If you've got more jiggle in your middle than you'd like, Italian researchers have just uncovered a shockingly easy fix: vitamin D. Turns out, when we get just-right amounts of the nutrient, it literally quadruples the speed at which a healthy diet will slim us down-and specifically targets unhealthy fat plumping our belly. "Vitamin D is a huge deal for weight loss, and almost everyone I test is deficient at first," reveals popular YouTube health expert and Tennessee family doctor Ken Berry, M.D., who notes that the older we are, the lower our levels tend to be. "Take easy steps to get your D up, and you're going to find it so much easier to lose meaningful amounts of weight." Women increasing their D intake even report shedding up to 25 pounds in just 10 days!
We get vitamin D from foods like salmon, eggs, mushrooms and fortified milk. “The body also makes vitamin D sing cholesterol in our skin and UVB rays from the sun,” explains Dr. berry. One hitch: Older and darker skin can inhibit D production. So can sunscreen, gloomy weather and eating lots of low-nutrient processed food. No wonder over 80% of us have subpar D levels, putting us at risk for chronic tiredness, frequent illness and osteoporosis (since D helps cells make energy, bolsters immunity and keeps bones strong). Low D can also be the surprise culprit behind a “spare tire”…
The skinny on D and ab flab
When our kidneys activate vitamin D, “it actually becomes a hormone,” shares Columbia University–trained nutrition expert Fred Pescatore, M.D. “All hormones ‘talk’ to each other, and if one is off, it throws others off.”
Notably, low D is linked to an excess of insulin, the hormone that stores sugar
This story is from the January 16, 2023 edition of Woman's World.
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This story is from the January 16, 2023 edition of Woman's World.
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