Green Tea and Vitamin D experiment
Did you know that Green Tea washes out Vitamin D from our body? Of course, this is not an issue everyone will experience when they drink green tea. But for some of us, as I found out, green tea can lead to deficiency of Vitamin D in our bodies and all symptoms that go with it - insomnia, interrupted and light sleep, periods of wakefulness during the night. This in turn can lead to neurological problems, like depression, memory loss and others. And these some of us are people who are genetically predisposed to Vitamin D deficiency.
All of this I discovered through my own experience. About 1.5 years ago I started drinking A LOT of japanese green tea. Every morning I used to (and still do by the way) have about a litre of Japanese Kabusecha tea. However, at about almost the same time I started having huge problems with sleep. I couldn't fall asleep for hours. And then after sleeping for an hour or two, I would wake up in the middle of the night and stay awake until morning. When this was happening for about three months I thought I was going crazy - I was angry and irritable, and very unhappy. Until I discovered that I have almost non existent Vitamin D levels. And also, that I am genetically predisposed to Vitamin D deficiency and need much more of it than normal people. Moreover, I discovered that Vitamin D deficiency is linked to sleep deprivation and also, that too much green tea (and coffee) washes out Vitamin D from our system.
I started taking Vitamin D supplements every day, and yes! My sleep problem was fixed completely within a couple of days!
This made me think - should I stop drinking my favourite green tea every morning? Or should I be more in the sun? Or take Vitamin D supplements? So I decided to make an experiment. See how I sleep given different factors. And here are the results.
Given: young and healthy 36 year old woman (non smoker, non drinker) genetically predisposed to Vitamin D deficiency.
Combination 1: Drinking Green Tea in the morning, no sun exposure and not taking Vit D supplement. Result: insomnia, unexplained wakefulness and light sleep, nightmares
Combination 2: Drinking Green Tea in the morning, sun exposure and not taking Vit D supplement. Result: Sleep is ok, but not deep
Combination 3: Drinking Green Tea in the morning, no sun exposure and taking Vit D supplement. Result: Sleep is good, but could be better
Combination 4: Drinking Green Tea in the morning, sun exposure and taking Vit D supplement Result: Sleep is great
Combination 5: NOT Drinking Green Tea in the morning, NO sun exposure and NOT taking Vit D supplement Result: Sleep is OK
Combination 6: NOT Drinking Green Tea in the morning, sun exposure and taking Vit D supplement Result: Sleep is very deep and rejuvenating
So.... These days I take this little bottle of Vitamin D supplement with me wherever I go. It's my magical cure for everything! I never knew that it's responsible for so many processes in our body - sleep, calcium and iron levels, fertility, pains, energy levels and so much more. Such an amazing creature! Which is not even a Vitamin, but a Hormone! Sometimes, I go to bed and can't fall asleep. My heart beats heavily and I toss and turn without any success. Then I try to remember - did I take my Vitamin D today? No! I take 2,000 IU of this wonderful supplement and within 10 minutes I am asleep. Such a simple step, yet so powerful. So next time, when you have a sleepless night, before reaching for the sleeping pills, may be consider to have your Vitamin D levels tested? And if you are dark skinned person and drink a lot of green tea (or coffee), then this test is a must!
May all of you drink green tea, sleep well and be happy and peaceful! Ommmmm