vitamin D plays an absolutely vital role in your body's overall health & wellness.
You may be surprised to learn that your genes have a significant impact on how much vitamin D your body can actually use. At Beyond Healthy MD, we believe everyone should have access to personalized recommendations to maximize their health optimization, hormone balance, gut health, weight reduction, and even the visible signs of aging that come with inadequate amounts of vitamin D. Read on to find out how to make sure your body is getting enough vitamin D.
The importance of vitamin D
Did you know that vitamin D isn’t actually a vitamin? Rather, it’s a hormone that’s absolutely vital to your overall health and wellness. Vitamin D aids your body’s anti-inflammatory response, is important for skin health, bone health, hormone management, fertility, and sleep cycle management, and can even help with weight loss and reduce the risk of heart disease. At Beyond Healthy MD, we know the importance of taking steps that optimize the amount of vitamin D your body is able to absorb, which is why we focus on curating regimens to safely and effectively look and feel younger.
The converter: the CYP2R1 gene
The first gene involved in the process of getting vitamin D to your cells is called the CYP2R1 gene. It is responsible for converting inactive vitamin D - known as vitamin D2, which mostly comes from sunlight and plant-based foods - into active vitamin D3 that can be used by the body. Certain foods, such as red meat, liver, oily fish, and egg yolks, already come in the active D3 form, meaning the CYP2R1 gene does not need to convert them.
Suppose you have a suboptimal version of the CYP2R1 gene. In that case, Beyond Healthy MD can provide you with personalized recommendations to make sure you’re adding enough vitamin D-rich foods with active D3 forms to ensure your body is maximizing its vitamin D absorption.
The transporter: the GC gene
The next step of the process involves the GC gene, which is like a school bus that takes the activated vitamin D on a ride to the place where it will do its job. If you have the suboptimal version of the GC gene, your body won’t be able to transport enough available vitamin D in one trip, meaning some of it will get left behind and stored in fatty tissue where it can’t be used. Beyond Healthy MD can help customize a vitamin D supplementation plan based on your genetics and blood level measurements.
The binder: the VDR gene
The VDR gene is responsible for the last step of the process. It picks up the vitamin D from the school bus stop and binds it to the vitamin D receptor, where the vitamin D can begin working to your health benefit. If you have the suboptimal version of the VDR gene, it’s more difficult for vitamin D to reach this crucial last step. Beyond Healthy MD can help identify sources of vitamin D that are best suited to your needs and create a plan to optimize your vitamin D level in the body.
Measure your vitamin D level and look at the genetic reason you may be suboptimal
If one or more of the three genes involved in vitamin D utilization are suboptimal, your body probably isn’t getting the vitamin D it needs. Beyond Healthy MD can help you figure out the best way to get enough vitamin D based on your exact genetics. At Beyond Healthy MD, our goal is to bring health optimization, hormone balance, gut health, weight reduction, and medical aesthetics to everyone through the power of personalized health and genetics.
It's time to take control of your own health by exploring the impact of genetics on vitamin D absorption. Beyond Healthy MD is here to help you customize a supplement, lifestyle and diet plan that works to optimize your body's utilization of vitamin D so you can look, feel and live your best life. Unlock the keys to genetic health and book a call today to start your health optimization journey.