Vitamin D

I wanted to start my contributions to this blog with a post about Vitamin D.   There has been some press about it lately, but still many of the patients that come to my naturopathic practice are not supplementing yet with Vitamin D.   Here in the Pacific Northwest, we don’t get enough sun, but there is Vitamin D deficiency in other areas of the country as well.  Cloud cover, northern latitude, and the use of sunscreen products are common reasons for the lack of sun’s ability to produce Vitamin D in our skin.  There are other reasons as well: darker skin and obesity are linked to less Vitamin D production. Unfortunately, there aren’t many foods with enough Vitamin D to do the trick. It has to be sun or supplements.   Many people are nervous about taking Vitamin D in high doses over 1,000 IU, but our bodies would make many thousands with a good dose of sunshine.  Most people that I have tested here in the NW in the winter months have needed between 2,000 and 10,000 IU a day to get their lab values up to normal.   Testing can be expensive, so when we don’t test, I recommend taking 2,000 IU a day during the winter. The most common symptoms of deficiency are fatigue and muscle aching or stiffness.  It is one of the first tests I recommend with fibromyalgia or similar symptoms.   Even without symptoms, Vitamin D deficiency can lead to low bone density or osteoporosis, since this vitamin plays a critical role in calcium absorption.  There is even research that Vitamin D is necessary for normal immune function, cancer protection, and prevention of depression, as well as other conditions. Vitamin D is easy to find, comes in capsules, liquids and chewables, and is pretty inexpensive.   This is one nutrient that is worth the effort.