I’m sure by now everyone has heard about vitamin D and how important it is for our overall health! If you haven’t, get out from under that rock for a bit so I can catch you up. Most people, I hope, even supplement daily (or should). Vitamin D is actually not a vitamin at all, but rather a prohormone, as it can be made in our bodies when we are exposed to light. This is where our problems arise. We get very little sunlight on our fabrics on a regular basis today. Many of us live at a latitude that predisposes us to below-average sun exposure on our skin (where all the vitamin D magic begins), or we slather on sunscreen to protect against the damaging effects of the sun (such as producing vitamin D). D to keep us healthy) that stops our conversion of vitamin D.
It turns out that about 40% of the world’s population is deficient in vitamin D and more than 70% of Americans have deficient or insufficient levels of vitamin D. The sunlight we are exposed to on a daily basis is our main source of vitamin D and, Since we get so little from our diet, if we don’t get that exposure on our skin, you can imagine how important supplementation now becomes. A vitamin D deficiency (a serum vitamin D 25-OH level less than 20 ng/dL) is linked to many chronic diseases, cancers, poor bone health, autoimmune diseases, neurocognitive problems such as depression, mood stability, and illness. Alzheimer’s. You can begin to see the importance of having adequate levels for our bodies to function efficiently and without disease. We have a vitamin D receptor in almost every cell in our body and it is responsible for regulating more than 3,000 of our genes. So, you can understand the seriousness of the situation. Unless you plan to sunbathe in the summer and take a sunbathing vacation in the winter, your vitamin D requirements may need attention. I always tell my patients that they need to know their vitamin D level. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin (OK, prohormone) that needs to be monitored. As with any fat-soluble vitamin, toxicity can be a problem (although vitamin D has a very broad level of safety).
Where do we start? With a simple, inexpensive blood draw that is not routinely done with the normal CBC or CMP, but can easily be added by consulting your doctor. The test is serum vitamin D 25-OH, and it’s one of the most important numbers to know.
I had a patient who suffered from crippling agoraphobia (she found it unsafe to leave her house). What stood out most from her blood test results was that her 25-OH vitamin D level was in the single digits of 7 ng/dL. Very soon after taking vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) supplements, she had no anxiety, depression, or mood instability, and her words were, “She felt like herself again!”
Vitamin D is one of the supplements that I tell each of my patients to take regularly for their health. How much can you ask for? The dose depends on your blood serum levels. If your vitamin D levels are deficient or insufficient, work with a doctor to help manage it and establish the proper dosage. That being said, a very safe dose to start supplementing with right away (until you can get your blood levels under control) is a 5,000 IU summer dose and a 7-10,000 IU winter dose of vitamin D3. Everyone should supplement with some amount of vitamin D for best health. If you need to control your levels or customize the dose, give us a call and we will adapt to your needs.
