“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.

Stress isn’t just about what goes on in your mind. Stress triggers the release of chemicals into your body, chemicals also known as stress hormones.

Many studies show how cortisol, a potent stress hormone, increases your hunger for sugar and other fattening foods. So your stress unfortunately makes foods that lead to weight problems and obesity especially attractive. Not good. Excessive weight can leave you vulnerable to serious problems, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes and anxiety and depression.

Here’s What Happens in a Nutshell

When you are stressed, your Stress Faucet™ turns on and cortisol leaks into your blood and seeps into your tissues. Your cortisol levels then stimulate a part of your brain to increase your appetite for high calorie foods. Women are especially vulnerable to cortisol driven weight problems.

Be careful of “infomercials” selling simplistic solutions to this problem, solutions such as supplements to prevent cortisol related weight gain. Claims made for such products are unsubstantiated, they have no science behind them—they are marketing hype.

The best way for you to prevent stress related weigh problems is to learn how to keep your Stress Faucet shut. Once you learn how to keep your cortisol levels down, your weight will come down too.

A groundbreaking study surprised a lot of people.

Two Harvard researchers, Drs. Robert Fletcher and Kathleen Fairfield, performed a landmark review of nearly 40 years of scientific evidence on nutritional supplements. Their study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Their findings are why most doctors now recommend daily vitamins.

They found that the current North American diet is not sufficient enough to support health and well-being. Especially in the face of

1. stress
2. the challenges of aging and
3. a food supply that’s nutritionally depleted. In their words:

“Recent evidence has shown that suboptimal levels of vitamins (below standard), even well above those causing deficiency syndromes, are risk factors for chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and osteoporosis. A large portion of the general population is apparently at increased risk for this reason. Vitamins help prevent the usual diseases we deal with every day…”

So should you take vitamins?

It seems like a good idea to at least take a high quality daily multivitamin-mineral formula. Look for a pharmaceutical grade professional product, because you want to make sure that the nutrients actually get into your cells.

Many commercial vitamins are commodity grade and they are lacking purity, potency and bioavailability.