5 Reasons You Need Vitamin D

5 Reasons You Need Vitamin D

Vitamin D is known as the "sunshine vitamin" because the body synthesizes it with exposure to sunlight. This important hormone is used throughout the body, and:

Helps to maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus.
Assists in the absorption of calcium and promotes bone mineralization, which may prevent or slow the progression of osteoporosis.
Strengthens the immune system and protects against a number of serious diseases, including rickets and osteomalacia.
May provide protection from hypertension, psoriasis and several autoimmune diseases (including multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis).
Plays a role in defending against cancer (studies link a deficiency of vitamin D to as many as 18 different cancers).
It isn't easy to get enough vitamin D from your diet alone, though fortified foods (milk and cereals), eggs, salmon, tuna, mackerel and sardines are all good sources. Even if you receive regular sun exposure (for most of us 20-30 minutes a day is adequate), I recommend taking 1,000 IU of vitamin D per day - look for supplements that provide D3 (cholecalciferol) rather than D2 (ergocalciferol).

By Strirun
Reply 334504
March 29, 2009 at 5:33 am
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Thanks so much for all the information you provide to us. Every article I find on Vit. D3, I send to as many people as possible. My mother was tested in January and her level was 7. I could not believe how low she was. She is feeling so much better and looks great after her taking her prescribed Vit D3. The color is back in her face and she has more energy. Thanks so much again.

By SequoiaHealth (Inactive)
Reply 334529
March 29, 2009 at 7:30 am
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Hi kfmdallas:
You are right. Normal blood levels of vitamin D are important for everyone but especially if you have osteopenia or osteoporosis. Sun exposure is the ideal way to make vitamin D but it takes full body exposure for 15 to 20 minutes and it’s unlikely you’ll get enough in northern latitude states that way.

If your test results are low, this should be confirmed by a 25-hydroxyvitamin D test, supplementation is probably going to be necessary. Research has shown that 1000 IU is not enough to raise or maintain healthy vitamin D levels. Dr. Cannel makes a recommendation of 5000 IU daily for those who blood levels are deficient. Sometimes it is easier to have your doctor give you several larger vitamin D shots to boost levels quickly. D3 supplements are more biologically active in your body and respond more quickly.

The very best website I have found on the subject is Dr. Cannel’s at http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/.

Vitamin D alone is only one part of the bone building recipe. There are several areas I am interested in when someone comes to me looking for answers. These tend to be overlooked by many people when trying to increase bone density. I call these “The Big 5 for Healthy Bone:”

1. A diet that contains 50% fruits and vegetables. Fruits and veggies contain greater amounts of water and minerals with generally lesser amounts of animal protein.
2. Adequate water intake based on body weight. Water is very important in helping the kidneys regulate pH and detoxify the body.
3. Stress reduction activities to help lower cortisol, homocysteine and total body inflammation to reduce calcium loss.
4. Vitamin D3 levels in the 50–80 ng/mL (or 125–200 nM/L) year around confirmed by 25-hydroxyvitamin D testing.
5. Sufficient weight bearing exercise that includes balance training to reduce falls and stimulate muscle growth which is essential for bone strengthening determined by regular full body strength testing.

Hope this helps.

Woody McMahon
Reston/Herndon Osteoporosis Support Group Leader

By BoneLady
Reply 348454
April 10, 2009 at 11:57 am
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KMFDallas, I want to thank you for initiating this discussion on vitamin D and say that I agree with you about supplementing with 1000 IU vitamin D daily even if you get adequate sun. I walk for about 30 minutes each morning without a sun block and I'm in the South. I drink 12 oz vitamin D3-fortified milk daily. I eat either salmon, tuna, or mackerel once a week. My daily multivitamin contains 1000 IU vitamin D3, so I am assured of getting at least 1000 IU per day.

SequoiaHealth, I think the Vitamin D Council has done an excellent job of promoting vitamin D and the need to take much more of it than our government's recommended daily values. However, I think 5000 IU per day is too high for maintenance purposes. Of course, if one is deficient as determined by a 25-hydroxyvitamin D test, than a doctor can prescribe large, injectible doses of vitamin D for a short period of time. Later, a maintenance dose of 1000 to 2000 IU should be sufficient. Excess vitamin D can be toxic.

The following is taken from the Natational Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus Herbs and Supplements at www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-vitamind.html:

Vitamin D toxicity can result from regular excess intake of this vitamin, and may lead to hypercalcemia and excess bone loss. Individuals at particular risk include those with hyperparathyroidism, kidney disease, sarcoidosis, tuberculosis, or histoplasmosis. Chronic hypercalcemia may lead to serious or even life-threatening complications, and should be managed by a physician. Early symptoms of hypercalcemia may include nausea, vomiting, and anorexia (appetite/weight loss), followed by polyuria (excess urination), polydipsia (excess thirst), weakness, fatigue, somnolence, headache, dry mouth, metallic taste, vertigo, tinnitus (ear ringing), and ataxia (unsteadiness). Kidney function may become impaired, and metastatic calcifications (calcium deposition in organs throughout the body) may occur, particularly affecting the kidneys. Treatment involves stopping the intake of vitamin D or calcium, and lowering the calcium levels under strict medical supervision, with frequent monitoring of calcium levels. Acidification of urine and corticosteroids may be necessary.

MedlinePlus also states that vitamin D should be used with caution in patients taking digoxin, because hypercalcemia (which may result with excess vitamin D use) may precipitate abnormal heart rhythms.

Strirun, I am glad your mother is doing better after taking her prescribed vitamin D3. There was a problem with vitamin D testing at Quest Diagnostics. Some patients' results were reported incorrectly. Also, the lab switched to a different analytical method and their vitamin D results do not match those of other labs using the standard method. I started a discussion on this subject a short while ago. I have nothing against Quest; that is the company I use for my own lab tests. It's just something to check on if your mother's 25-hydroxyvitamin D test was performed there.

By SequoiaHealth (Inactive)
Reply 348991 · In reply to 348454 by BoneLady
April 10, 2009 at 7:06 pm
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Hi Bonelady:
Dr. Connell’s recommendations are supported by every single vitamin D researcher. Vitamin D overdose is very rare. If you read on his site you will see that there is only one known case of overdose and that was due to inaccurate labeling of the vitamin D.

Current research also supports that some people metabolize in excess of 5000 iu of Vitamin D per day. At 1000 to 2000 iu, you would be running a chronic deficiency unless you could make it up through sun exposure.

Of the last 5 clients I have worked with that have been tested, all 5 were below 35 ng/mL range. If you also notice his recommendation is based on body weight as well.

Woody McMahon
Reston/Herndon Osteoporosis Support Group Leader

By Strirun
Reply 349266 · In reply to 348454 by BoneLady
April 11, 2009 at 5:17 am
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Yes, I saw a flier on the wall of my mother's doctors regarding that Company. She just had another test and her level is now normal so she is just to monitor her intake of Vit D3 with what she eats, drinks and takes as supplements. Thanks for the info.

By Sue49085
Reply 699578
January 13, 2010 at 9:17 pm
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I had the doctor check my vitamin d level a few month ago. I returned to the doctor and asked about the level he said he was 34. He said the guidline is between 20-100 but he likes to see it around 40. He told me to take 2,000 vitamin d a day. I really concerned about my osteoporosis and having severe scoliosis. Do you reccomend any drug or alternative for osteoporosis?
Thanks Sue

By millie123
Reply 699952
January 14, 2010 at 8:16 am
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Regarding D results from Quest: Dr. Mercola and the D council suggest dividing the results of their tests by 1.3 to get an accurate count. My husband's D test, for instance, came from Quest. Results: 32ng. Divide by 1.3, and he's in the 20s. Too low.

By Improving
Reply 700092
January 14, 2010 at 9:45 am
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"Dr. Connell’s recommendations are supported by every single vitamin D researcher."

That is not true. Almost all European vitamin D researchers support lower levels.

By nathji
Reply 700094 · In reply to 334529 by SequoiaHealth
January 14, 2010 at 9:45 am
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Dear Woody,

Many thanks for re-enforcing the Vitamin D Council's recommendations of Dr. Cannell and Dr. Veith!! I , too think that Vit D at 1000 or 2000 IU may be too low and that > 5000 IU is a much better bet.

I had been taking 60,000 IU per week for 3 months and feeling stronger and stronger day by day, without testing, since I was confident that I was not going above the 10,000 IU per day allowed by Dr. Cannell as a safe upper limit (which would have meant 7X10000 = 70,000 IU per week).

Then I cut the dose down to 30,000 IU per week, half that of the previous dose, still without testing, as a precaution.

And after that I started feeling weaker.

I have even read of people taking 50,000 IU per day for months on end without ill effects, but I think that would be going to far.

The toxic limit being 200 ng/L as stated by Dr. Cannell I dont think there is any danger of overdosing, unless one has some other accompanying condition that is a contra-indication.

Thank you for supporting the large doses. Dr. Holicks had strongly stated that more damage was being done to the health of people through fears of overdosing than anything else. Dr. Veith had called it a kind of "paranoia" created by the medical profession. As a matter of fact he even used a safety profile of Vit D compared to the safety profile of water and said Vit D was safer!!

Yours,
Priya

By lilrayosun
Reply 700276
January 14, 2010 at 11:28 am
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Re: amount of D supplementation to take and what level is hazardous.

All I know is, when I was taking 2000 iu per day, my blood serum levels were too low. It wasn't until I upped my dosage to 5000 - 6000 iu that I even got in the ballpark of a healthy range.

I'm an extremely active person, I live in upstate NY where we don't get a lot of sun in winter, I'm fair skinned with freckles and have a history of skin cancer, so I don't get out in the sun much, and I work in a very stressful job -- all of these things make a disaster stew of my D.

For me, 5000-6000 in winter; 2000-3000 iu in summer is the perfect dosage. My doctor, who originally told me to take 2000 iu back in June, changed her tune after my most recent blood test in November. She said: "whatever you're doing, keep doing it."

The difference in my health has been fairly remarkable. After not being able to maintain a healthy weight no matter how much I ate, I've managed to gain 10 pounds (I'm now at 104, up from 94 lbs). My allergies (which were horrible) have completely subsided. I used to have flare ups of psoriasis when I was under extreme stress -- don't have that anymore. I was constipated. Now I'm as regular as a clock. I snored. My husband says I don't anymore. I couldn't sleep at night because of joint pain -- I couldn't stay in one position very long, and would have to flip over every ten or fifteen minutes to get comfortable. Now, I have no joint pain at all.

I feel like I did when I was in college.

Unexpected boon? My husband got the flu, and I didn't.

I'm convinced low D was the root of my bone loss, but I won't know for sure until my next DEXA.

People can sound the alarm about high vitamin D intake, but I think it's an individual choice. I have no history of urinary tract problems or kidney problems or arterial calcifications, so I feel safe doing what I'm doing. For me, I will never stop taking high doses of D. I know what I felt like before, and I know what I feel like now. For me, a lotta D works.

Best,
Raye

By bluesky (Inactive)
Reply 700590 · In reply to 700395 by nathji
January 14, 2010 at 2:39 pm
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Woody--

I know that you have previously stated that you are a professional and that you counsel people with osteoporosis. As a way to put your comments and viewpoints into context , would you kindly indicate what your professional background is? Do you have a university degree in a science or medical field and if so what is it? Thank you .

By SisterPeace
Reply 701162
January 14, 2010 at 10:25 pm
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Hello everyone! I was diagnosed with osteoporosis in August. I'd been taking 2400 iu of D for breast health and thought that was just fine. When I finally got in to see my new endocrinologist, a 24 urine collection showed that I am dumping calcium at an alarming rate. He immediately reduced my D to only the 400 iu in my multi-vitamin. I still don't know my D levels. He put me on a diuretic and we'll redo the tests in 4 months.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?
I feel as though I'm doing nothing...but happy to have found this forum. Thank you.

Peace be with you,
Sister

By KMFDallas
Reply 701807
January 15, 2010 at 12:06 pm
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I have a similar problem and have developed kidney stones as a result of all of the calcium I have taken over the years. My bone and mineral density specialist told me to reduce the calcium to two petite citracal a day. I have upped the Vitamin D I take. Unfortunatley, I have significant kidney stones 35+ in one kidney and over a dozen in the other. Wish me luck, I am in the process of passing a stone since last Monday and nothing yet!

By Sue49085
Reply 702286 · In reply to 334529 by SequoiaHealth
January 15, 2010 at 6:03 pm
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Thanks for the article by Dr. Cannel and all the information you provided. I just got the result of my vitamin d and it was 34 the doctor said to take 2,000 a day. My quesiton is how often should this test be done? Myabe its only necessary in the winter due to lack of sunshine.

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