Vitamin D Update

As you might recall from this post back in July, my vitamin D was pretty low: 27 ng/mL. Current recommendations range from at least 50 ng/mL as minimum to 80-100 ng/mL as ideal. I switched primary care physicians and did a complete blood panel, including my 25(OH)D (a fancy name for the form of vitamin D that should be tested for deficiency). The result? I'm up to 67 ng/mL! Woohoo! I still have a little bit to go to get to 80 ng/mL, but I'm much better off than I was just 6 months ago. Interestingly, last winter I was sick and out of work for a total of 3 weeks. This winter, I've gotten sick twice, but I've only missed a total of 30 minutes of work due to illness, and each time I was able to fight the bug relatively quickly.

Why is vitamin D important? Vitamin D is implicated in a slew of diseases, including heart disease, cancer, stroke, autoimmune disorder, diabetes, and birth defects, to name a few. It's incredibly important for bone health, and it plays a key role in the body's immune response. The best source of vitamin D is actually the sun, as our body converts sunlight on our skin into vitamin D. Our hunter-gatherer predecessors were outside all of the time and received ample amounts of sunlight. Nowadays, we are lucky to get 10 minutes of direct sun, even in Arizona. Furthermore, it is hard to get vitamin D exclusively through foods. Good sources include cod liver oil, salmon, mackerel, sardines, liver, and fortified milk and juice.

None of us really know our vitamin D status unless we get our blood tested. I have clients who get a lot of sun and take 1,000 IU per day but still have really low levels (in the teens!). The first step in managing your vitamin D status is asking your physician for a 25(OH) D test. Depending on the result, you can start supplementing and can retest in 3 months.

So how did I do it? I have been using a product called Biotics D Mulsion Forte, which is an emulsified form of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). You can get it on Amazon.com. It's supposed to be better absorbed and more bioavailable than other vitamin D formulas, and a lot of natural health practitioners in the Phoenix area are recommending it.

I take 40,000 IU once a week. This is a really high level, and you're only supposed to take this much under the supervision of a physician (or if you really know what you're doing). Many physicians are supplementing their patients with 50,000 IU weekly to get them to optimal levels, which is why I personally wasn't afraid to take 40,000 IU once weekly. It's important to note that you should speak with a physician before super suplementing any vitamin/mineral. There have been no known vitamin D toxicities, and just being in the sun for 20-30 minutes generates 10,000 IU; however, it's important that your physician know what you're taking.

The Vitamin D Council recommends starting at 10,000 IU daily. If you are vitamin D deficient, as only determined by a blood test, 10,000 IU per day is a reasonable, safe level at which to start supplementing.

So what's your vitamin D? You'll never know until you get tested!