![\"\"](\"http:\/\/drcathiedunal.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/sun.from_.redcrossww.orgStaff-285x285.jpg\" "\\"sunshine\\"")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n
By Cathie Dunal MD, MPH:<\/span> <\/em>The list of Vitamin D\u2019s impact has expanded to both physical and psychological health:<\/p>\n How much Vitamin D should you take?……….<\/span><\/p>\n I disagree with the idea that Vitamin D is a \u201cone size fits all\u201d requirement.\u00a0 Vitamin D acts like a hormone in the body, and hormone requirements need to be customized.\u00a0 (Doctors don\u2019t prescribe the same dose of thyroid medicine to everyone, right?)<\/p>\n The bottom line\u2014check your Vitamin D level.\u00a0(Ask for a \u201c25-OH Vitamin D level.\u201d)\u00a0\u00a0Then you need to take whatever dose your body needs to get to the target level.\u00a0 (For most adults out of their 20\u2019s, that is far more than a 400 IU \u201cminimal daily requirement\u201d\u2014it\u2019s usually at least 1000 or 2000 UI of Vitamin D3\u00a0a day.) The older you are, the more you need, because your skin becomes less efficient at converting your body\u2019s pro-vitamin D into Vitamin D.\u00a0(For very low levels, doctors prescribe an ultra-high weekly dose for about 3 months, to get you to the target level quickly.\u00a0 You get better absorption with Vitamin D3, not D2.\u00a0 Most large chain-store pharmacies have only D2, so get yours at a compounding pharmacy or a smaller pharmacy. (We often use Keefer’s in Mount Prospect\u2014they send it out to you.)<\/p>\n Just what is the target level for Vitamin D?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We know that there are lower rates of colon cancer with levels of 75 to 100.\u00a0 Lab results say that the \u201cnormal\u201d range is 33 and above\u2014but until recently, they used a lower limit of 20!\u00a0 The old \u201cnormals\u201d were based on population averages, and a population that is in the north, like that of the United States, is likely to be low, on average!\u00a0 I disagree with the labs and recommended a level of 50 to 60\u2014but in the light of this last research paper, I would aim for 75, especially if you have a family history of cancers.<\/p>\n At this point you may be asking why can\u2019t you just get out in the sun?\u00a0 First, there isn\u2019t enough sun in the winter, October through April, if you are north of Atlanta (or south of Buenos Aires).\u00a0 Second, the sun\u2019s rays are more damaging now, with climate change, so you would increase your chances of skin cancer if you went out for longer periods without sunscreen.<\/p>\n (A note of caution\u2014don\u2019t give high doses of Vitamin D to children, whose bones are still growing.\u00a0 If your child has a low level, I\u2019m told that it\u2019s safe to dose at most 2,000 IU a day.)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Cathie Dunal MD, MPH: The list of Vitamin D\u2019s impact has expanded to both physical and psychological health: \u2022. Lower rates of colon, lung, breast, and prostate cancer and melanoma \u2022. Less risk for stroke and heart attacks \u2022. Less risk for allergies and autoimmune disease \u2022. Prevents osteoporosis, through its role in assisting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[14,36,55,99,238,132,175,178,179,190],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/drcathiedunal.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/drcathiedunal.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/drcathiedunal.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drcathiedunal.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drcathiedunal.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=847"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"http:\/\/drcathiedunal.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1239,"href":"http:\/\/drcathiedunal.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847\/revisions\/1239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/drcathiedunal.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=847"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drcathiedunal.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=847"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/drcathiedunal.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=847"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\u2022. <\/span>Lower rates of colon, lung, breast, and prostate cancer and melanoma
\n\u2022. <\/span>Less risk for stroke and heart attacks
\n\u2022. <\/span>Less risk for allergies and autoimmune disease
\n\u2022. <\/span>Prevents osteoporosis, through its role in assisting calcium absorption
\n\u2022. <\/span>Better immunity\u2014fewer colds and flu
\n\u2022. <\/span>Lower risk of Alzheimer\u2019s
\n\u2022. <\/span>Improved mood
\n\u2022. <\/span>Lower rates of multiple sclerosis.\u00a0\u00a0(However, this may be a false association because the lower rates are also associated with lower latitudes and more sun\u2014it could be due to another component of sunshine.)<\/ul>\n