How do you increase your intake* of Vitamin D? Will a tanning bed work? Can vitamin pills provide it? Or is sunshine really the only effective way?
*PA mentioned I should increase it during the winter.
My last blood test showed my D level was very low. Since then my doctor has put me on pills to increase the level. I started out taking a single pill weekly that was 50,000 units. Now I take that weekly plus a 5,000 unit dose daily. Seems like a lot to me, but I’ve been assured you can’t overdose on vitamin D.
Liquid vitamin D-3 is available in drops of 2-5,000 IU.
Many foods contain vitamin D naturally and others (especially milk) are fortified with vitamin D. But yes, it can be most easily measured in intake by taking a pill–usually a gelcap.
Being a fat-soluble vitamin, it is possible to overdose–or rather, to have toxic levels. I’ve seen patients on higher doses than the OP’s. I suspect that more and more general physicians will make a habit of monitoring vitamin D levels as its effects on good health become more apparent with time. A dose that big would merit repeat measurements, but it may be a part of most annual lab screenings by now anyway.
FWIW, I take 2,000 IU per day of Vitamin D3 on my doctor’s recommendation after she first checked my level and it was low; it was up to normal the next year and she told me to keep on taking it. Since I’m pasty white and not inclined to tempt the sun, I continue.
Thanks for the clarification, I guess I was given wrong information about too much D. A quick search reveals that while very rare it is possible to have a reaction to vitamin D. From the Vitamin D Council.a website:
"Can too much vitamin D be harmful? Yes, it certainly can - though anything can be toxic in excess, even water. As one of the safest substances known to man, vitamin D toxicity is very rare. "
What exactly constitutes a toxic dose of vitamin D has yet to be determined, though it is possible this amount may vary with the individual.
"Published cases of toxicity, for which serum levels and dose are known, all involve intake of ≥ 40000 IU (1000 mcg) per day. 1 Two different cases involved intake of over 2,000,000 IU per day - both men survived. "
This is what my doctor has me on. Apparently the liquid is more readily absorbed then the pills. I am on 10,000 IU a day, but it’s for a specific condition, so you would likely be good on 2,000 to 5,000 IU max.
Do you feel any difference now that you’re supplementing vit D?
Originally, the “fortification” was for skim and semi milk, to put back the liposoluble pro-vitamins taken out along with the fat (A and D). The levels are supposed to be what you’d get if you were drinking “from the cow” as it were.
Vit A is replaced, in lowfat and nonfat milk like you describe. However Vit D was never in milk (except in tiny, trace amounts), so it’s simply being fortified, not replaced. It helps you absorb the calcium, so it was added.
I don’t think this distinction was ever made in the U.S. It’s not clear to me why you would do it in Spain either. Milk contains approximately 40 IU of vitamin D per quart (so about the same per liter). It is fortified to 400 IU. That’s ten times what you get “from the cow”.
Having some vitamin D is better than none and as a supplement to the other sources I imagine that even without fortification it would help in the proverbial “balanced diet.” But if you’re going to fortify milk with vitamin D you have to do so for any variety with any amount of fat.
Tanning beds generally do promote vitamin D formation, but due to the increased risk of skin cancer from their regular use, it’s really not the recommended way to get your vitamin D regularly.
Exposing the body to sunlight when the sun is more than 45 degrees above the horizon is generally considered effective for production of vitamin D. The more skin exposed, the more vitamin D produced. A caucasian adult with arms and legs and face exposed for about an hour a day is generally considered sufficient, but those with darker skin need longer exposures. Tropical sun is real good at causing the skin to produce vitamin D; however the risk of severe burn/longterm skin cancer goes way up too.
Foods and drinks that have a lot of vitamin D include:
Milk, orange juice, or yogurt with vitamin D added
Cooked salmon or mackerel
Canned tuna fish
Cereals with vitamin D added
Cod liver oil
Unfortunately no, but I can’t say if my situation is representative of someone with a vitamin D decency as the only issue. My doctor discovered the D decency while searching for a solution to my lethargic problem. Essentially I am a chronic pain patient and taking large amounts of pain killers. These of course drain me of energy and it was effecting my life so badly we had to come up with a solution. During the blood test it came up that my D level was extremely low. In my case the explanation was simple, due to my health problems and lack of energy I didn’t get outside much. No sun, no vitamin D. Long story short, it wasn’t the cure to the problem. I noticed zero change, however I am sure that the supplement is benefiting me in ways I can’t detect (such as bone health, etc.). I would suspect someone who’s only issue is a vitamin deficiency would see more dramatic results. Of course I’m not a doctor, so better to get a response from someone like Qadgop the Mercotan. I remembered reading the statement I posted above about vitamin D being one of the safest substances known to man, so I assumed you couldn’t hurt yourself with it, but I learned in this thread I was mistaken. Good luck to you.
Thanks for the reply. I’m very curious about vit D deficiency.
Low vitamin D levels may play some part in some patients’ lower extremity and low back pain. but improvement usually takes many months in these cases, and rarely is the pain due solely to low vitamin D levels.
Still, supplementing is a good idea of one’s levels are low. If they’re under 20, I generally put someone on Vitamin D2 50,000 U 3 x a week for 3 to 6 months, then switch them over to 2000 U of Vitamin D3 daily.
Above 20, I recommend daily vitamin D3 and more sunlight.
obbn, given the massive amounts of pain killers you’re on, your symptoms are unfortunately unsurprising. And there’s no easy fix for that.
here’s a nice article on Vitamin D from the New England Journal of Medicine.
Tanning booth against SAD: the Vitamin D itself? The melanin creation process in getting Vitamin D (I have no idea what that means, but I’m aware of such a thing. I think)?
SAD: Seasonal Affective Disorder (low mood)
Who shot who in the what now? 
Thanks for the shout out. Unfortunately your right and I’m beginning to think that a solution isn’t available. But that’s for another topic, perhaps another day.
I take vitamin D supplements, 400 IU’s, twice daily, plus my daily multiple vitamin has 400 IU’s, so I’m getting 1200 units a day, haven’t had a cold or flu, and I feel better generally since I increased by intake of D two or three months ago.
I highly recommend D (D3 is the best) in capsule form. It’s fairly inexpensive and well worth it. When I run out of my current supply I’m moving up to 1000 IU gelcaps once a day plus my daily multiple, which ramps it up a bit. I know people who take two and three times as much and do just fine buy it.
The colder the climate (i.e. the less natural sunlight one gets) the greater the need for this vitamin.
If you want to see all the health befefits just google it, plus health benefits, and you’ll see for yourself. I have a vitamin D section as part of my Google news page and there’s new stuff coming out every day regarding its health benefits. This is the real deal, the straight dope: extra supplemental D is very good for you.
Huh?