/mL. This is considered ‘optimal’ for maintaining bone health, heart health, improving chances of pregnancy, and more!
How Do I Increase My Vitamin D?
Our body doesn’t produce vitamin D on it’s own, so we have to get it from external sources.
Food - mushrooms, eggs, cod liver oil, tuna, salmon, swordfish, sardines, milk and juice fortified with vitamin D
Sun exposure - having your skin absorb the rays is never a bad idea in terms of vitamin D. However, it’s always important to wear sunscreen whenever you’re outside, especially during times of day when the sun is strongest.
Supplement - 1,000 - 2,000 IU is the typical maintenance dose that I recommend for patients who are already at the optimal range. If you’re deficient, talk to your physician about what dose you should be taking.
Summary…
All in all, get your vitamin D levels checked! This is a simple blood draw and insurance covers the test if it is coded for properly. Vitamin D status influences our hormones, sperm, fertility, mood, energy, bone health, immune system and more. Make sure you talk to your doctor about whether you’re within the optimal range of 60-80 ng/mL and how much you should be supplementing, if you need to. Naturally, we can find sources of vitamin D in mushrooms, eggs, and many fish, along with the sun, of course.
*This article is for educational purposes only, please consult a physician prior to starting new medications or supplements.
References:
https://www.fredhutch.org/en/news/center-news/2016/02/vitamin-d-linked-to-reduced-estrogen-and-breast-cancer-risk.html#:~:text=At%20the%20end%20of%20the,known%20risk%20factor%20for%20breast
Monastra, G., De Grazia, S., De Luca, L., Vittorio, S., & Unfer, V. (2018). Vitamin D: a steroid hormone with progesterone-like activity. European review for medical and pharmacological sciences, 22(8), 2502–2512. https://doi.org/10.26355/eurrev_201804_14845
Babić Leko M, Jureško I, Rozić I, Pleić N, Gunjača I, Zemunik T. Vitamin D and the Thyroid: A Critical Review of the Current Evidence. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Feb 10;24(4):3586. doi: 10.3390/ijms24043586. PMID: 36835005; PMCID: PMC9964959.
Athanassiou, L., Kostoglou-Athanassiou, I., Koutsilieris, M., & Shoenfeld, Y. (2023). Vitamin D and Autoimmune Rheumatic Diseases. Biomolecules, 13(4), 709. https://doi.org/10.3390/biom13040709