How Does Vitamin D Help Your Gut? 5 Benefits
Vitamin D till now was a solution to bone problems, as people see it as a bone-strengthening vitamin.
However, recent studies brought a new twist to the story of Vitamin D.
Vitamin D has its way of benefitting your body in quite different ways. From improving immunity to balancing hormones, its range of benefits surprises anyone who uses it.
But all of its benefits have a common route of existence—the gut!
Vitamin D and gut have a direct relation, and hence, you can now rely on the vitamin for your gut health too!
There are multiple reasons why you should trust the vitamin for your overall health. In short, here’s how vitamin D can help your gut turn happier and healthier.
How Does Vitamin D Help Your Gut?
The primary role of Vitamin D in healing your gut is its effect on the microbial environment of gut flora.
Your gut has a diverse microbiome consisting of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and some other microorganisms.
Unlike the pathogenic variants of these microorganisms, the gut microbes have an essential role to play in keeping your body healthy.
Their function is mainly to break down the nutrients you ingest and supply them into the bloodstream to be distributed to the entire system.
Some of them also help in producing certain vitamins and minerals that your body needs for smooth functioning.
But the question is what's the link between Vitamin D and these organisms? Let's find out as we present you with some of the studies that show the direct link.
Vitamin D and Gut Microbiome - Science and Studies
A study from researchers at the University of California found a link between Vitamin D levels and the microbiome of the gut.
For this, 567 men having perfect or excellent health status were selected.
On analyzing their stool and blood samples for the concentration of vitamin D, and its by-products, the results gave solid proof that vitamin D contributes to gut health.
Out of the 567 participants, men who had higher concentrations of vitamin D showed 12 types of healthy gut bacteria.
But will these bacteria help in improving gut health? Well, we understand that curiosity, and hence you need to understand the role of these microbes in your gut health.
Vitamin D and Gastrointestinal Problems - Role of the Gut Flora!
By increasing the diversity of the gut microorganisms, Vitamin D can help deal with several digestive and other health problems.
#1. Breaking Down Nutrients
There are several nutrients that the enzymes of our body cannot digest alone. In such cases, the microbes present in the gut flora produce the specific enzymes required to break down the nutrients.
The lytic actions of the microbes result in better digestion and absorption of these nutrients.
Hence, with healthy Vitamin D levels, you would never lose out on nutrients.
#2. Reducing Inflammatory Risks
The presence of different microbes in different sections of the gut results in varying environments of the gut.
For example, the stomach has an acidic environment for healthy digestion.
Any imbalance in the bacterial levels can cause inflammatory diseases in the gut like inflammatory bowel disease or Crohn’s disease.
Vitamin D gut inflammation suppressing mechanism works in two ways, firstly by balancing the gut bacteria, and secondly by its anti-inflammatory properties.
#3. Healthy Metabolism
By balancing the gut flora, Vitamin D can be your accessory for weight management.
Imbalances in the microbial flora of the gut can slow down the metabolic breakdown of products in your digestive system.
Hence, Vitamin D deficiency can be linked to excess weight gain and fatigue with lethargy due to the resulting lack of energy.
#4. Preventing Gut Diseases
A common gastric condition, leaky gut, can be prevented by regulating Vitamin D levels in your body.
A leaky gut is a condition where the walls of the stomach become so thin that even minor toxins and undigested particles of food can enter the bloodstream.
This can be the reason behind several diseases and health risks.
Vitamin D can prevent such leakage of unwanted substances into the blood by keeping the tight junctions in the lining of the gut intact.
Although there isn't much research supporting the link between vitamin D and a leaky gut, maintaining the gut flora could help protect the lining too.
#5. Healthy Bowel Movements
Bowel movements are essential for the healthy digestion of food and the breakdown of nutrients.
The vitamin D bowel movement connection comes from the effects of vitamin D on smooth muscles.
It helps in maintaining the relaxation and contractions of the smooth muscles present in the gut by regulating neuro-muscular interactions.
However, utilizing the vitamin for its benefits is dependent on proper vitamin D digestion and absorption.
For healthy digestion and absorption of vitamins, your gut should be healthy too.
In short, the acidity in your gut and the enzymes present in the gut have to be at their optimum levels for digestion and absorption of the vitamin.
Since most people do not have such optimum gut health, Vitamin D deficiency is a common problem.
Let's help you deal with this problem and get the most out of this vitamin.
Vitamin D Sources for a Healthy Gut
There are two forms of Vitamin D, inactive forms and active forms. The active forms of Vitamin D are the ones that have major health benefits.
The easiest way to increase the concentration of active forms of Vitamin D in your body is sunlight.
Sunlight converts the inactive forms of vitamin D in your body into active forms.
You can also consume Vitamin D foods like fatty fish, egg yolks, milk products, mushrooms, and fortified foods.
However, as foods cannot provide you with the required per-day dose of Vitamin D, people often opt for Vitamin D supplements.
There are many such supplements available in the market that have natural ingredients to up your Vitamin D levels.
The importance of Vitamin D for the gut is proven and that could be the only reason why some probiotics like Yourbiology Gut+ also list Vitamin D as one of the ingredients. Yourbiology Gut+ is a probiotic formula with 10 live strains of bacteria.
The manufacturers have recently decided to include Vitamin D as a part of its composition to support better mood and gut flora. Moreover, Yourbiology Gut+ reviews have been positive and people have remarked about a noticeable difference in their gut health.
Final Note
The connection between vitamin D deficiency and digestive problems is well understood now!
Vitamin D aids in balancing the microbial flora of the gut which is important for healthy functioning of the digestive system.
A healthy digestive system automatically reduces your risk of developing health conditions by supplying your body with healthy nutrition.
Overall, vitamin D, by healing your gut, heals your overall body.
Hence, do not let your diet stay incomplete and add some Vitamin D to your meal plan, and make sure you grab onto the best sources of the vitamin when deciding your platter.