Anyone who has studied health and follows healthy eating patterns understands the importance of getting enough vitamin D in the diet.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of the population does not receive enough of this vitamin in their diet.  This is due to several different reasons including diet and geological location.

However, many are unaware that it plays an important role in stopping the excessive growth of candida in the body.  For those dealing with candida overgrowth, obtaining more vitamin D in the diet can have positive effects in the body.

That being said, what are some natural ways in which you can increase vitamin D levels in the body?  Also, is it safe to supplement vitamin D?

These are all questions that we’ve answered below plus more.  After reading through this post you will have a better understanding of this vitamin and its effect on both the immune system and fungal pathogens such as candida!

What is Vitamin D?

Despite popular belief, vitamin D is not actually a vitamin.  In fact, it’s considered a hormone and is naturally produced by the body.  Interestingly, the production of this hormone can only occur when the body receives stimulation from the sun.

The skin has receptor sites for vitamin D that naturally signal to the body to produce this hormone when sun makes contact with our bare skin.  In fact, full body sun exposure is often practiced and advocated by health gurus.

That being said, although the sun naturally stimulates the production of vitamin D, cholesterol is needed in order to properly synthesize this hormone in the body.  It’s for this reason that plant based diet are notoriously low in vitamin D despite how much sun exposure the individual may get.

It should be mentioned that the body will create it’s own cholesterol in survival situations.  However, if foods containing cholesterol are not consumed, cholesterol levels in the body will naturally drop overtime.  This can contribute to a vitamin D deficiency and is the primary reason that all animal foods contain a balance between vitamin D and cholesterol.

How Vitamin D can Help Candida

For those unaware, vitamin D is a potent immune booster.  In fact, this hormone helps to regulate several different aspects of the body’s immune system.  Research is clear that it plays an important role when it comes to overall immune system health and a deficiency can contribute to autoimmune disease and an increased susceptibility to infection (1).

Those suffering from pathogenic fungal overgrowth’s such as candida will want to make sure that they’re getting enough of this vitamin through both the sun and diet.  Those living further from the equator will need to make an extra effort of consuming vitamin D rich foods.

Interestingly, One study found that mice given vitamin D were less susceptible to developing a candida infection than mice who were not given vitamin D (2).  Another study revealed that patients with a candida infection in the bloodstream had lower levels of vitamin D than healthy patients who did not have a candida infection (3).

Unfortunately, due to the modern lifestyle and poor diet, most do not get enough of this vitamin in their diet.  Also, lack of specific animal foods in the diet such as heart, liver, and kidney is also to blame.  These foods are a rich source of the fat soluble vitamins A, D, and K and were consumed liberally by our ancestors.

Be Weary of Vitamin D Supplements

With all the hype surrounding the health benefits of vitamin D, many are quick to begin supplementing with it.  Although there may be some positive effects in the beginning when supplementing with vitamin D, long term use could lead to imbalances in the body.

For example, all animal foods naturally come with the perfect package of vitamin A, D, K2, and Cholesterol.  These nutrients work synergistically together in the body and help in the absorption process.  However, absence of anyone of these nutrients can lead to imbalances in the body.

For example, research has shown that both vitamin D and K2 work synergistically together in order to properly displace calcium into the bones.  When vitamin K2 is lacking in the diet, the build up of calcium salts or calcification can begin to occur.  It’s for this reason that many advanced vitamin D formulas now include vitamin K2 in the mix.

However, as mentioned before, cholesterol is also needed for proper utilization of vitamin D in the body.  Again, isolating nutrients into a bottle and thinking it will have the same effect as organic food is ill advised.

As a result, we always encourage our readers to focus on whole food sources as opposed to supplements.

The Best Food Sources of Vitamin D

If you suffer from candida overgrowth, you will want to focus on consuming more vitamin D rich foods.  This means your diet needs to focus on high quality animal foods.  Plants do not contain vitamin D and plant based diets despite how much sun the individual may get will always run the risk of vitamin D deficiency due to lack of cholesterol in the diet.

High quality organ meats such as liver, heart, kidney, and brains are the highest food sources of this vitamin in the world.  If available, fish roe is also an excellent source of vitamin D and fat soluble vitamins.

For those who don’t find organ meats appealing, fat soluble vitamins such as vitamin D are typically always stored in the fat of the animal.  For this reason, you will want to focus your attention on high quality fatty cuts of meat.  Gelatinous cuts of meat, bone broths, and fatty cuts are going to be your best options.

Furthermore, taking a quality extra virgin cod liver oil supplement can be beneficial for some.  It naturally contains high amounts of vitamin D.  However, some experts believe that some of the nutrients get left out when extracting the oil from the liver.  We’ve personally had mixed results with cod liver oil and we believe it’s something that should be rotated and not used long term in one’s diet.

That being said, consuming fatty cuts of high quality meat and organ meats such as liver no more than twice a week can provide the body with very high amounts of vitamin D.  As a result, we always recommend those suffering from candida overgrowth to base their diet around high quality animal foods.

For high quality animal foods delivered right to your door, be sure to check out Grassland Beef!

The Bottom Line – Vitamin D and Candida

There is no denying that vitamin D plays a very important role in helping to manage candida levels in the body.  Research has confirmed this vitamin is essential for a healthy immune system and the prevention of auto-immune conditions.  Some studies even show that it can help to control candida levels in the body.

That all being said, we urge you to look to food sources before you look towards supplements.  Although you may get short term relief from using such supplements, they typically can cause an imbalance in the body when used long term.  High quality animal foods are going to be your best choice when it comes to obtaining this vitamin in your diet.

Those living further from the equator are going to have to make more of an effort to consume more vitamin rich animal products.  Also, we highly urge anyone following a plant based diet to reconsider looking over the facts when it comes to vitamin D absorption on these diets.

Start Eating A Candida Friendly Diet

If you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out our Candida Diet Protocol Page.  Here you will find everything you need to know about the best and worst foods to be eating if you suffer from candida overgrowth.  Don’t pay for an expensive candida eating program when you can get high quality information for free!

We’ve included everything you need to know in the protocol so that you can start eating healthy today!  Also, for those interested, our Crush Candida Cookbook can be a great resource for anyone looking to cook delicious and candida friendly recipes.  We’ve included over 20 different recipes that are both mouthwatering and good for you!