The Vitamin D Facts

So what about vitamin d and calcium absorption?  Especially as we grow older, calcium absorption becomes a more immediate topic.  Falls and broken bones, osteoperosis and even osteomalacia (softening of the bones) become more of a concern.  What role does vitamin d play when it comes to your body absorbing calcium?

The Dynamic Duo

I mentioned that as we grow older, our bones density and strength lessen in most people.  Falls can more often result in broken bones.  Calcium is a major building block in healthy bones, so many people take calcium supplements.

But unless you are getting your ODI (optimum daily intake) of vitamin d, all those calcium supplements might not be doing you any good.  Without enough vitamin d to help the calcium uptake, you’re just losing it in your urine.  Bye-bye calcium supplements!

Vitamin D and Calcium Absorption

Vitamin d and magnesium are necessary to help convert calcium in food and supplements to a form your body can use.  Check your calcium supplement; does it have vitamin d and magnesium?  While it’s more convenient to have them together, it’s not absolutely necessary if you are already taking a vitamin d supplement, along with a multivitamin containing magnesium.  But it doesn’t hurt!

Here’s something you may not realize when it comes to calcium.  At best, the body can use 40% of what you take in via food.  And supplements tend to be worse; anywhere from negligible to around 25%.  Why?  Because the calcium in food is more bio-available.

Also consider this; calcium uptake starts in the stomach, where it’s broken apart by stomach acids.  If your calcium supplement isn’t being digested by your stomach acids, then it’s just passing through your body and on its way out.

Here’s an easy way to tell if your calcium supplement is letting you down or not.  Take a half-cup of vinegar and drop a serving (however many tablets that is) into the vinegar.  Walk away and come back 20 minutes later.  If your supplement is still recognizable as what you put in, your body can’t use it.  If it’s dissolved, your body can start the uptake.

How Much Vitamin D?

With an ODI, your calcium needs (via supplements and food) can be cut by 25% to 50%.  This is because vitamin d causes calcium to be more bio-available.

(Here’s where you can read more about foods with vitamin d and vitamin d supplements information.)

Vitamin d and calcium absorption go hand-in-hand.  If you’re not getting your d, the calcium you take probably isn’t doing you much good.

We don’t normally think about vitamin d deficiency stages, but more along the lines that you’re either deficient or not.  But if you’re getting less vitamin d than is optimal for you, you could be experiencing sub-clinical deficiencies.

So what exactly is a sub-clinical deficiency?  Let’s talk about it.

Stages of a Vitamin Deficiency

The following stages apply not only to vitamin d, but other vitamins and minerals as well.  Here are the stages, from least to most deficient.  (I say vitamin, but I mean minerals as well; it’s shorter to just say “vitamin”.)

• A preliminary deficiency.  This where you may be getting just enough of a vitamin to prevent a clinical deficiency.  For example, for vitamin d this amount is 400 IU.  But your body may require more for good health, due to environmental or emotional stresses.
• Biochemical deficiency.  This in the second stage, where the concentration of the vitamin in the body tissues lowers.  This leaves less of the vitamin for times of greater need.  Basically, your stores are being depleted at this point.
• Physiological stage.  Progressing onward, this is the point where there is less and less of the vitamin in the body, and other body processes that depend on the vitamin start to slow down (or break down).

These three stages are what are called sub-clinical.  They haven’t evolved to the point where it may be a measurable deficiency or obvious symptoms; i.e. your levels may be “low” but not “deficient”.  Still, your body’s processes are involved; vitamin needs are intertwined, and if one is low, other body processes have a harder time.  Which in turn, stresses your system more.

The next two stages of a deficiency are as follows:

• Clinical deficiency.  This is where the symptoms of a deficiency appear and blood levels indicate as such.  The symptoms are obvious.
• Anatomical stage.  At this point the deficiency is so severe, and the body processes so compromised, that death occurs.

Vitamin D Deficiency Signs and Causes

So, what might you be?  You can see the vitamin d deficiency symptoms; review them for your own benefit.

You may also want to read about causes of a vitamin d deficiency, to see if you are at risk (hint, most people are, if only in the winter).

In all likelyhood, most Americans are at a sub-clinical deficiency stage, but there is also reason to believe that a large population has also reached the clinical stage.

You can protect yourself; an inexpensive insurance is a vitamin d supplement.
At just a couple dollars a month you can provide your body what it needs to thrive.

So just what are vitamin d deficiency symptoms?  You might have heard of the most obvious of the deficiencies — rickets — but are there any other symptoms you whould know about?

First we’ll talk about rickets, and then about the rest of the vitamin d deficiency symptoms.

Vitamin D and Rickets

This is the most widely-known of the vitamin d deficiencies.  And in fact, the RDA / MDA was created at 400 IU because that was what it takes to prevent rickets. 

Rickets is a childhood disease, and it is evidenced by softened bones, and the resulting deformities of the long bones of the body.  An early symptom of rickets is craniotabes, which is an abnormal thinning / softening of the skull.

If you’re reading this, you’re likely past the age where rickets would be an issue.  So what are some of the other warning signs you do need to watch for?

Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms

So now that you’re past childhood and rickets isn’t a warning sign.  What should you be on the lookout for?  Well, you just might be surprised at the list!  Take a look and see how many may apply to you:

• Fatigue
• Muscle pain, weakness or cramping
• Joint pain and/or swelling
• Chronic pain
• Poor concentration and memory
• Restless sleep
• Headaches
• Uncontrolled weight gain
• High blood pressure
• Bowel problems
• Bladder problems

Find any there that you can relate to?  It’s pretty scary when you think about it.

Diseases Associated With Vitamin D Deficiency

It’s quite amazing that one vitamin can cover so many bases.  And actually, vitamin d isn’t really a vitamin per se (although I’ll cover that in a different post).  But for the time being, let’s call it a vitamin, and see what diseases are associated with its lack.

• Alzheimer’s
• Arthritis
• Autoimmune diseases (multiple sclerosis, lupus)
• Depression, including SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)
• Diabetes
• Fibromyalgia
• Gum disease
• Heart disease
• Obesity
• Osteoperosis
• Parkinson’s

There’s also growing evidence that vitamin d, by strengthening the body’s immune system, can help prevent or fight off cancer.

Now I’m the first to admit that any or all of the above could be caused by something other than a deficiency of vitamin d.  But doesn’t it make sense that if you do have one of the above conditions, that you have your vitamin d levels checked?  Take a moment and review the causes of a vitamin d deficiency, then think about how much you get on a daily basis.

There aren’t many foods with vitamin d.  Surprised?  You’re in good company, because most people don’t realize how scarce vitamin d is in the food we eat.

But there are food sources of vitamin d out there!  Let’s take a look at what you need to know before you stock your pantry and refrigerator with them.

Food Sources of Vitamin D

Because our bodies were meant to naturally make vitamin d from sunlight, the foods with viamin d are fewer than usual.  And in fact, most of the foods we consider sources of vitamin d are in fact just supplemented.

First, take a look in your cabinets, and read the food labels.  Not counting milk, breakfast cereal, or supplements, how many sources of vitamin d did you find?  My bet is none or extremely few, if you’re like the average person.

We traditionally think of milk as being a great source of vitamin d, but in fact it’s only so-so.  The vitamin d is enhanced in cow’s milk by exposing it to UV light.  Still, how many glasses of milk do you drink in a day?

But before I go much further, you may want to take a look at the causes of vitamin d deficiency page to see how much you should be getting.  Here’s a hint:  if you’re not a baby, it’s more than the 400 IU that is the current listing for the MDR (minimum daily requirement).

Foods High in Vitamin D

There are some foods that are high in vitamin d, but you’re not likely eating them much.  Fatty fish leads the pack of foods high in vitamin d.  These fish include herring, sardines, catfish, mackrel and salmon.  Fish oils also contain good amounts of vitamin d.

Fish liver oils (like the infamous cod liver oil) are also rich in vitamin d, but you need to consume this kind of oil with caution.  Why?  Because it’s also a rich source of vitamin a, which can prove toxic to your body in large amounts.

(Vitamin d is rarely toxic, which you can read more about on the vitamin d toxicity page.)

Milk obviously contains vitamin d, and some dairy, but be careful.  Just because it’s dairy don’t assume its been fortified with vitamin d; read the labels.

Egg yolks are also a minor source of this vitamin.

No Foods With Vitamin D?  Consider Supplements

Unless you regularly spend time in the sunlight (without sunscreen) and eat fatty fish 3 or more times a week, you’re probably not getting enough vitamin d.  So, you may want to consider supplements.

Don’t count on a multivitamin to provide what your body needs, as far as vitamin d goes.  They provide some (and a multivitamin is definitely better than nothing), but viitamin d supplements are very inexpensive, maybe $3  or $4 a month.  Considering that a vitamin d deficiency has been linked to cancer, diabetes and heart disease,  even $5 a month wouldn’t be too high a price, don’t you think?

You can buy your vitamin d from  the grocery store, a health food store or online, whichever is most convenient for you.

Foods with vitamin d might be a little more scarce than you’d like, but sunshine and supplements can help make up for what you’re not getting from food.

Vitamin d toxicity is one of those enduring myths.  Yes, you can overdose on vitamin d…but you’d have to really work hard at it!  But there’s a small grain of fact in the myth about vitamin d being so toxic.

And that grain of fact is called cod liver oil.

Vitamin D Toxicity and Cod Liver Oil

If you’re over, say, 45 years old, you probably got to take cod liver oil in one form or another while you were growing up.  My brothers and sisters got the liquid, but by the time I came around, at least it was in pill form (and not so bad-tasting).

Cod liver oil is indeed a great natural source of vitamin d.  However, it’s also an excellent source of vitamin a — and that’s the rub.  It’s far, far easier to get toxic with vitamin a.  And by the time you took enough cod liver oil to get your vitamin d tank full, you were dangerously close to your limit for vitamin a — and that’s not counting what’s in the food you eat!

Is Vitamin D Toxic in Any Amount?

Well, too much of anything isn’t good for you, but it would be really, really hard to overdose on natural vitamin d (also known as D-3).  It would take well over 30,000 IU a day over the course of several weeks to build up toxicity to a serious level.

An overdose of synthesized vitamin D-2 (available only by prescription) is possible, but since it is prescription only, it’s unlikely to happen (it’s in injection form).

You can find out more about this fascinating vitamin on the vitamin d facts page.  Enjoy the information!

So what are the causes of vitamin d deficiency?  Don’t we get enough of it in our foods?  What about the multivitamins we take?  (Always assuming we take them, on a regular basis.)  And then again, doesn’t the sun provide enough vitamin d for us?

How can we be deficient in vitamin d, between food, supplements and sunshine?  I’ve discussed it a little in my vitamin d facts post, but let’s take another look.

What Amounts Do Our Bodies Need?

Before we talk about the causes, let’s look at how much our bodies need.  This way, you’ll be able to understand the causes much better.

Way back in the early 1900’s, rickets was a all-too-common disease.  Rickets is basically a case of too-soft bones that can bend and warp — and break.  It was especially prevalent in the children of that time.

In 1914, Dr. E.V.McCollum discovered that cod liver oil contained vitamin d; here was a supplement people could use.  But at what dose?  It was rather trial and error for awhile.

The, in the 1940’s, the current standard of 400 IU was set, because it was determined that a small amount of cod liver oil was enough to prevent rickets in a baby.  That’s fine for a baby and a young child, but as we get older, our bones get larger.  Is 400 IU enough for a teen, adult or senior — especially when you consider the epidemic of osteoporosis?

In the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Drs. Robert Heaney and Michael Holick argued for a weight-based calculation, instead of a one-size-fits-all 400 IU.  Applauded by the nutritional community, and in line with what the body’s d levels should be, the recommendation has not passed the FDA.

(Can you imagine the labeling difficulties for foods containing vitamin d?)

In the book The Vitamin D Cure, Dr. James E. Dowd suggests a method using weight calculation, like Drs. Heaney and Holick recommend.  Now obviously, how much you take also depends on how much time you spend (or don’t spend) in the sun.  But as a minimum, for the person who rarely is out in the mid-day sun, supplementation at the rate of 20 IU per pounds of body weight is the dosage to shoot for.  This means that a person 150 pounds would need to take 3.000 IU a day to get the body to a good vitamin d level.

The Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency

OK, now you know how much your body needs; for argument’s sake, let’s say it’s 2,000 IU.  Where are you going to get it?

Vitamin d is known as the “sunshine vitamin” and it truely is.  Our bodies use UVB rays to convert to vitamin d in our bodies.  Pretty neat!

But here’s the problem.  You’d need to expose a large portion of your body (think swimsuit, or at most shorts and a t-shirt) to the sun at 3 times a week.  For how long depends on how dark your skin is to start with; it could be anywhere from 15 minutes to 40 minutes.  No sunscreen allowed during the time, because sunscreen prevents UVB rays, which is what your body needs to create vitamin d.

Also keep in mind that the vast majority of people aren’t about to get dressed in shorts and a t-shirt in the middle of winter to sunbathe!

And let’s face it; anyone who lives in a hot climate stays out of the sun and in the cool air conditioning!

OK, it seems that sunshine is out for getting the vitamin d our bodies need.  What about food?

Vitamin D and Food — Surprising Facts

I challenge you to go into your cabinets and refrigerator to look for foods that contain more than 5 IU of vitamin d on the label.  Not counting milk or breakfast cereal, how many did you find?  If you’re like me, you found none.

The fact is, unless a food is fortified with vitamin d, it very likely doesn’t have any!  Our bodies were designed to get this vitamin from sunlight, and it’s not present in any appreciable quantities in food.

Which begs another question — how often do you drink a few glasses of vitamin d fortified milk in a day?  How many servings of breakfast cereal do you eat on a daily basis?  My guess is that unless you’re downing an awful lot of Total, you aren’t getting much at all.

If you aren’t getting it from sunshine or from your food, how do you know if you’re deficient?  You can check out the vitamin d deficiency symptoms post for a list.

Vitamin D Supplements

So that leaves us with vitamin d supplements.  I just went to some websites to look at how much vitamin d the two most popular brands of multivitamins (Centrum and One-a-Day) provide.

The winner was One-a-Day Women’s 50+ Advantage, at 800 IU a serving.  Sorry guys, you only get 400 IU, even in the Men’s 50+ Advantage.

The moral of this story — don’t depend on a multivitamin to give your body everything it needs.  Certainly, it’s better than nothing, but your body is still running in the deficient mode. 

Your best bet is a separate vitamin d supplement to give you all that you need.  And the good news; there are plenty out there and they are quite inexpensive!  To get an idea of just how little they cost, here’s the one my husband and I use:

Vitamin D-3 1000 IU

I think you’ll agree, that’s a lot of protection for a very small price!

Vitamin d facts and myths is the subject of this post. The more I’ve read and talked with people, the more I realize that there is a lot of misinformation. Let’s talk about what is true and what is simply myth we’ve come to accept as fact.

Vitamin D and Sunshine

Yes, it’s true that vitamin D is made in your body from sunshine. However, it’s a myth that you can get the benefits of sunshine using a sunscreen. Not so!

Vitamin d is made by the sun’s UVB rays. And of course, that’s what sunscreens block. So that leads to a dillema; how can you get the benefit of sunshine without damaging your skin?

The answer is to limit your exposure without sunscreen, then go ahead and put on the sunblock, the hat, or otherwise cover up.  However, there is something you need to be aware of.  In order to get enough sunshine for adequate vitamin d, you need to expose over half your body to sunlight.  That means a pair of shorts and a t-shirt (or a bathing suit).  And if you live in a climate where it gets too cold for shorts and a t-shirt for months at a time…well, there goes your vitamin d!

How much sun?  Well, that depends on the time of year, whether you live in an area with smog, etc.  The best way is to check the UV rating of your zip code on any given day (or even hour).  Here’s a site where you can put in your zip code in the upper left of the screen, and you’ll get not only the UV rating (left-hand colum) but also your forecast.  If your UV rating is less than 3, you won’t get the benefit of sunshine.

OK, so sunshine may not be an option for you.  What’s next?

The Minimum Daily Requirement is All You Need

Currently, the minimum daily requirement (MDR) is 400 IU (international units).  That’s fine if you’re a small child, but not if you’re past about 7 years old.

The vitamin d fact is that the MDR was set over 70 years ago, when it was determined that 400 IU was the amount of vitamin d needed to prevent a child from developing rickets.  Well that’s fine and dandy, but the older you get, the larger your bones are, the more vitamin d you need to keep them strong.  No, 400 IU isn’t enough as an MDR for adults!

(The good news is that there is a movement afoot in the medical research community to raise the MDR, to be based on body weight.  The bad news is that the FDA hasn’t officially adopted it.)

Here’s more information about the causes of vitamin d deficiency, and how much you actually need.

You Get All the Vitamin D You Need From Food

Think again.  Let’s say that 400 IU was all you needed as an adult.  Let’s also assume that you don’t get out in the sun very often and that you don’t take supplements.  What are you getting from your food?

Surprisingly little!  I did an inventory of my cabinets and fridge the other day, searching for vitamin d on the labels of foods.  Except on my cereal box and carton of milk, there was none.  Zip.  Nada.

I don’t eat cereal very often for other reasons, nor do I drink the milk (just use splashes of it here and there in recipes…or on my cereal).  So, what’s left?  Pretty much nothing that would amount to anything.

Vitamin D is Toxic

Sure, you can overdose on vitamin d, but you’d have to be taking an awful lot of it, in addition to getting all the sunshine you need!  You’d need supplements of over 30,000 IU a day continuously over a period of weeks.  That’s a whole lot of sunshine and supplements!

What this vitamin d myth came from was that cod liver oil was the most common vitamin d supplement.  Unfortunately, it’s also an excellent source of vitamin a.  And the vitamin a toxicity is far lower.  So by taking the cod liver oil, you were getting more than you bargained for, especially since vitamin a is plentiful in foods.

The Vitamin D Facts:  It’s What Your Body Needs!

Your body needs vitamin d for optimum health.  And if you can’t get it from sunshine, which virtually no one in the United States, Canada or Europe does, you need to take supplements.  You aren’t getting it from your food in the quantities you need for good health.

The good news is that you can get what you need from supplements, and vitamin d is quite inexpensive.  So give your body what it needs!