Vitamin D is a key player when it comes to weight loss and for your health. It reduces coronary risk by half, improves mood and energy levels, increases metabolic rate, and strengthens the immune system just to name a few. The problem is that half of the population is deficient. This poses a great concern to anyone who wants better health and more important to most, weight loss. It is very troubling also that this epidemic is rarely discussed. My advice for you is to talk with your doctor to get tested. I also highly recommend doing your research; there are a lot of roles that vitamin D play when it comes to health. For instance, there are receptors for vitamin D in 30 different types of tissue and vitamin D is involved in the transcription of 200 different DNA sequences. In short, there is very little in which vitamin D is not involved.
A main factor in vitamin D deficiency is the lack of exposure to sun. During the winters months this is attributed to the cloudy, cold weather but even in the summer the first thing we do when we go outdoors is to lather up in sunscreen. The body makes vitamin D3 freely when exposed to the sun but we are blocking it. SPF 15 blocks 99% of vitamin D production. It is recommended to get short bouts of full exposure to the sun. Afterwards you can lather up or find shade.
But, if you choose to supplement, then the next question is dosage. While an earlier 2004 paper suggested 1,000 IU/day was sufficient to maintain adequate blood levels of vitamin D, five years later there was been a flurry of research (especially in the last two years) which concludes that even these blood levels are actually insufficient. The vitamin D council provides a blanket recommendation for individuals who suspect deficiency to use a dose of 5,000IU (125mcg) of vitamin D3 per day and then take a blood test after three months to see whether the dose needs to be altered up or down. The consensus of research in the last two years is that around 4,000 IU/day is required to maintain optimal bloods levels, in the absence of sunlight. This is a departure from the inclination of mainstream medicine, where a taciturn fear of vitamin D toxicity still clearly exists. This seems to stem from a 1984 study which found toxicity at only 3,800 IU/day, and although the results have never been repeated in similar studies and recent research has shown that 10,000 IU/day poses no risk to adults, the US Food and Nutrition Board set an upper limit at this figure of 3,800 IU/day. The arguments continue to rage. Meanwhile, if you would prefer to use supplements, then I would suggest getting a referral to a respected nutritional therapist.
Despite the clear bill of health given to higher doses of oral vitamin D, I still think its always a good idea to check levels in the body when using supplements. This is done through a blood test but, when you do so, be sure to ask the doctor for the right test. Although 1,25-hydroxyvitamin D is the more metabolically active substance in the body, tests for 25-hydroxyvitamin D are a much more reliable test of vitamin D status in the body. Optimal levels appear to be between 45-56ng/mL.
Again I recommend doing your research. It is your health, don’t put it into someone else’s hands or worse yet, just avoid it.
Bob
@bobbader
http://www.realworldpersonaltraining.com
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