Aurora Health Care©

Take your vitamin D

Everyone should take 1,000 to 2,000 units daily

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Audio courtesy of Lake Effect, WUWM Milwaukee Public Radio
 
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Growing evidence shows that vitamin D may help guard against:

  • Cancer
  • Heart disease and stroke
  • Osteoporosis
  • Muscle conditions
  • Autoimmune diseases
  • Seasonal depression
  • Colds

About 41 percent of men and 53 percent of women in the United States have levels of vitamin D that are considered too low. Those with skin pigment are at an even higher risk, as it takes five times more sunshine for African Americans to get the same vitamin D response.

Your body needs the sun to help make vitamin D. With the short, cold winter days and less time spent outside, skin exposure to the sun is very limited and your vitamin D drops.

The goal is getting your vitamin D level to what it would be in the summer if you spent considerable time in the sun, at least 32 ng/ml. During the winter, or if you avoid sun exposure, is when you need supplementation. To reliably be at 32 ng/ml, take 1,000 to 2,000 IU a day all year long.

Research studies support taking extra vitamin D (see below).

In 1997, the Institute of Medicine cautioned about doses over 2,000 IU a day, but it has not reviewed recent data, which indicates higher dosages could be more beneficial. Talk to your doctor, as your vitamin D level may be an important predictor of risk. Meanwhile, start taking 1,000 to 2,000 IU a day.

Vitamin D supplements are sold at Aurora Pharmacies and other retail stores. There are two forms available, D3 and D2. Vitamin D3 is what your body naturally makes and D2 is the synthetic form made from plant sources. Both work, although D3 may be a bit more potent. Vitamin D is considered very safe and can be taken with any food or medicine.

Your physician, pediatrician and pharmacist can tell you more about the benefits of vitamin D.

Research studies support taking vitamin D

  • Vitamin D drops in winter. Our blood level of vitamin D drops every winter with about two thirds of Wisconsin citizens having levels below the minimal recommended normal level of 32 ng/ml. (Binkley, Vitamin D Status: Time to Recognize and Correct a Wisconsin Epidemic, Wisconsin Medical Journal, 2007.)
  • Low vitamin D associated with higher mortality rates. A study showed those with the lowest vitamin D levels had levels similar to what we get in winter in Wisconsin. Their mortality rate was double of those with the highest level of vitamin D of 28 ng/ml. (Dobnig, Low Vitamin D with All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality, Archives of Int Medicine, p. 1340-1349, 2008.)
  • When all randomized studies are combined, those with vitamin D levels below 17 ng/ml had increased mortality rate of 26 percent. (Melamed, Archives of Inter Medicine, 2008.) Another study showed supplementation with 550 IU reduces mortality seven percent. (Autier, 2007.)
  • Low vitamin D associated with higher risk of heart attack and stroke. A study showed that those with high blood pressure and whose blood level of vitamin D dropped to 15 ng/ml had a 213 percent increased risk of a heart attack. In other studies, the risk of stroke was double. (Wallis, Circulation, 2008. Wang, Circulation, Nov. 2007. Pilz, Low Vitamin D Levels Predict Stroke, Stroke, 2008. Poole, Stroke, 2005.)
  • Vitamin D supplementation associated with lower cancer rates. Research showed that 1,100 IU a day of vitamin D with a gram of calcium reduced cancer rates 40 to 50 percent in five years. The study was small and combined all cancers to determine the rate, and more studies are needed. One portion of the study showed increased rates of pancreatic cancer in smokers with higher vitamin D levels. Again, more studies are needed. (Lappe, AJCN, 2007.)
  • Low vitamin D associated with double the number of colds. In a Finland study, those with blood levels below 16 ng/ml had double the number of colds. Having a cold can cost $100 in medicines or lost wages, and vitamin D may be more economical. (Laaksi, AJCN, p. 714-717, 2007.)