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Vitamin D Update


Robyn Openshaw - Mar 26, 2010 - This Post May Contain Affiliate Links


So I told you last summer I was doing a Vitamin D experiment and that I’d report back. After a summer in the sun playing tennis and running, I was tanned and probably as high in Vitamin D as I would get in a year.

I get a moderate amount of sun (while trying to avoid being burned) because (a) I love playing sports outside and (b) I think the sun helps us avoid cancer, have strong bones, and a strong immune system, among other things. I took the high-accuracy Vitamin D blood test and scored quite high, a 79. I asked my LNP who interprets these test results for a grade like you’d get in school, for that score, since I can’t find a chart. She gave me a B+. She said many people have extremely low scores, like 5 or 10.

So the next part of my experiment was to take Vita D (pill form) through the winter. I was out of the sun the entire 8 months except for a few sunny days in Peru, and a day or two of spring skiing lately. I had never taken Vita D in my life, and I hadn’t taken a vitamin supplement of any kind for years.

So I took 3,000 IU Vitamin D daily, for 8 months (a very conservative amount). My score was a 61 when I went back for the test last week.

So my Vitamin D level fell–a lot–because the synthetic version does not help me anywhere near as well (if at all) as the natural way (sunshine) does.

This is certainly in keeping with my assumption, that natural ways to get vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, enzymes–are superior and are utilized much more efficiently and effectively by the body.

I wonder about lots of things. First, should I take 5,000 IU instead? (Was my dose too low?) I can’t answer that based on this experiment, and you can overdose on Vita D. I’m going to take 5,000 IU next winter. Second, how do I know that my level of 61 isn’t the exact same it would be if I didn’t supplement? I can’t know that.

What I do know is that the sun gave me a close-to-optimal amount of Vita D.

Posted in: Supplements

2 thoughts on “Vitamin D Update”

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  1. I do not think that taking 5000 IU s day is unsafe or harmful to your health. However, it is also not necessary to take any more than you already are. Scoring 61 on the vitamin D test put you under the normal range and so long as you do not exceed 10 000 IU a day, you should be fine. I would still advice you to get at least 45 mins of sun everyday even in the winter as that would be a better way than just taking vitamins.

  2. Anonymous says:

    I’ve been taking 15,000IU per day and have not caught a cold or flew this entire winter season…which is about October through March for me. I’m a school teacher. Last year when I didn’t take the VD I had pneumonia, an ear infection that sent me to the ER, and strep throat twice during just one school year. This yr I’m doing the VD and acidophilus combined and so far I’ve only had one cold that’s lasted for about 5 days and the symptoms weren’t bad.

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