Vitamin D is very important to our body; the lack of vitamin D has associated with many forms of disease such as cancer (many types of cancer), diabetes, high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, heart disease, and even multiple sclerosis. (1)
That’s why it is better to consume vitamin D 25 times higher than the government recommendation. (2)
In fact, many people don’t consume enough vitamin D, a study found that nearly 70 (seventy) percent of kids in the USA aren’t getting enough vitamin D, divided into 9 percent of ‘vitamin D deficiency’ category and the rest 61 percent of ‘insufficient vitamin D’. (1)
Vitamin D Is One of The Most Important Vitamins
Kids who lack vitamin D also have a higher chance to become obese and may develop a heart disease when they are an adult. They are also likely to have diabetes and high blood pressure. (3)
Vitamin D is likely to ‘disappear’ from our everyday meal, even though many vitamin D sources are available and easy to find, but the sources will be covered later in this article.
Actually, when the vitamin D level is sufficed we will feel the difference, and makes us think that vitamin D is one of the most important vitamins that we often forgot.
What Vitamin D Does To Our Body?
Vitamin D is responsible for regulating cells and genes. It also reduces the cancer risk because it reduces the cellular growth and promotes cell differentiations. (4)
That is why the lack of vitamin D is associated with many types of cancer, such as colon and breast cancer. Vitamin D is working at the receptor, a part that sends a signal to genes and makes it better at preventing cancer and act as an anti-inflammatory agent. (4)
Vitamin D is also good at preventing and treating osteoporosis, and it’s more important than calcium. This is because vitamin D is a calcium absorber; with vitamin D we can absorb calcium better. (4)
The intestine absorbs only 10 to 15 percent of calcium without vitamin D, that’s why the lack of vitamin D is associated with osteoporosis.
How Many D’s Do We Need?
The USA Office of Dietary Supplements suggests about 200 to 600 IU of vitamin D per day. (5)
Actually, it is just a dose to prevent rickets, a vitamin D deficient disease, not a dose to keep us healthy, or to make vitamin D a good anti cancer agent.
A study from Boston University School of Medicine found that 2,000 IU is the best for us; 2000 IU means 75 to 125 nmol/L vitamin D in our blood. (6)
Such a measure is still considered safe; we can have 250 nmol/L vitamin D without any sign of it turns into a toxic agent.
Although 2000 IU is considered the upper limit by the government, the amount is still somewhat low.
In the tropical country the sun provides up to 10,000 IU a day and the result is predictable, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and type one diabetes are not a common disease. (7)
How To Get All The D’s?
In order to suffice the daily dose of vitamin D you can eat the following meal:
- 15 ml of fish liver oils or you may know them as cod liver oil is about 1,360 IU of vitamin D
- One egg is about 20 IU of vitamin D
- 3.5 ounces of cooked mackerel is about 345 IU of vitamin D
- 3.5 ounces of cooked salmon is about 360 IU of vitamin D
- Drained sardines are about 250 IU of vitamin D
I know it’s pretty hard to reach the recommendation amount unless you spend most of the time at the beach, sunbathing or swallow 150ml cod liver oil a day (that means 10 tablespoons).
The best amount is depending on your age and the place where you live.
Here Are a Few Tips To Reach The Optimal Level Of Vitamin D
- If you are taking high doses (10,000 IU a day) your doctor must check your calcium and phosphorous levels every 3 months. Don’t forget to check your vitamin D level until it reaches the optimal.
- Test it first. the normal range is 25 to 137 nmol/L. You may raise them in order to get a better result.
- If you have a deficiency, consult your doctor. You should start with 5,000 to 10,000 IU for at least three months and maintain it with 2000-4000 IU
Conclusion
Pay attention to the type of vitamin D, the D2 is not the best one; make sure you take vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol).
So that’s some tips and coverage about the lack of vitamin D and how to treat it, don’t forget to always maintain your vitamin D intake because it plays a great role in your health.
Researches and references
(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D
(2) http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/05/10/vitamin-d-recommended-dietary-allowance.aspx
(3) http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/121112p26.shtml
(4) http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/vitamin-d/
(5) https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminD-HealthProfessional/
(6) http://www.bumc.bu.edu/endo/research/d/
(7) http://www.wphna.org/htdocs/2011_aug_wn3_vitaminD.htm
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