How Much Vitamin D Should We Be Taking?
from: Joseph Nykoluk
There has been a lot of news lately on Vitamin D. Although our bodies need more than just Vitamin D, this class of vitamin D is beginning to pack more punch than any other single vitamin. After all, vitamin D may be the powerhouse that protects us from:
- - cancer
- - heart disease
- - stroke
- - and even bone fractures
Another reason Vitamin D news is so abundant is the fact that many of us from Canada and the United States are sorely deficient in this very important class of vitamin. A new article put out by U.S.News says that most American young people are deficient in this vital vitamin.
They also state that these young people could suffer heart disease or even stroke if they continue being deficient in Vitamin D. Youngsters could also be more susceptible to develop high blood pressure for those who consume the lowest levels of Vitamin D.
Responsible for many studies on Vitamin D, the Institute of Medicine is trying hard to help increase the daily recommended intake of this very important nutrient. In 1997, the recommended dose of Vitamin D was based on preventing rickets (a condition of the bone).
Most people can now drink milk that has beenfortified with Vitamin D to prevent rickets, but apparently not enough to reap the protective beneficial effects of Vitamin D against such diseases as mentioned above.
So…how much Vitamin D should we be taking?
The thing about studies on vitamins is that they are rarely conclusive. Where one expert recommends 200 International Units (IUs) for children, The American Academy of Pediatrics recomends anywhere from 400 IUs to 2,000 IUs. A pregnant or breast-feeding woman may need between 3,000 and 5,000 IUs daily.
Below is a short YouTube video less than 3 minutes long which deals with kids being deficient in Vitamin D.
What do I do for my own Vitamin D intake?
For one thing I do no want to be at risk of disease due to a Vitamin D deficiency and yet I do not want to be at risk for taking too much Vitamin D if these studies are proven wrong at some point in the future. I take a medium approach.
I’ve been taking a daily dose of 1000 IUs of Vitamin D3 for over 6 months now together with 1000 mg of fossil grade (or above sea grade) coral calcium. Vitamin D gets absorbed into the blood stream more readily by taking calcium. Together with the Vitamin D and coral calcium I also take 400 International Units of natural Vitamin E. You can tell if the Vitamin E is a natural source if it’s in the form of alpha tocopheryl acetate.
I also get some vitamin D from the sun. But you have to be careful here. If you have fair skin, 20 minutes a day is probably enough. People with dark skin, especially those from Africa, can probably tolerate up to 2 hours of exposure to get their maximum dose of Vitamin D.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the older you are the less vitamin D you can absorb through your skin, although the jury’s still out on this. Most of my other vitamins and other supplements are taken from food. I still eat a little junk food once every couple of weeks or so, but for the most part I do my own healthy cooking making sure I eat plenty of organic vegetables, fruits, and nuts (especially walnuts and almonds). As for meat, sure I eat beef and some pork, but I am eating more and more fish. My two favorites are salmon and walleye (pickerel in Canada).
If you want to continue your own research on Vitamin D, I have gathered a few other resources for you:
- The Vancouver Sun – on caesarean risk
- REUTERS – on the relationship between Vitamin D and calcium in kids
- Canada.com – thinks Vitamin D recommendation for infants is too high
- U.S. News – blog talking again about how much Vitamin D we should be taking
If you learned anything from this article and more importanly, if you benefited at all from what I said here, please leave me a comment and share your experiences.
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