VITAMIN D & FERTILITY

Does vitamin D impact PCOS and fertility?

As summer (sadly) comes to an end, we can start looking forward to fall days and the change of season. With this shift, it’s a good time to bring our focus to Vitamin D.

September being poly cystic ovarian syndrome awareness month also makes it a great time to discuss the importance of vitamin D in PCOS. Polycystic ovarian syndrome is the most common endocrine condition in women of reproductive age, impacting upwards of 10% of women.

Your health care provider might suspect you have PCOS if you experience irregular cycles, acne, hair growth on your face or other parts of your body, and if you have had an ultrasound confirming cysts on your ovaries. While PCOS can be a frustrating condition to live with, it can be managed in a variety of ways - including using naturopathic medicine.

We often support patients with changes to nutrition, exercise and leveraging supplementation. One area where we focus our support is in improving ovulation (releasing of an egg) for regular cycles and supporting fertility, if that is in our patient’s interests.

Vitamin D status is becomes important when discussing ovulation and fertility. Vitamin D is a hormone that is created in our skin in response to UV rays from the sun. We have vitamin D receptors all over our bodies - tying it’s function to many different health concerns, from mood, cancer prevention, immune function, and proper hormonal regulation.

One study looking at vitamin D and fertility demonstrated how vitamin D can impact the immune system at the level of the endometrium (the first layer within our uterus in which a fertilized egg would implant). In early pregnancy, vitamin D receptors are upregulated at the level of the endometrium (speaking to our bodies need for it). It was found when individuals had appropriate levels of vitamin D, it supported implantation of the fertilized egg by down regulating inflammatory markers, and modulating the immune response between mother and fetus. While this is one (very cool!) study focused in fertility - the overall benefits of vitamin D speaks to its importance in all of us.

How do we know if our levels are ok? We can run vitamin D blood tests that help us establish what our levels are at - a great option to look at as summer comes to an end (sometimes, we get less sun than we think!) and heading into fall.For more support with vitamin D status, PCOS or fertility - book a meet and greet with one of our Naturopathic Doctors here.