What do you stand to gain from optimizing your vitamin D? Well, we highly recommend browsing through studies to see it with your own eyes, but to summarize, vitamin D has been shown to:
be powerful in cancer prevention
regulate mood and help with depression
play a role in weight loss
decrease levels of heart disease
& support IMMUNE HEALTH!
Additionally, those with low levels of vitamin D may be at increased risk of auto-immune diseases, like diabetes type1, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.
How Much Vitamin D Do You Need?
The best way to optimize your vitamin D is through safe sun exposure, or using a safe UVB tanning bed (they are not all safe). However, in Canada we do not have access to regular sun exposure on a large portion of our bare skin, so a vitamin D3 supplement is necessary.
Based on the most recent research, the current recommendation for dosage is 35 IU’s of vitamin D per pound of body weight. So for a child weighing 40 pounds, the recommended average dose would be 1,400 IU’s daily, and for a 170-pound adult, the dose would be nearly 6,000 IU’s. However, it’s important to realize that vitamin D requirements are highly individual, as your vitamin D status is dependent on numerous factors, such as the color of your skin, your location, and how much sunshine you’re exposed to on a regular basis.
So, although these recommendations may put you closer to the ballpark of what most people likely need, it is impossible to make a blanket recommendation that will cover everyone’s needs. The only way to determine the correct dose is to get your blood tested.
The correct test your doctor needs to order is 25(OH)D, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which is the better marker of overall D status.
Next, the “normal” 25-hydroxyvitamin D lab range is between 20-56 ng/ml. However, studies have shown this conventional range is really a sign of deficiency, and is too broad to be ideal. In fact, your vitamin D level should never be below 32 ng/ml, and any levels below 20 ng/ml are considered serious deficiency states.
The OPTIMAL value that you’re looking for is 40-60 ng/ml. This range applies for everyone; children, adolescents, adults and seniors.
I get tested every few years with my medical doctor to see where I’m at with this important vitamin. It is a test that costs approximately $30.
Here at Oaktree 2 of our clinics sell Innate Choice Vitamin D drops (which is what we take for ourselves and our kids). It is top quality, organic and contaminant-free. Check it out!