Vitamin D Testing

Vitamin D – The Sunshine Hormone

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and pro-hormone. Vitamin D deficiency is a world-wide epidemic. Vitamin D deficiency has been identified across all age groups and in all populations studied around the world. Even those who are otherwise healthy are not immune to vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency is now recognized as an epidemic in the United States, even in Phoenix, Arizona the “Valley of the Sun”!

Vitamin D Deficiency in Phoenix | Scottsdale

Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with:

• Osteoporosis
• Migraines
• Increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease
• Autoimmune disorders including rheumatoid arthritis
• Cancer, including breast, prostate, and colon
• Cognitive impairment in older adults
• Fatigue
• Depression
• Hypertension
• Insulin resistance
• Metabolic syndrome
• Type 1 and type 2 diabetes

Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency

Even though the Phoenix area has plenty of sunshine, most people go to great lengths to avoid sun exposure. Vitamin D deficiency has several know causes:

Insufficient intake. Vitamin D deficiency can be caused by inadequate levels of vitamin D in food sources over a long period of time. Those who follow a strict vegetarian diet are at risk because most of the natural sources of vitamin D are animal-based, such as fish, fish oils, beef liver, cheese, fortified milk, and egg yolks.

Limited exposure to sunlight. Your body can synthesize vitamin D from sunlight, however the amount your body needs required the equivalent of full body (naked) exposure to sunlight for 20 minutes per day.

Dark skin. Skin with lots of melanin, the substance that gives skin and hair its color, reduces the skin’s ability to synthesize vitamin D in response to sunlight exposure. Studies have shown that older people with darker skin are at a particularly high risk of being deficient of vitamin D.

Age. As people age, their kidneys are less able to convert vitamin D to its active form. This puts them at an increased their risk of vitamin D deficiency.

Obesity. People with a BMI (body mass index) greater than 29 often have low blood levels of vitamin D. This because vitamin D is extracted from the blood by fat cells, reducing the amount available to the rest of the body.

The Vitamin D Blood Drop Test

The most accurate way to measure how much vitamin D is in your body is with a blood test. The good news is that it can be done quickly and painlessly with the Vitamin D Blood Drop Test at Body Beautiful Spa Phoenix | Scottsdale.

1. Purchase the Vitamin D Blood Drop Test Kit and follow the easy instructions for collecting the blood sample.
2. Mail the blood sample in the pre-addressed, pre-stamped mailer.
3. Meet with one of our doctors to review the test results and determine the optimal vitamin D supplement dosage for you.

Call Body Beautiful Spa Phoenix | Scottsdale at 602-522-9222 to schedule a Vitamin D Blood Drop Test Kit.

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