Vitamin D is an extremely important vitamin that has powerful effects on several systems throughout your body.
Absorbing calcium: Vitamin D, along with calcium, helps build bones and keep bones strong and healthy. Weak bones can lead to osteoporosis, the loss of bone density, which can lead to fractures. Vitamin D, once either taken orally or from sunshine exposure is then converted to an active form of the vitamin.
Vitamin D is sometimes called the “sunshine vitamin” because it’s produced in your skin in response to sunlight.
Research has shown that vitamin D might play an important role in regulating mood and warding off depression. In a 2008 study, in the Journal Of Internal Medicine, scientists found that people with depression who received vitamin D supplements noticed an improvement in their symptoms.
How many doses do you need? A retired physician and cancer researcher, Ray Schilling says on Quora, everybody varies with the absorption of vitamin D3 from the gut, the production of vitamin D in the skin, and the rate of elimination in the urine.
“The only way to determine what you need in terms of vitamin D is to do several vitamin D blood levels. Aim to have your vitamin D level in the 50–80 ng/mL range. In terms of mols this is 125–200 nmol/L,” explains Schilling.
How do you do that? He says, start with 4 000 IU of vitamin D3 daily. About one to two months later have a vitamin D blood test taken. “If the level is less than the range indicated above, take 1 000 IU of vitamin D3 per day more (=5 000 IU). If your level is higher than the indicated range, reduce your daily intake of vitamin D3 by 1 000 IU (=2 000 IU). Repeat your vitamin D blood level one to two months later and adjust again up or down. Repeat what I suggested until you stay in the recommended range.”
Doctors can diagnose a vitamin D deficiency by performing a simple blood test. If you have a deficiency, your doctor may order X-rays to check the strength of your bones.
If you’re diagnosed with a vitamin D deficiency, your doctor will likely recommend you take daily vitamin D supplements.