I’ve Got the Whole Vitamin D Thing Under Control
As a kid, I remember taking my mother’s scary college textbooks off the shelf in the den and thumbing through them. Why scary? Because my mom was a dietitian and her textbooks featured creepy images of kids with rickets and other vitamin-deficiency disorders. This is basically how I learned to eat properly.
So a few months ago when I got a blood test and learned that I had Vitamin D and B12 deficiencies, I was surprised and not too happy. I soon learned, however, that nearly everyone in this part of the world has a Vitamin D deficiency. We spend all day indoors and don’t even come close to getting enough sun. So we have to use dietary supplements to get enough Vitamin D. After my test results, my doctor prescribed mega-doses of Vitamin D for a few months, and then I got retested. Success! I was in the healthy range. Now I’m taking Vitamin D every day, something I should have been doing anyway. (I also fixed the B12 problem.)
Moral of the story: Take your Vitamin D.
March 16th, 2010 at 11:04 am
I take Vitamin D too. It is something my endocrinologist does routinely along with the annual thyroid checkup! Very important for bone loss prevention during menopause.
March 16th, 2010 at 6:19 pm
I am glad you are taking Vitamin D, Rhea. There is a strong association between Vit. D deficiency and multiple sclerosis. It’s no problem here in Hawaii, of course We have to be on guard against skin cancers!
I think people in temperate climes have gone loony on sun avoidance. You need some sun, even if you are taking supplements. I have no scientific proof of this, or course, but I think it is so.
March 16th, 2010 at 6:41 pm
You need to move to Arizona like us!
March 17th, 2010 at 8:59 am
I am a total sun worshipper. I LOVE THE SUN! And here in Colorado we get a fair amount even in the winter months. I make a point of going out to sit in it for 20 minutes whenever it’s warm enough. It feels so marvelous, like it’s recharging all of my little batteries all at once!
Of course I also take at least 1,000 IUs of Vitamin D everyday. I’ve even written articles about its’ amazing healing powers!
Cheers, Laura Lee
March 17th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Some of the Vitamin D deficiencies seen today can no doubt be traced to lesser consumption of dairy. Milk is always Vitamin D fortified, and is a fine source for those who don’t get enough from sunlight. Concerns about cholesterol and fat may be valid, but it also has been shown to lessen attacks of arrhythmia via concurrent calcium consumption (obviously, also good for battling Osteo.)
March 17th, 2010 at 11:32 pm
Dear Suldog
Do some homework so that you dont post incorrect information. One eight ounce glass of milk contains 100IU Vitamin D. 15 minutes in strong sun produces 20,000IU and most experts say we need at least 2000-5000IU per day. So unless you take a bath in milk it is not going to help much, not to mention all the fat you get from milk and insulin growth factor and the list goes on and on!!!
March 17th, 2010 at 11:33 pm
If you really want to know about vitamin D take a look at one of these two web sites:
http://www.vitaminDcouncil.org
http://www.vitaminD3world.com