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Benefits Of Vitamin D
A recent trip to Hawaii with my wife Connie got me thinking about how much Vitamin D I should be taking if I am in the sun all day. A few months back I saw a report on local TV stating that if you live in a northern climate like Minnesota, you should be taking 4000 - 5000 IU of Vitamin D a day due to the lack of sunlight here and the ability of Vit-D to help kick start and support your immune system.
Which is especially important during the cold and flu season. Vit-D is very important for your body because it functions to maintain proper blood levels of calcium and phosphorous. I had always thought that the RDA for Vit-D was 200 IU/day, so I looked it up. Apparently the school of thought has changed since around 1999. Now it is suggested to take between 1000 IU and 5000 IU per day, and in cases of deficiency even higher amounts are recommended. The old school of thought of 200 IU/day was the minimum needed to prevent rickets, Since Vit-D targets over 2000 genes many health issues can occur before you develop rickets ( softening of bone). Vit-D deficentcy is related to at least 17 different cancers as well as heart disease, stroke hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis,osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, periodontal disease, multiple sclerosis and more. Did you know that Multiple Sclerosis in far more common in northern states like Minnesota and that babies born in May have a much higher incidence of developing MS? It is thought that the lack of sunlight during pregancy leads to lower levels of Vit-D for the baby which affects the autoimmune system which may provoke MS issues. I saw a report on CNN that said that if you are Vit-D deficient that you are 40% more likely to get cancer, being a cancer survivor, that got my attention. It is also interesting to know that your body produces 10,000 IU's of Vit-D in 30 minutes of full body exposure to the sun, which is called a minimal erythemal dose. That is plenty of Vit-D in normal conditions during the summer. Getting back to my original question, I decided to take 2000 IU/day while in Hawaii and went back to 5000 IU/day here during the winter. I plan on taking 2000 IU's this summer. For more information please visit www.vitamindcouncil.org or www.mayoclinic.com Stop by for a cup of Hawaiian coffee this week. Please feel free to chime in on any thoughts you may have about Vit-d.
Which is especially important during the cold and flu season. Vit-D is very important for your body because it functions to maintain proper blood levels of calcium and phosphorous. I had always thought that the RDA for Vit-D was 200 IU/day, so I looked it up. Apparently the school of thought has changed since around 1999. Now it is suggested to take between 1000 IU and 5000 IU per day, and in cases of deficiency even higher amounts are recommended. The old school of thought of 200 IU/day was the minimum needed to prevent rickets, Since Vit-D targets over 2000 genes many health issues can occur before you develop rickets ( softening of bone). Vit-D deficentcy is related to at least 17 different cancers as well as heart disease, stroke hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis,osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, periodontal disease, multiple sclerosis and more. Did you know that Multiple Sclerosis in far more common in northern states like Minnesota and that babies born in May have a much higher incidence of developing MS? It is thought that the lack of sunlight during pregancy leads to lower levels of Vit-D for the baby which affects the autoimmune system which may provoke MS issues. I saw a report on CNN that said that if you are Vit-D deficient that you are 40% more likely to get cancer, being a cancer survivor, that got my attention. It is also interesting to know that your body produces 10,000 IU's of Vit-D in 30 minutes of full body exposure to the sun, which is called a minimal erythemal dose. That is plenty of Vit-D in normal conditions during the summer. Getting back to my original question, I decided to take 2000 IU/day while in Hawaii and went back to 5000 IU/day here during the winter. I plan on taking 2000 IU's this summer. For more information please visit www.vitamindcouncil.org or www.mayoclinic.com Stop by for a cup of Hawaiian coffee this week. Please feel free to chime in on any thoughts you may have about Vit-d.
Posted by Dr Bill Schumacher at 1/17/2010 10:06 AM 
Categories: Treatment
Tags: RDA stroke diabetes colds flu osteoporosis osteoarthritis cancer autoimune disease multiple sclerosis rickets muscle weakness chronic pain dosage depression
Categories: Treatment
Tags: RDA stroke diabetes colds flu osteoporosis osteoarthritis cancer autoimune disease multiple sclerosis rickets muscle weakness chronic pain dosage depression
Wow. This is good stuff. Thanks for posting this info. There has been a lot of talk about the subject in the national press and I was curious what your thoughts were. Personally, I do take a vitamin D3 supplement daily in liquid form and I feel like it does provide benefit, especially in the dark days of winter. By the way, I'd love to see some pics of Hawaii about now. Go Vikes!!!
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