Symptoms and Prevention of Vitamin D Deficiency

With all the studies that support the importance of adequate vitamin D levels in your blood, wouldn’t you think they’d make testing for it mandatory? Wouldn’t they want to be sure everyone had optimal vitamin D levels to prevent sickness and disease? That would make too much sense.

At less than 20 cents per day for a vitamin D supplement, think of the savings impact on our national health care costs! Perhaps it’s more lucrative to keep people sick?

If you haven’t done so already, please get your vitamin D levels checked–A simple blood test will do it. Talk to your doctor about the results even if you fall into the “normal” category range because your levels may not be providing you the protection you need.

You may want to be in the OPTIMAL range, which is about 50-70 ng/ml range.   Dr. Mercola  shares some great information on the differences between the two vitamin D tests. (The correct test is 25(OH)D, or 25-hydroxyvitamin D.)  If you’re a cancer survivor your levels should be in the 70-100 ng/ml range.

Some time ago, I’d been taking 2,000 IU (international units) a day for over a year; that’s well above the RDA 600 IUs.  I was very surprised to find out my levels were only 25 ng/ml! The holistic MD I was seeing at the time told me to increase it to 5,000 IU’s of vitamin D3.

I’ve been doing that ever since and have my levels checked every year. I’ve had  three sisters with cancer,  and can’t take any chances. I’m proof that even when you take a higher dosage of  D3, you can still have lower levels – which is exactly why it’s so important to get your levels checked.

Some of the common symptoms of vitamin d deficiency include (but are not limited to), the flu, muscle weakness, chronic kidney problems, diabetes, asthma, gum disease, heart disease, and cancer. Certainly most of these vitamin d symptoms can result from other causes, but why take the chance?

Taking proactive measures like getting tested, getting sunlight exposure, or taking a Vitamin D supplement will definitely decrease your chances of these symptoms. Other factors like weight, skin color and your body’s ability to absorb nutrients can also play a role in your vitamin D levels, as well.

Sunlight exposure is a common source of Vitamin D, but how much you absorb will vary from person to person (skin color, time of day, time of year, and how much skin is exposed can all impact how much D you receive.)

With the holidays and flu season upon us, it’s critical to arm yourself with the right tools to protect your health – and that should start with Vitamin D3.   If you rely on flu shots for protection, they have not always been so reliable. Your body needs vitamin D!

You’ll also want to be make sure that food or drink (like milk) that says it contains “vitamin d”, really contains vitamin D3. Many foods and drinks that state they contain vitamin D, actually contain vitamin D2. This is a synthetic form of vitamin D or ergocalciferol) and not vitamin D3.  The “natural” form of Vitamin D3 is cholecalciferol–which is best.