Vitamin D: What You Need to Know

Many studies show that Vitamin D3 has remarkable abilities to prevent illnesses and promote your health and well-being. As, preeminent medical scientist Dr. Paul Rosch put it in his January 2009 Health and Stress Newsletter:

“There are well over two dozen diseases that have been linked with a lack of Vitamin D or have been shown to improve with appropriate Vitamin D supplementation.”

You’re Probably Not Getting Enough Vitamin D3

Most of us have inadequate vitamin D levels. This is a concern because the best way to deal with health problems is to prevent them. Unfortunately, we have a for profit sick care system, not a health care system. The money is in treating illnesses after they develop, not in preventing them before hand. Of our 2.2 trillion dollar health budget, little more than 2% goes toward prevention. More about this in another article, for now let’s consider your Vitamin D3 needs.

If you’re in the sun regularly, chances are good that your vitamin D3 levels are OK. Just ten minutes in the sun without heavy sunscreen gives you about 10,000 IU’s of vitamin D3. But if you’re not in the sun regularly, you may need to take a Vitamin D supplement to get your blood levels up. Authoritative estimates for adequate supplementation are 5000 IU’s a day for people who have no significant sun exposure.

How to Determine If You Need Vitamin D

The best way to determine your needs for Vitamin D is to get a reliable blood test. Then assess your needs accordingly. And then retest to evaluate whether your plan for supplementation is working or if it needs to be modified. There are different schools of thought on how to supplement with vitamin D3. Let your blood levels inform your decisions-not just other’s opinions.

Of the many tests available, the most accurate is to assess 25 hydroxyvitamin D or 25 (OH) D blood levels. Many medical scientists and other nutritional experts consider the so-called “normal” 20-50 ng/ml level to be too low. They consider 50-65 ng/ml (nanograms per milliliter) level to be optimal with levels under 32 being worrisome and levels below 20 indicating an extreme deficiency.

A Look at the Power of Vitamin D3

Studies show that Vitamin D impacts the following areas.

Cancer-the further away from the equator, the greater the cancer rates. Leading Vitamin D expert Dr. William Grant estimates that if D3 levels were higher, 2 million cancer deaths per year could be prevented.

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)-low levels of vitamin D double risk of heart attack and premature death.

Autoimmune Diseases-Rheumatoid arthritis, Type 1 Diabetes and multiple Sclerosis are all more prevalent in people with deficient vitamin D levels.

High Blood Pressure and Stroke-decreased Vitamin D stimulates parathyroid hormone which raises blood pressure and vitamin D inhibits mechanisms that raise blood pressure.

Depression-reduced sunlight exposure and depression go hand in hand and studies show that increased Vitamin D blood levels reduce the incidence of depression in older adults.

Diabetes-A Finnish study showed that children who took vitamin D supplements in childhood had 10 times less incidence of diabetes as adults.

Susceptibility to Infection-Vitamin D produces 200 plus antimicrobial peptides that fight infections.

Here’s What to Look for in a Vitamin D Supplement

Buy high quality vitamin D3 supplements from a reputable manufacturer. Avoid commercial pharmacy brands unless you’re certain of what you are getting. Beware of supplements loaded with D2 (ergocalciferol) rather than D3 (cholecalciferol), the active form. Look for the words “D3 cholecalciferol” on the label.

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 Dr. Jim Manganiello is an award winning clinical health psychologist, teacher and author. He’s a longtime innovator in the areas of stress, well-being, personal growth and “inner fitness”.

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