Vitamin D - gettin' the good stuff!

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In my life as a worksite wellness practitioner, I write monthly health newsletters and have done so for over a year now.  Vitamin D is consistently in the news.  There are always vitamin-of-the-year trends (like selenium and vitamin E in the recent past, both of which were shown to be just fads in trials).  However, Vitamin D keeps coming up as providing some SERIOUS benefits!

Vitamin D plays a big part in reducing the risk for a great number of diseases: osteoporosis, some cancers, autoimmune infections, and cardiovascular diseases.  It's essential for calcium absorption, which is why you see many calcium fortified foods also now contain vitamin D.  How do we get this vitamin?  Both through diet and exposure to the sun.  Did you know that ten minutes in bright summer sunlight provides a blast of 10,000 IU of vitamin D?  (We'll get to dosing and IU - International Units - later.)

Blood levels of vitamin D in adults in the US are amazingly low.  77% of adults were shown to have deficient levels in a recent study.  Why is this?  We're inside more, we wear sunscreen (which blocks vitamin D absorption from sunlight), we don't, in general, eat enough of the foods that are naturally rich in vitamin D, and many parts of the United States don't get strong sunlight year round.

In fact, if you draw a line from San Francisco to Boston, any location above that line gets weak sun for most of the year - exception being the summer.  During the fall, winter, and early spring months, the sunlight at our latitudes is not strong enough to provide vitamin D for skin absorption.  And... don't get me wrong - I am not advocating tossing your sunscreen either.  It protects from many harmful aspects of sunlight, those that can cause skin cancer.

So what are we to do? 

The current recommendation is 400IU (International Units) of vitamin D daily.  International units are the measure of vitamins and other supplements, and can be found on the nutritional information of all vitamin supplements.  Studies are underway to assess whether that 400 IU number is enough.  It is projected that the recommended dosage may creep up to 800 - 1000 IU daily for adults.  And, for those who have vitamin D deficiency, taking larger doses (like 2000-3000 IU daily) may be needed to boost levels to the recommended amount.  Blood tests can determine your vitamin D levels, and check with your doctor before beginning a vitamin d regimen.  Signs of vitamin D deficiency are lethargy, muscle soreness and low energy levels, but those may be the result of extremely low levels.  You may want to ask for this test next time you get your blood work done.

Standing in the bright summer sun for ten minutes can bring a dose of 10,000 IU in one quick blast!  However, we do not recommend tossing your sunscreen.  How can you balance this out?  You can go outside during mid-day, in the summer, and sit for exactly ten minutes, which is not long enough to give a sunburn.  Set a timer to make sure you do not burn!  Then apply sunscreen as you would.  You'll get the health benefits of vitamin D without the dangers of sunburn and sun exposure over long periods of time.

How do we get vitamin D in the winter in the north?
Dietary sources are tricky.  Fatty fish like salmon, herring, and mackerel are rich in vitamin D, especially when the fish is wild, not farmed.  In foods that are fortified with vitamin D (milk, orange juice, soy milk) there may be 100IU per serving, which means you have to chug a lot of milk to get a good vitamin d boost.

Which leads us to supplements.
Because sun exposure can be tricky and have negative side effects, and food sources are few and far between, supplements may be for you.  I personally take seven seas fish oil and vitamin d3 supplements, along with one or two other things.  Vitamin D3 supplements come in many doses, even up to 2,000 IU capsules.  Check with your doctor before taking large doses, to see if it's really necessary for you.  Who knows - maybe you're one of the 22% of the population with adequate levels of the vitamin, in which case - keep at it!

Vitamin D in the news.
Keep your eyes peeled for the results of this great study that's starting soon.  The Vital Study is getting underway testing Omega-3 and Vitamin D3 supplements - together and separately.  Omega 3 oils are shown to help cardiovascular health, and the disease fighting vitamin D will be tested as well.  Harvard and the National Institutes of Health will be working on this five year study, involving placebos, double blind testing, the works.  They're testing people over 65 to see how the supplements affect risk of developing cancer, heart disease, and stroke in people with no history of those conditions.

That's the scoop on vitamin D - keep it in mind next time you get your blood tested.  I went to the doctor today and am scheduled to have a full blood panel done - it's been ages since I've even had a primary care doctor, so it's time.  I'll let you know how it goes!