Right around the time I was entering medical school Vitamin D went from being a nasty nutrient to becoming one of the most important supplements you can take. While it is true that too much Vitamin D can be toxic, researchers have shown that we can prevent 1 million deaths worldwide just by increasing D3 in our bodies.

Having checked Vitamin D levels on a few thousand patients, I have seen only four normal readings.  Everyone else was sorely depleted. Vitamin D deficiency is an epidemic.  Proper testing is imperative since the only way to know what dose is right for you is to check your levels to get a baseline, again after starting a regimen of D3, and frequently thereafter. The need and dosage vary greatly from person to person. I have seen a girl who only needed 400 IU and a gentleman who needed as much as 20,000 IU per day, and everything in between. It is also important not to follow guidelines provided by the lab that suggest we should all be above 20 or 30 ng/ml since the research shows that 40 ng/ml is the minimum and that 60-80 ng/ml is ideal.

Getting enough Vitamin D in the winter is more difficult.  The days are shorter so we are exposed to less sunshine, the source of some of our Vitamin D.  Often people will have to increase their dosage in the winter months to receive the long list of benefits of D, including cancer and heart disease prevention.  This lower level of D3 could also be the culprit for seasonal affective disorder, or S.A.D.  Studies have shown that people with lower D3 are eleven times more prone to be depressed.

We do the proper and thorough testing at Flagstaff Clinic of Naturopathic Medicine.  If you are concerned about your vitamin D  please schedule an appointment.

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