"I am the Allower of my own Wellbeing"

A monthly newsletter written by Sherry Dell, PhD, CN

Volume 2, Issue 6
January 2009

 
Conditions Linked to Vitamin D Deficiency (partial list)

You might know about Vitamin D as one of the nutrients that keep bones strong.  This is correct.  Vitamin D manages the levels of calcium in the blood stream.  It does this by increasing the absorption of calcium from food and by reducing the loss of calcium in urine.  

However, recent research has shown that Vitamin D is also vitally important in all major organ systems (1) and so is related to a far ranging list of health conditions such as those listed here.  That makes it time to get a good understanding of what your own Vitamin D level is and what you can do to optimize and maintain it

Begin by having your levels tested. (Sherry can order these for you or ask your doctor).  Be sure the test ordered is the 25(OH)D using the Liaison (DiaSorin) method.  (There has been some controversy over various testing methods: click here to read the New York Times January 7, 2009 article on this subject.

What are optimal levels of Vitamin D? First, remember that there is a difference between "normal" levels and "optimal" levels.  Your doctor will report that your levels are normal, if your test result is within the laboratory range, which might be 32 ng/mL to 100 ng/mL.  Optimal ranges vary but are generally within the 50 ng/mL to 65 ng/mL. (2) It's also important to remember that because Vitamin D is fat soluble, you can theoretically accumulate toxic levels or in other words, you can overdose.  Work with a health care practitioner who will help you monitor your level.

What are your options if your Vitamin D level is not optimal? The first and best thing you can do is expose your naked skin to the sun.  If you use the sun as your Vitamin D supplement you need not worry about overdose. Your skin has feedback loops to prevent this problem.

Twenty minutes to 2 hours each day is the proper amount of time for sunlight exposure.  The length is affected by the lightness or darkness of your skin (the darker the skin, the more time you will need) as well as your distance from the equator (the closer you are to the equator the less time you will need).  The caveat is to stop sun exposure at the point at which your skin is starting to turn pink.  Never let your skin burn in the sun.  This means that at the beginning of the sun season, you will want to start with just a few minutes of sun time and work up gradually.  It's also important to know that using sun block will likely prevent up to 95% of your skin's ability to produce Vitamin D. So naked skin means no clothes and no sunblock.

If you don't live at the equator where you can have good access to sunshine all year long, what are your winter-time options?  To keep with the idea of using your skin to produce your Vitamin D, you have the option of a tanning bed.  However, it's important to remember that it is the UVB rays of the sun that stimulate Vitamin D production; UVA rays are the rays that cause tanning.  You will want to find beds that have more emphasis on UVB rays than UVA.

If sunlight and tanning beds are not good options for you, consider oral Vitamin D3, cholecalciferol, supplementation, (rather than the synthetic Vitamin D2, ergocalciferol, supplements).  A recent review article finds oral supplementation in the range of 1,000 IU per day for infants, 2,000 IU per day for children and 4,000 IU per day for adults is a safe and likely optimal dose.  (3)  Again, remember to have your own Vitamin D level tested.

Vitamin D research has been expanding so rapidly that there is news every week on new studies.  An easy way to keep up with this research is through the website for the Vitamin D Council: www.vitamindcouncil.org .

In the meantime, get your Vitamin D levels tested and hang on: more light and light it grows!  Spring can't be long now.

1. Norman, A., American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 88, No. 2, 491S-499S, August 2008

2. Mercola, J. Dark Deception, 2008

3.  Vasquez, A, Manso, G., Cannell, J., Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 10: 28-37, 2004