The Truth About Vitamin D | January, 2010

Vitamin D may not be the newest drug or latest surgical device but it has become the most popular topic in medicine.

The 2007 study portraying that people taking vitamin D supplements were 7% less likely to die than those who didn't take supplements started this topic to reach its climax. It was very surprising news that many men, women and children have insufficient levels of vitamin D. In support of this, the American Academy of Pediatrics have led many of their doctors to advise parents to double the amount of vitamin D a child should take as well as recommend their adult patients to take vitamin D as well.

Why do I need vitamin D?

It is a necessity that you have vitamin D. It absorbs calcium and promotes bone growth. Too little of this vitamin could result in soft bones or rickets in children and fragile, misshapen bones in adults called osteomalacia. Vitamin D also regulates the immune system, neuromuscular system and plays a major role in the life cycle of human cells.

Vitamin D is so crucial to your body that it even produces it itself after a person's skin is exposed in the sunlight. This has generated a problem in the northern climates because people are not getting enough sunlight throughout the year.

Due to recent studies, vitamin D deficiencies have been linked to breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, heart disease, depression, weight gain and more. However, people with high levels of vitamin D levels have a lower risk of these diseases.

A scientist-led group promoting vitamin D deficiency awareness called the Vitamin D Counsel, suggest that vitamin D treatment might improve and even treat and prevent autism, autoimmune disease, cancer, depression, diabetes, heart disease, neuromuscular disease and osteoporosis. However, there have been no definite clinical trials proving this assumption.

How can I get enough vitamin D?

There are 2 ways to get enough vitamin D.

1. Thirty minutes of sun exposure on your skin without sunscreen at least twice a week should give you plenty of vitamin D. However, this much direct sunlight can expose you to potentially dangerous cancer-causing UV radiation.
2. Taking supplements or eating foods with vitamin D in it.

Will a vitamin D test tell me if I need more vitamin D?

Yes. As a part of your regular blood test, your doctor should order a test for 25-hydroxyvitamin D. According to the Vitamin D Counsel, the ideal 25-OHD level should be between 40ng/mL and 70ng/mL. A 2002 study found that 42% of African-American women of a childbearing age had vitamin D levels of 15ng/mL.

Which foods contain vitamin D?

Unless it is added to your food, not many foods actually contain this vitamin. This is because your body is built to get vitamin D through sunlight exposure on your skin rather than what you eat. However, Vitamin D is found in salmon, mackerel, mushrooms, milk, yogurt, egg yolk, and some cheeses.

Nearly all milk in the U.S. is fortified with vitamin D, as are some orange juice brands, yogurt brands, margarine brands, and ready-to-eat breakfast brands.

How much Vitamin D do I need?

The amount of vitamin D that a person should obtain is 200 IU for people up to age 50, 400 IU for people from 51-70, and 600 IU for people over 70. Although the recommended dose varies between each person, it depends on their exposure to sunlight and there body fat. Usually, people with a lot of body fat need more vitamin D than lean people.

Can I get too much vitamin D?

Yes. Too much vitamin D can cause maladies such as high calcium levels that could result in nausea, constipation, confusion, abnormal heart rhythm, and kidney stones.

Most vitamin overdoses come from supplements, it is nearly impossible that you can get too much vitamin D from sunlight or the food you eat. According the Institute of Medicine's Food and Nutrition Board's 1997 recommendations 2000 IU each day is safe for adults and 1,000 IU each day is safe for infants up to 12 months.

What kind of vitamin D is best?

The recommended vitamin D is vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol. This is a natural form of vitamin D that your body makes from sunlight; most supplements are made from the fat of lambs? wool.

However, it was reported in 2008 that vitamin D2 works just as well as D3.

Many supplements contain vitamin D as vitamin D2 which is derived from irradiated fungus. Though D2 is not the natural form made from your body, D3 is suggested.

Does vitamin D interact with other medications?

Yes. Steroid medication such as prednisone, weight loss drugs such as Xenical and Alli, cholesterol lowering drugs like Questran, LoCholest, and Prevalite, and seizure drugs for example Phenobarbital and Ditantin affect a person's vitamin D metabolism and calcium absorption.

Speak to your doctor if you have any questions concerning vitamin D.

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