The fat-soluble vitamins keep you vital, immune, sleeping, and hormonally balanced.
A powerhouse of immune, hormone, and metabolic energy.
D — A — E — K
The fat soluble vitamins are unique. And there are only four of them to learn.
The fat-solubles are deficient in nearly all diets! This makes supplementation essential.
It also presents a profound problem for most people as we age, but especially for those with chronic digestive or inflammatory conditions that impair nutrient absorption. These nutrients can become depleted quickly, often because they were deficient even before the health troubles started.
Trouble sleeping? Difficulty digesting? Fatigued? Not thinking clearly? Libido issues? Skin troubles?
If yes to any of these, there’s a good chance these four nutrients — the fat solubles — are involved in your challenges.
Food is Inadequte
Here’s another perhaps shocking fact: Virtually all daily multivitamins fail to provide doses sufficient to correct a deficiency. This partially protects people from overdose, but it also keeps people deficient.
The doses needed to resolve depletion are too high for general use.
Therefore, supplementing these four vitamins separately is potentially a very good idea for most people wishing to restore levels of these essential vitamins.
There’s two caveats, though: The fat-solubles must be balanced with each to avoid overdose — which is real, and very unpleasant.
In other words:
- Depletion (of the fat-soluble vitamins) is a real risk for all humans.
- Resolving those deficiencies likely requires an intentional plan.
- Imbalance between the fat solubles can cause relative imbalance and overdose.
- Overdose of fat solubles is very unpleasant.
So we’re left with a very important question: How do you get 1) enough of each fat-soluble vitamin without 2) overdoing them?
As a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, I’ve got nearly 15 years experience with these nutrients, and worked with thousands of people in helping them safely and cautiously find balance with these nutrients.
Let’s explore solutions, today!
Table of Contents
The (4) Fat-Solubles
How Long Does It Take To Learn These Four?
It’s not so difficult to learn these — there are only four of them. In just a few months, you can have a solid, experiential understanding of how each one affects you — good or bad.
Does it have to take months? Not necessarily! But I encourage you to not the rush the process of learning individual nutrients — ever.
Great harm can be wrought by taking any nutrient too long, or in too great of amounts. This risk is especially true for the fat-solubles. Why? Because they are soluble in fat. Which means they become stored in our fat tissue.
What’s the worst that can happen from overdose? You could have toxic levels of a nutrient stored in your fat cells, and every time you burn a little fat (exercise, going a few hours between meals), you release more of that nutrient. I’ve seen this hundreds of times, and it happened to me, too.
The antidote? Understanding the importance of balance, and taking your time as you learn.
FACTS:
The Fat-Solubles
Vitamin D
Info
The ‘sunshine vitamin’ is actually a group of steroid hormones — produced in response to UV-B light.
Vitamin D’s effects venture far beyond its role in calcium absorption — every single facet of the human body is impacted: from top to bottom, inside and out.
RDV
- 4000IU*/day
(*NOTE: Supplementing this amount daily is often dangerous).
Great Food Sources
- none
Products
Vitamin D’s Partners
Vitamin A & Magnesium
Other Co-factors:
Calcium
Vitamin K
(Weak Co-Factors)
(Selenium, Potassium, Vitamin E, Vitamin C)
Vitamin D Symptoms
Deficiency
Excess
To Raise
Vitamin D levelS
to LOWER
Vitamin D levels
When?
Via Sunlight
- Midday (or UV Index = 6-9)
Via Pills
- Morning or midday
- In deficiency, Vitamin D is energizing, but can sometimes induce sleep when taken in the evening.
Vitamin A
Info
A collection of pro-hormone nutrients that partner with Vitamin D.
Vitamin A enables Vitamin D to function optimally. Critical for vision and ocular health, along with metabolism, digestion, immunity, sleep, hormone balance, and more.
In a healthy liver, carotenes can be converted to real Vitamin A (retinol).
RDV:
- 4000IU/day
Great Sources:
- liver
(Sources carrotenes)
- Orange or yellow vegetables
- Dark green leafy vegetables
Products
These are the highest-quality, most effective Vitamin A products available.
Vitamin A’s Partner
Vitamin D
Other Co-factors:
Zinc
Vitamin E
Copper
Iron
UV light (degrades Vit A)
Vitamin A Symptoms
Deficiency
Excess
To Raise
Vitamin A levelS
to LOWER
Vitamin A levels
When?
Daytime
- In deficiency, Vitamin A is energizing yet can induce sleep and prevent insomnia. Therefore, evening supplementation is sometimes acceptable.
- Consider taking Vitamin A after sunbathing rather than before.
Vitamin E
Info
A collection of eight compounds make up Vitamin E — four tocopherols and four tocotrienols.
Essential for hormone balance, metabolism, skin, hair, teeth, immunity, and digestion. Make sure to supplement with a product with all eight forms of Vitamin E.
RDV:
- 100IU*/day
(* Vitamin E’s daily value is widely debated. Most advice rarely refers to all 8 forms. Exercise caution).
Great Sources:
- none
Products
This is by far the highest-quality, most effective Vitamin E product available.
Vitamin E’s Partner
Vitamin C
Polyunsaturated Fats
Other Co-factors:
Vitamin A
Zinc
Vitamin C
Calcium
Vitamin E Symptoms
Deficiency
Excess
To Raise
Vitamin E levelS
to LOWER
Vitamin E levels
When?
Morning
- Vitamin E can be extremely energizing. Avoid taking later than mid-afternoon if insomnia is a concern.
- Vitamin E can elevate glutamate, but its greatest effects on sleep come from 1) depleting co-factors Vit D and Vit A and 2) boosting the metabolism.
Vitamin K
Info
A group of dark-colored compounds.
Essential for blood clotting and calcium homeostasis, as well as many hormonal and metabolic functions. K1 is from plants, while K2 is from animals. Gut microbes can produce Vitamin K.
RDV:
- ~100mcg/day
Great Sources:
- natto (K2)
- various greens (K1)
Products
*Maintenance doses are less likely to create imbalances.
Vitamin K’s Partners
Vitamin D & Calcium
Other Co-factors:
Vitamin A
Copper
CoQ10
Vitamin K Symptoms
Deficiency
Excess
To Raise
Vitamin K levelS
to LOWER
Vitamin K levels
When?
Morning
- Vitamin K can be energizing and prevent sleep when taken later in the day (or when levels are elevated beyond its co-factors).
High-quality products you can trust.
Vitamin D
Jarrow Vitamin D3
Sunshine is a superior form of Vitamin D in summer weather.
Vitamin A
Whole Foods 365 Vitamin A
Beef liver is about the only food source of real Vitamin A.
This product is in many ways superior to liver, because it allows you to observe how this single nutrient affects you. With liver, many nutrients could be affecting how you feel.
Vitamin E
Jarrow Famil-E
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