Which essential vitamin made Dr. Steph's top Happiness Helper? And why are so many of us deficient in it?
Raise your hand if you want to feel good? Raise both if you're stoked we have access to Dr. Stephanie Daniel who shared her top happiness supplement recommendations with us.
Dr Stephanie, founder of Functional Medicine SF and protoge of best selling hormone author Dr. Sara Gottfried, had these on her happiness supplement list:
1. High quality multi vitamin laden with minerals
2. Omega 3s
3. Vitamin D
Omega 3's are found in cold water fish and are all the brain and beauty rage. Being important for memory, skin/hair/heart health and critically balancing the ratio of Omega 6 overload from our Western diet, I expected Omega 3 to make the list. However, I was surprised at Vitamin D getting a top three spot- especially when I got my tests back to find how dangerously low I was in this super hormone / vitamin.
Apparently it would surprise most people - as most of us are deficient in it. "Our current indoor professional lifestyles and northern geography away from the sun's sharpest rays has left many of us deficient in Vitamin D thinking we get enough from our dairy."- Dr. Stephanie Daniel of Functional Medicine SF. Turns out, the Vitamin D3 we need isn't the kind found in dairy but rather the sun & supplements.
Who knew?
Dr. Daniel's added, "unless we are naked by the equator for good chunks of the day, we are not getting enough Vitamin D. People taking 5000 mg a day aren't over doing it. The benefits are vast- it goes way beyond bones."
Apparently Vitamin D is actually a hormone in the cholesterol chain- which is in the sex hormone family like testosterone & estrogen to my surprise. Consequently, Vitamin D has direct affects on mood that I was completely unaware of. Here's to our happiness!