The sunshine vitamin is good stuff
since we often have same questions about supplementing and natural production, I'm starting this thread
1. Production of Vitamin D--getting out in the sun
--UVB rays cause vit. D production. Melanin will filter UVB. the darker the skin, the more time a person has to spend in the sun to produce necessary vit. D.
--This is a very nifty handy
calculator that will tell you
how long to stay outside, while accounting for skin color, time of day, geographical position, etc. This is an
article that will help with use of the calculator.
--Antioxidant-rich diet will offer natural protection to your skin. Eat well and hang out with no sunblock for some time
--If your skin turns a very very slight shade of pink, you can assume you have made all the vitamin D you will for that day. It will now take you up to 48 hrs to absorb it into the bloodstream. Avoid scrubbing, rubbing, soaping, and exfoliating.
2. What's vitamin D good for:
Currently we have scientific data to show that vit. D plays an important part in preventing and/or treating
-chronic pain
-cancer (breast, ovarian, colon, rectal, pancreatic and other)
-cardiovascular disease
-premature births
-insufficient strength/endurance of the uterus
-weak immune system
-psoriasis
-osteoporosis
-diabetes
-high blood pressure
-MS
-postmenopausal weight gain
-tooth health
-mental health
-overall mortality reduction
convinced yet?
3. What are the food sources of vitamin D?
Cod liver oil is a natural source, highest in vit. D. other fatty fish, liver and egg yolk also contain it.
here is a
table
4. Supplementing
Tolerable upper intake levels (this is the highest level of intake considered safe for daily use, without risking toxicity or other adverse events) for vitamin D have been revised and are not being revised again b/c of studies being done. afaik, latest data is this:
Birth--1 yr old=25 micrograms (or 1,000 IU)
1 yr and up=50 micrograms (or 2,000 IU)
these numbers are produced by the same guys that come up with RDA's commonly referenced on the nutrition panel of our food packages, and in my opinion, they tend to be conservative.
Alternative medical advice:
Adults over 100 lbs--10,000 IU daily
Breastfeeding mothers--10,000 IU daily (emphasis mine
)
Children over 2 yrs old and under 100 lbs--5,000 IU daily
HomeFirst flu/cold treatment: 1,000 IU per 1 lb for 7 days. (so, if you weigh 150 lbs, that's 150,000 IU for 7 days)
if you are scared by numbers, remember that a dressed caucasian adult will make 10,000 IU in 30 min of being outside, even without being in direct sunlight.
D2 (ergocalciferol) vs D3 (cholecalciferol)
Whenever I talk about vitamin D, what i mean is vit D3
This is what gets formed when the sunlight comes in contact with your skin.
D2 is made by stuff like mushrooms and slugs under the sunlight
While today western medical community recognizes both D3 and D2 as appropriate for supplementation and use them interchangeably, alternative practitioners avoid vitD2 because:
-it is not found in human body except when consumed with, say, mushrooms, and even then in *tiny* amounts
-tends to be more toxic
-while little is known, there may be some metabolic issues
Bottom line is,
supplementation with D3 is a lot more desirable, b/c it is the natural form made in the human body.
4. Testing for blood levels
when getting blood work, the test needed is called:
25(OH)D3 aka 25D3 aka calcidiol aka 25-hydroxyvitamin D
try saying that really fast five times. those are all the same thing, just different ways to say it.
How to interpret the results:
western medicine
0-20 ng/ml -- deficient
30-60 ng/ml -- preferred
over 150 ng/ml -- toxicity
alternative medicine
under 50 -- deficient
50-80 -- preferred
over 150 --toxicity
If you are supplementing for significant health concerns, or have a history of one of the disorders mentioned above, it is recommended that you do test. Some people required much higher doses and continued testing to stay within healthy range.
http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2010/vitamin-d/ cute graphic