Vitamin D deficiency has become a serious epidemic.  Maintaining normal levels can decrease your cancer risk by 30-60% on all forms of cancer. Additionally, Vitamin D plays roles in mood support, brain function and overall mental health.  Vitamin D has also been used as a natural antidepressant. There are numerous factors that led to this dangerous nutritional epidemic.  In today's post, I would like to describe the cause of this deficiency, the appropriate testing to diagnose the problem and a comprehensive solution. 

Cause-  The overuse of sunblock is one contributing factor in the problem. We have been taught to fear the damaging rays of the sun.  Exposure to the sun is vital to our survival.  Sunblock should only be used to prevent over-exposure to the sun.  Your body is able to convert natural sunlight into Vitamin D.  20 minutes per day of sunlight exposure is optimal.   

Test- In order to properly test your Vitamin D levels you must obtain a 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D test when you have blood work done.  Make sure not to confuse this with the 1, 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D test.  Normal levels are between 30-100 ng/ml but the OPTIMAL level is between 45-100 ng/ml. Often when patient results are normal they are actually in the low-normal range of 30-35 ng/ml. 

Solution- In order to achieve normal (or preferably optimal) levels of Vitamin D it is necessary to load in excess of the RDA for a short period of time.  RDA for Vitamin D is 2000 iu per day.  If your test results reveal low or low normal values patients are placed on 15,000 to 18,000 iu of good quality Vitamin D3 (also known as cholicalciferol) PER DAY for 3 weeks and then we retest.