Vitamin D is important for many biologic processes in your body. It acts as a hormone as well as a vitamin. Vit D contributes to more than 1000 gene signal expressions in your body! It is important for your bones, immune system, mood, muscles…you name it! Your cells also have to have active Vit D receptors to get the vitamin into the cell to activate it’s power. Mother Nature knows how important Vit D is. For example, EBV, the virus that causes mono, down regulates Vit D receptors in order to suppress your immune system because the virus knows how important Vit D is to the immune system to kill viruses.
What should my Vit D level be?
I encourage my patients to have a Vit D 25 (OH) level between 50-70. (The lab will say down to 30 is ok…it’s not!) I will often check a 1, 25 level and PTH (parathyroid hormone) as a reflection of how your Vit D receptors are functioning. If PTH is up, your receptors are down.
How much vit d should I take?
In order to increase your blood level by 10 points you may need as much as 10,000IU daily. Please check with your provider to assess your response to the vitamin with a repeat blood level. You can have too much Vit D (toxicity) but I’ve never seen it. I do not recommend high weekly prescription doses (usually 50,000IU) as that is not a physiological dose…It’s just too much at one time!
what type of vit d should I take?
If your level is below 50 I recommend Vit D 3 and always recommend it be taken with Vit K2. This helps to make sure the Vit D is delivered properly to the correct places in the body.
How else can I get Vit D?
Vitamin D is made in your skin so don’t be afraid to get 15-20 minutes in peak sun without sun screen. Vit D is also in food, but not a ton. Here are some sources. It is also important to make sure you are getting enough magnesium as it works with Vit D. Most Americans are deficient in magnesium so please have that level checked as well.
Consider working with a Functional Medicine Provider to get to the root causes of your vitamin deficiency. If you are taking vitamins but not absorbing them due to gut issues, that might be a place to start your healing journey. Some medications will also block absorption of vitamins.
In health, Laura