What’s all this fuss about Vitamin D these days? Dr. Oz, Dr. Andrew Weil and many physicians are recommending it. Is it truly the new miracle vitamin? If so what diseases is it supposed to be preventing?
Dr. Michael F. Holick, a Vitamin D expert at the Boston University School of Medicine, has been quoted as saying that Vitamin D is the most common nutritional deficiency and probably the most common medical problem in the world.
High risk factors for Vitamin D deficiency:
- Dark-skinned people– synthesize less Vitamin D from sunlight than those who are light skinned especially those who live far from the equator. Melanin produces the pigment which is a natural sunscreen but blocks the absorption of D.
- Obesity- Vitamin D is synthesized either in the skin or ingested and then is deposited in body fat stores making it more difficult to be used by the body.
- Sunscreen use
- Breast-fed infants- human milk does not provide enough D.
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Fat Malabsorption Syndromes
- Geographic location- living further north in the northern hemisphere such as Boston or south in the southern hemisphere such as Buenos Aires.
Vitamin D is responsible for over 200 genes including those in charge of our immune system. Research is strongly suggesting a D deficiency contributes to cancers (colon, breast, and prostate), osteopenia (bone thinning), diabetes, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, heart disease, Parkinson’s, and a host of other conditions including links to depression.
According to the article, Dr. Oz 101: How much Vitamin D should I get?,“Though Vitamin D is naturally produced by the human body when exposed to direct sunlight, it is commonly believed that over 50% of Americans don’t get enough of it.
Gwyneth Paltrow, the actress, revealed last September she’s being treated for osteopenia due to extreme D deficiency. In June a pediatrician in Wales reported an increase of rickets in her practice. Remember that crippling bone disease which was so prominent during the Victorian era? It is believed our lifestyles are contributing to this type of increase. We’re spending much more time indoors and not having sun exposure. We’re completing covering ourselves with our clothes and sunscreen when we’re outdoors and driving instead of walking to our destinations.
Ingesting enough D to make a noticeable difference from our diets is difficult. However, sundried shiitake mushrooms (excellent!), eggs, salmon, tuna, sardines, and mackerel are good sources.
How much supplement is recommended?
Dr. Oz recommends getting 800 IU/day if you’re younger than 60 and 1,000 IU if you’re older. However, you can also get around 10-20 minutes of direct sunlight each day [between the hours of 10am-2pm during warmer seasons]. He recommends vitamin D3.
Dr. Weil has stated that based on recent research, he recommends 2,000 IU/day and recommends Vitamin D3 rather than D2. No adverse effects have been seen with supplemental D intakes up to 10,000 IU daily. He also suggests 10 minutes of sunlight/day.
Many physicians are prescribing up to 10,000 IU/day. Have your physician check your Vitamin D levels and recommend what’s best for you. Take adequate levels of magnesium for absorption of both your D and calcium.
Maybe there’s good reason for all of this “fuss!”