Do you really need to take vitamin D supplements?
(You knew that ... or regularly take certain medications. Most people in that boat do fine with oral supplements. However, people whose stomachs don’t secrete enough intrinsic factor may need B12 injections. Folate is a B vitamin found naturally in ...
How much vitamin D should you take for optimal health?
Vitamin D's Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL), which is the maximum daily intake unlikely to cause adverse health effects, is 4,000 IU per day. Some health groups recommend taking from 800 to 2,000 IU per day but some clinicians recommend higher doses such as a 5,000 IU OTC capsule or even 10,000 IU per day without symptoms of toxicity.3,4
What foods are high in vitamin D?
The natural way to get vitamin D is through animal foods or sunshine. Supplements at low doses are beneficial, but a deficiency identified during testing can sometimes benefit from medically supervised high dose supplementation. At the start of the ...
Should you take a vitamin D supplement every day?
Vitamin D benefits:
- Influences immune cell function.
- Maintains nervous system functions.
- Needed for bone health.
- Regulates blood levels of calcium and phosphorus.
Is it good to take vitamin D supplements everyday?
Taken in appropriate doses, vitamin D is generally considered safe. However, taking too much vitamin D in the form of supplements can be harmful. Children age 9 years and older, adults, and pregnant and breastfeeding women who take more than 4,000 IU a day of vitamin D might experience: Nausea and vomiting.
What are the effects of taking vitamin D supplements?
Some side effects of taking too much vitamin D include weakness, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, and others. Taking vitamin D for long periods of time in doses higher than 4000 IU (100 mcg) daily is possibly unsafe and may cause very high levels of calcium in the blood.
Does vitamin D cause weight gain?
Despite these findings, the current body of research suggests that consuming higher amounts of vitamin D has little effect on weight gain or loss.
What are the symptoms of low vitamin D?
Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency can include muscle weakness, pain, fatigue and depression. To get enough D, look to certain foods, supplements, and carefully planned sunlight....Signs and symptoms might include:Fatigue.Bone pain.Muscle weakness, muscle aches, or muscle cramps.Mood changes, like depression.
What is vitamin D?
Vitamin D is famous for its bone-building and strengthening powers. “vitamin D promotes absorption of calcium in your gut, which ultimately allows for normal mineralization of your bones,” Jackie Newgent, RDN, culinary nutritionist and author of The Clean & Simple Diabetes Cookbook, tells Health.
Why is vitamin D important for bone growth?
Its main job, according to the National Institutes of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements, is to promote calcium absorption, making it necessary for bone growth and bone remodeling (when mature bone tissue is removed and new bone tissue is formed). Because of that, a lack of vitamin D can lead to thin, brittle, or misshapen bones.
Can taking calcium and vitamin D together cause a stroke?
RELATED: Taking Calcium and Vitamin D Supplements Together Could Increase Your Risk of Having a Stroke
Is vitamin D fat soluble?
As for when to take it, because vitamin is fat soluble, he suggests pairing it with your largest meal of the day, “containing fat to assure maximal absorption.”. But again, check in with your doctor before you decide to try vitamin D in supplement form.
Does vitamin D help with falls?
Vitamin D can help strengthen muscles. Along with its bone-building abilities, vitamin D is also influential in strengthening muscles. “Lack of vitamin D in the body can increase the risk of having weak muscles, which in turn increases the risk of falls,” Lana Nasrallah, MPH, RD, clinical dietician at UNC Health, tells Health.
Does vitamin D make bones thin?
Because of that, a lack of vitamin D can lead to thin, brittle, or misshapen bones. But vitamin D offers a range of other benefits too, ranging from positives for both physical and mental health. Here are nine vitamin D benefits you need to know about—including ways to get more of the vitamin in your daily diet.
Does calcium help bone growth?
Basically, the calcium that benefits your bones wouldn't be able to do its job without vitamin D. “You need vitamin D for bone growth—and to prevent bones from becoming brittle.”. When teamed with calcium, it can help prevent osteoporosis, a disease that signifies that the density and quality of bone are reduced, she adds.
How much vitamin D is needed for healthy functioning?
Recent research indicates that you need more vitamin D than was once thought. Normal blood serum levels range from 50 to 100 micrograms per deciliter. Depending on your blood level, you may need more vitamin D.
How to get enough vitamin D?
Many factors can affect your ability to get sufficient amounts of vitamin D through the sun alone. These factors include: Being in an area with high pollution. Using sunscreen. Spending more time indoors. Living in big cities where buildings block sunlight. Having darker skin.
Why is vitamin D important for bone growth?
Perhaps the most vital are regulating the absorption of calcium and phosphorus, and facilitating normal immune system function. Getting a sufficient amount of vitamin D is important for normal growth and development of bones and teeth, as well as improved resistance against certain diseases.
What are the symptoms of vitamin D deficiency?
The symptoms of a vitamin D deficiency in adults include: tiredness, aches and pains, and a general sense of not feeling well. severe bone or muscle pain or weakness that may cause difficulty climbing stairs or getting up from the floor or a low chair, or cause you to walk with a waddling gait.
How many IUs of vitamin D are there?
An IU is determined by how much of a substance produces an effect in your body. The recommended IUs for vitamin D are: children and teens: 600 IU. adults up to age 70: 600 IU. adults over age 70: 800 IU. pregnant or breastfeeding women: 600 IU. Last medically reviewed on November 13, 2017.
How does the body produce vitamin D?
Your body produces vitamin D naturally when it’s directly exposed to sunlight. You can also get it through certain foods and supplements to ensure adequate levels of the vitamin in your blood. Vitamin D has several important functions.
What foods can you take to get vitamin D?
salmon. sardines. egg yolk. shrimp. milk (fortified) cereal (fortified) yogurt (fortified) orange juice (fortified) It can be hard to get enough vitamin D each day through sun exposure and food alone, so taking vitamin D supplements can help.
What are the benefits of vitamin D?
However, more studies are needed to determine the benefits of vitamin D supplementation for cognitive health. Inherited bone disorders. Vitamin D supplements can be used to help treat inherited disorders resulting from an inability to absorb or process vitamin D, such as familial hypophosphatemia. Multiple sclerosis.
Why is vitamin D important for bone?
That's because your body can only absorb calcium, the primary component of bone, when vitamin D is present. Vitamin D also regulates many other cellular functions in your body. Its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and neuroprotective properties support immune health, muscle function and brain cell activity.
What is the best vitamin for psoriasis?
Applying vitamin D or a topical preparation that contains a vitamin D compound called calcipotriene to the skin can treat plaque-type psoriasis in some people. Rickets. This rare condition develops in children with vitamin D deficiency. Supplementing with vitamin D can prevent and treat the problem.
What happens if you don't get enough vitamin D?
If you don't get enough vitamin D through sunlight or dietary sources, you might need vitamin D supplements.
How does the body make vitamin D?
Your body also makes vitamin D when direct sunlight converts a chemical in your skin into an active form of the vitamin (calciferol). The amount of vitamin D your skin makes depends on many factors, including the time of day, season, latitude and your skin pigmentation.
Does vitamin D help with osteoporosis?
Osteoporosis. Studies suggest that people who get enough vitamin D and calcium in their diets can slow bone mineral loss, help prevent osteoporosis and reduce bone fractures. Ask your doctor if you need a calcium and vitamin D supplement to prevent or treat osteoporosis. Psoriasis.
Does Orlistat help with vitamin D?
Orlistat (Xenical, Alli). Taking this weight-loss drug can reduce your absorption of vitamin D.
How much sun exposure does the body need to get vitamin D?
What about the way humans have gotten vitamin D for millions of years—from the sun? It’s a hot-button issue—and a balancing act. Getting 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight on your face, arms, back, or legs without sunscreen a few times a week is enough to generate your body’s vitamin D needs for a week. But too much exposure to the sun causes skin cancer.
What is the normal serum vitamin D level?
Several studies suggest the body will stabilize serum vitamin D in the range of 60+ ng/ml. There has to be a reason why this level is established and this level has to be assumed to be better than lower levels. Studies that don’t calibrate to this “normal” level are highly suspect. Vitamin D is not like an artificial drug — in which the conservative assumption of serum level has to be zero.
Can vitamin D be tested?
Testing for vitamin D. Some doctors routinely check their patients’ vitamin D levels. The authors of one of the studies question this practice. They say the evidence so far doesn’t show significant differences in health between young and middle-aged people with lower blood levels of vitamin D.
Can low vitamin D cause chronic conditions?
One big unknown is whether low vitamin D causes chronic conditions, or whether chronic conditions cause low vitamin D levels. Another area of mystery is what type of vitamin D supplement would be best for health, and how much to take.
Is vitamin D good for cancer?
For the past few years, vitamin D has been gaining a reputation—not entirely earned—as a wonder vitamin that offers protection against some cancers, bone-weakening osteoporosis, heart attack, Alzheimer’s disease, and other chronic conditions. Not so fast, caution the two reports.
What is the role of vitamin D in the body?
Vitamin D is an essential vitamin that helps regulate calcium and phosphorus in the body. It also plays a role in maintaining proper bone structure.
How long before taking antacids to take vitamin D?
Take vitamin D two hours before, or four hours after antacids. Calcipotriene is a drug that is similar to vitamin D. Taking vitamin D along with calcipotriene (Dovonex) might increase the effects and side effects of calcipotriene (Dovonex).
What is the best vitamin for osteomalacia?
Softening of the bones ( osteomalacia ). Taking vitamin D3 by mouth is effective for treating this condition.
What is the best vitamin for low parathyroid?
Underactive parathyroid ( hypoparathyroidism ). Taking specific forms of vitamin D , called dihydrotachysterol, calcitriol, or ergocalciferol, by mouth is effective for increasing calcium blood levels in people with low parathyroid hormone levels.
Does vitamin D help with bone loss?
Bone loss in people taking drugs called corticosteroids. Taking vitamin D by mouth prevents bone loss in people taking drugs called corticosteroids. Also, taking vitamin D alone or with calcium seems to improve bone density in people with existing bone loss caused by using corticosteroids.
Is vitamin D safe to take?
More evidence is needed to rate vitamin D for these uses. Side Effects. When taken by mouth: Vitamin D is LIKELY SAFE when taken by mouth in recommended amounts. Most people do not commonly experience side effects with vitamin D, unless too much is taken.
Does Vitamin D break down medications?
Some medications are changed and broken down by the liver. Vitamin D might change how quickly the liver breaks down these medications. This could change the effects and side effects of these medications.
How to get vitamin D?
If possible, it's better to get your vitamin D from food sources rather than supplements (see "Selected food sources of vitamin D.") Choose fortified dairy products (which have the nutrient added to the food), fatty fish, and sun-dried mushrooms, which are all high in vitamin D. The FDA has made it easier for you to see how much you're getting, thanks to new nutrition labels that list the vitamin D content of foods.
How much vitamin D do African Americans have?
People with darker skin typically have lower levels of vitamin D than lighter-skinned individuals. African Americans have, on average, about half as much vitamin D in their blood compared with white Americans.
Why is vitamin D deficiency high in northern states?
If you live in the northern states (latitudes north of 37°), you are at higher risk for a vitamin D deficiency because your skin may not be able to produce any vitamin D from sun exposure during the winter months. Your age. Your skin's ability to produce vitamin D drops with age.
What vitamin is used to build strong bones?
Stay Informed. View Coronavirus COVID-19 Resource Center. Vitamin D , nicknamed the sunshine vitamin because your body produces it after sun exposure, has long been known to help build strong bones by increasing the body's absorption of calcium and phosphorous.
What diseases can lead to vitamin D deficiency?
Certain health conditions. People with conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, liver disease, or cystic fibrosis, among others, may have trouble absorbing vitamin D, which can lead to deficiencies.
Can vitamin D deficiency cause disease?
Despite the fact that some studies have found an association between low blood levels of vitamin D and various diseases, it hasn't been proven conclusively that a vitamin D deficiency actually causes disease , says Dr. Manson. For example, a person with a serious illness may have a vitamin D deficiency.
Does obesity reduce vitamin D levels?
Obesity, which has its own links to many conditions, can also reduce the amount of vitamin D in the blood because your body stores the vitamin in fat tissue, removing it from the bloodstream, where it would show up on tests.
What is the role of vitamin D in the body?
Vitamin D has other roles in the body, including reduction of inflammation as well as modulation of such processes as cell growth, neuromuscular and immune function, and glucose metabolism [ 1-3 ]. Many genes encoding proteins that regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis are modulated in part by vitamin D. Many tissues have vitamin D receptors, and some convert 25 (OH)D to 1,25 (OH)2D.
Why is vitamin D important for muscle growth?
Vitamin D is also needed for the normal development and growth of muscle fibers. In addition, inadequate vitamin D levels can adversely affect muscle strength and lead to muscle weakness and pain (myopathy) [ 1 ].
What vitamin deficiency causes rickets?
Associated with vitamin D deficiency, which can lead to rickets in infants and children and osteomalacia in adults. 30 to <50. 12 to <20. Generally considered inadequate for bone and overall health in healthy individuals. ≥50. ≥20. Generally considered adequate for bone and overall health in healthy individuals. >125.
How many people take vitamin D supplements?
The analysis of 2015–2016 data also showed that 28% of all individuals aged 2 years and older in the United States took a dietary supplement containing vitamin D [ 38 ]. In addition, 26% of participants aged 2–5 years and 14% of those aged 6–11 years took supplements; rates increased with age from 10% of those aged 12–19 years to 49% of men and 59% of women aged 60 and older. Total vitamin D intakes were three times higher with supplement use than with diet alone; the mean intake from foods and beverages alone for individuals aged 2 and older was 4.8 mcg (192 IU) but increased to 19.9 mcg (796 IU) when dietary supplements were included.
Where does vitamin D come from?
Vitamin D obtained from sun exposure, foods, and supplements is biologically inert and must undergo two hydroxylations in the body for activation. The first hydroxylation, which occurs in the liver, converts vitamin D to 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25 (OH)D], also known as “calcidiol.”.
Is vitamin D a test?
Screening for vitamin D status is becoming a more common part of the routine laboratory bloodwork ordered by primary-care physicians, irrespective of any indications for this practice [ 6, 51-53 ]. No studies have examined whether such screening for vitamin D deficiency results in improved health outcomes [ 54 ]. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) found insufficient evidence to assess the benefits and harms of screening for vitamin D deficiency in asymptomatic adults [ 6 ]. It added that no national professional organization recommends population screening for vitamin D deficiency.
Can vitamin D be deficient?
People can develop vitamin D deficiency when usual intakes are lower over time than recommended levels , exposure to sunlight is limited, the kidneys cannot convert 25 (OH)D to its active form, or absorption of vitamin D from the digestive tract is inadequate. Diets low in vitamin D are more common in people who have milk allergy or lactose intolerance and those who consume an ovo-vegetarian or vegan diet [ 1 ].
