Vitamin D Part 3 Supplements

In Vitamin D Part 2 we found out that vitamin D not only strengthens our bones and teeth, but also can help prevent all sorts of dread diseases (almost any disease that you can think of).

Vitamin D, a multifaceted health benefit to our bodies, becomes especially important this time of year as the days get shorter and the germs start flying around. Less sunlight on our skin means less vitamin D production in the skin. But we need more vitamin D to fight the germs, colds, and flu that becomes so prevalent in the fall and winter.

To maintain optimal blood levels of vitamin D, most healthy adults should take 2000 IU (International Units) of vitamin D per day. That translates to 50 ug (micrograms) in the new official units for vitamins. People with disease may need much more than that, even up to 4,000 to 10,000 IU of vitamin D per day from all sources. . Some doctors use injectable vitamin D in very high doses because it stores in the fat and releases slowly into the blood stream.

Caution:

Anyone with a disease must have a knowledgeable doctor monitor their blood vitamin D levels when taking those higher doses. This monitoring is essential to be sure blood levels are high enough and to be sure that they do not become excessive. However, of the two, getting the blood levels high enough is the bigger challenge.

If you don’t have access to a doctor who will order your vitamin D blood test, you can get your Vitamin D Test Kit at Grass Roots Health.  http://www.grassrootshealth.net/

Your physician must be aware of the proper blood test to order, because the one offered by many labs is not the most accurate. Be sure you get the 25(OH)D test. In plain English it’s 25-hydroxy D. It may need to be sent to a specialty lab.

Labs may vary in their recommended “normal ranges” of blood vitamin D levels. Experts on vitamin D recommend blood levels of 25(OH)D in the range of 35-65 ng/ml.

Recommended vitamin D levels for infants and children:

Formula fed babies: 1000 IU per day from formula, sun exposure and supplements. Most will require 600 IU of vitamin D supplements per day.

Breast fed babies: breast milk contains no or very little vitamin D. Most breast fed babies need a vitamin D supplement of 1,000 IU per day unless they are exposed to sunlight. If the mom takes enough vitamin D (4,000 to 6,000 IU total per day) or gets enough sun exposure, breast fed babies do not need supplementation.

After weaning: Babies need 1,000 IU per day.

Children from 1 – 4 years old need 1,500 IU per day unless they have adequate sun exposure.

Children from 5 – 10 years old need 2,000 IU per day unless they have adequate sun exposure.

Children over 10 years old follow adult recommendations as above.

Be sure you get the right form of vitamin D supplementation:

Take the vitamin D3 form, not the vitamin D2 form. I ordered mine from Vitacost.com.

Only use cholecalciferol or ergocalciferol.

Do not take calcitriol or another expensive analog of vitamin D by prescription. They can by harmful by causing high blood calcium levels without filling up the vitamin D deficiencies in your tissues.

If you have sarcoidosis, oat cell carcinoma or non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, do not take vitamin D supplements unless you are carefully monitored by a knowledgeable physician.

Vitamin D toxicity is very rare, especially if an adult takes less than 10,000 IU per day. Here’s what John Jacob Cannell, MD, executive director of the Vitamin D Council says about it:

“It seems clear that restoring physiological serum levels of 25(OH)D will help many more patients that it will hurt. In fact, living in America today while worrying about vitamin D toxicity is like dying of thirst in the desert while worrying about drowning.”

For more information about Vitamin D visit the Vitamin D Council web site at:

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/

So have fun in the sun. But now that sun is scarce, take your vitamin D under the guidance of your doctor and blood levels of vitamin D to stay healthy and fight off the winter germs.

Blessings,

Dr. Jo