If It Can Take Just One Week To See An Improvement In The Blood Levels Why Do Doctors Wait Eight Or More Weeks Before Repeating The Lab Tests
To correct a vitamin D deficiency, Doctors can prescribe either a daily or a weekly dose of vitamin D.
Daily doses can differ a lot depending on your baseline levels, age, and health status.
Weekly doses tend to be larger, such as 50,000 IU or higher.
And, even though it may take you just one week to begin recovering, your Doctor will usually wait for 2 to 3 months before retesting your blood levels and adjusting your dosage.
Why?
Suppose you took 10,000 IU of vitamin D 7 days ago and today your Doctor decided to check your levels.
What would he learn?
Hed be able to see the effect that the first doses of vitamin D had on your blood levels.
Now, if you had taken just a single dose of vitamin D 7 days ago, this would be fine. But you kept taking 10,000 IU every day.
You took this dose 6 days ago, 5 days ago, and every single day since.
Therefore, whats the point of measuring your blood levels today? After all, tomorrow they could be higher, and even higher 2 days from now.
Why?
Because of the compounding effect of all the other capsules of vitamin D that you kept taking in the second, third and following days since you began supplementing 7 days ago.
Not to mention that all those factors mentioned earlier, such as your stress levels, the drugs you take, and even your own metabolism, can influence the exact time when that first dose will most impact your levels.
When can you trust your blood levels, then?
Now he can make a much more thoughtful decision.
How To Bring Vitamin D3 Levels Up Fast
The fastest way to increase vitamin D levels is to expose your skin to natural sunlight. It’s the vitamin D3 component of vitamin D that your skin produces when combined with sunshine. The Vitamin D Council says that in as little as 15 minutes for a fair-skinned person, the body can produce 10,000 to
Geographical Location And Season
The closer you live to the equator, the more vitamin D youll be able to produce year-round because of your physical proximity to the suns rays.
Conversely, your opportunities for adequate sun exposure decreases proportionally the farther away from the equator you live (
1 ).
While its vital to protect yourself from skin cancer by avoiding overexposure to sunlight, it takes very little unprotected sun exposure for your body to start producing vitamin D.
Although theres no official recommendation, sources suggest that as few as 815 minutes of exposure is enough to make plenty of vitamin D for lighter-skinned individuals. Those with darker skin may need more time .
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How Can I Get More Vitamin D
There are a few foods that naturally have some vitamin D:
- Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel
- Beef liver
- Mushrooms
- Egg yolks
You can also get vitamin D from fortified foods. You can check the food labels to find out whether a food has vitamin D. Foods that often have added vitamin D include:
- Milk
- Other dairy products, such as yogurt
- Soy drinks
Vitamin D is in many multivitamins. There are also vitamin D supplements, both in pills and a liquid for babies.
If you have vitamin D deficiency, the treatment is with supplements. Check with your health care provider about how much you need to take, how often you need to take it, and how long you need to take it.
How Did Researches Came Up With The One Week Average
Knowing what happens to a chemical compound after it gets inside of your body is very important.Thats the goal of fields such as pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.But, if every person is different, how can scientists ever reach a conclusion?By studying a drugs effect in a large sample of people, scientists can estimate how much itll take for an average person to react to it.For example, in 2012 a group of researchers published a paper on the effects of a single dose of 70,000 IU of vitamin D in 61 women, 27 of whom were pregnant. How long did it take for 70,000 IU to raise these women vitamin D blood levels?See if you can tell:
The graphic you are looking at, labeled A refers to the results obtained by measuring the levels of the 37 non-pregnant women.The circles represent the distribution of the results.
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Go Outdoors And Feel The Sun On Your Skin
Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin because our bodies can create it when our skin is exposed to direct sunlight. The trick is to spend 10 to 20 minutes in the sun every day between 10 am and 4 pm when the sun is strongest. The UVB rays from the sun kickstart a chemical process that produces D3 a form of Vitamin D that our bodies can store.
However, if you plan to stay longer than 20 minutes in direct sunlight, use sunscreen to protect yourself.
How To Get Started
There are a couple of things you could do right away:
- Self-assess to see if you are indeed vitamin D deficient
- Get 30 min sunlight not just on your face but on your legs and arms. Your face is only 9% of your body. Arms are 18%, tummy 18%, back 18%, and legs are 36%. So, I say: dress down and hit the sun.
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Spend Time In Sunlight
Vitamin D is often referred to as the sunshine vitamin because the sun is one of the best sources of this nutrient.
Your skin hosts a type of cholesterol that functions as a precursor to vitamin D. When this compound is exposed to UV-B radiation from the sun, it becomes vitamin D.
In fact, sun-derived vitamin D may circulate for twice as long as vitamin D from food or supplements (
However, the amount of vitamin D your body can make depends on several variables.
Timeline For Recovering From A Vitamin D Deficiency
Depending on where your vitamin D levels are to start, it may take months to raise them.* Some supplements, however, are more effective than others. For example, our vitamin D supplements work 3x faster and are 3x more effective at increasing your vitamin D levels than traditional vitamin D supplements.*
Even if you want to boost your vitamin D levels faster, you should not consume more than the tolerable upper intake level of the vitamin. Excessive vitamin D intake can have negative effects such as hypercalcemia or nausea.
Say goodbye to deficiency and improve your vitamin D levels today!* If youre trying to figure out how to increase vitamin D levels quickly, theres no better supplement to get the job done than d.velop vitamin D.*Check it out!
Want to learn how to make the most out of your movement?
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.Clinical studies have shown that ampli-D can achieve optimal vitamin D status on average 3X faster, and is 3X more effective, compared to the same mcg amount of conventional vitamin D3. Source: Quesada-Gomez and Bouillon Osteoporos. Int. 29, 1697-1711.ampli-D is a trademark of DSM
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How To Replenish Your Vitamin D Levels
What You Will Learn From this Article
- The Benefits of Optimal Vitamin D Levels
- How to Test for Vitamin D Levels: Labs and Self Test
- Can You Get Too Much Vitamin D?
- Foods High in Vitamin D
- Getting Vitamin D from the Sun: Duration, Latitude, Altitude
- Does the Sun Cause Skin Cancer?
- Types of Vitamin D for Supplementation
There is some research I want to share with you which is vital. Its centered on vitamin D and how it impacts the novel virus.
First of all, Ive been talking about the importance of vitamin D from the beginning of this pandemic. This important nutrient has a huge impact on your health and because its receptor is present in most cells and tissues in the body, and it helps regulate multiple organ systems .
In terms of the novel virus, a study that was just published this month found that vitamin D supplementation may help improve the outcomes of patients infected with the virus.
According to the study:
The results suggest that an increase in level in the body could either improve clinical outcomes or mitigate worst outcomes, while a decrease in level in the body could worsen clinical outcomes of COVID-2019 patients.
Clearly, its more important than ever to ensure your vitamin D levels are in check. If you need more convincing, here are a few more ways vitamin D can benefit you:
- Lowers Hashimotos antibodies
- Reverses and prevents anemia
- Improves sleep
Increase Vitamin D Packed Food In Your Diet
Then there is food that can be added to a diet to increase vitamin D levels. Sources of vitamin D can be found in oily fish, red meat, egg yolks, liver and in some fortified breakfast cereals.
Increasing vitamin D for vegetarians and vegans is harder. The majority of food for increasing vitamin D is found in non-vegan and vegetarian food. A high quality, vegan supplement can help to solve this problem. Its worth noting, not all supplements are made equal. It is worth choosing quality over quantity.
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The Health Benefits Of Vitamin D
Some of the benefits associated with keeping up your vitamin D levels include:
- Maintaining healthy bones and teeth
- Supporting the immune system
- Sardines
- Eggs
In addition to these sources, some foods are fortified with vitamin D, like milk, yogurt, cereal, and orange juice. Certain mushrooms can also be a good source of vitamin D if they have been exposed to ultraviolet light while growing.
In order to actually benefit from your vitamin D intake, its also important to get enough of the other vitamins and minerals that help your body absorb and utilize vitamin D. These include vitamin A, vitamin K, zinc, boron, and, most importantly, magnesium. Eating beans, nuts, and fish can help you get enough of these essential nutrients.
What Vitamins Should U Take To Lose Weight
Calcium, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin B complex, and vitamin C: These provide nutrients that help you function better all around. These also improve metabolism to assist your weight loss: Green tea: Caffeine and catechins in green tea and other products may help with weight management.
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How To Increase Vitamin D Levels Quickly
If youve discovered that your vitamin D levels are low, or if youre concerned about your immune health, it may be time to take some concrete steps towards raising your vitamin D levels. There are three key ways you can begin to increase your vitamin D levels: sunlight, food and supplements.
1. Food
There arent many foods that are naturally full of vitamin D to help you raise those low levels. Foods that are naturally rich in vitamin D can include fatty fish , cheese and egg yolks. With such a short list of foods high in vitamin D, many brands fortify, or specifically incorporate vitamin D into their products. Some popular fortified foods in the U.S. include orange juice, cereal, yogurt, milk, and oatmeal. Incorporating these foods into your diet, may help your levels to steadily climb and strengthen your immune system over time.*
RD-Tip:
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means it needs fat in order to be absorbed and used effectively in the body. Pairing your vitamin D-rich food choice alongside a healthy source of fats can be a great way to make the most of your meals.
Some ideas might be:
- Cereal with 2% milk
- Tuna salad with olive oil mayonnaise
- Garden salad topped with salmon and olive oil vinaigrette
- Egg and mushroom omelette cooked in butter or olive oil
2. Sunlight
3. Supplements
How To Increase Vitamin D Levels In Your Body
Whether you want to strengthen your bones or bolster your immune system, you might be wondering how to increase vitamin D in your body. And theres a decent chance you may need to. Estimates of how many people have low vitamin D levels vary, but data from the 2011 to 2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey show that inadequate or deficient levels are relatively common in the U.S., with the risk of inadequacy and deficiency peaking among adults ages 20 to 39.
Vitamin D is a key nutrient that we can get through our diets or make for ourselves with the help of sun exposure. Not getting enough of it can be an issue, since it does a lot for our bodies. Vitamin D is best known for working in tandem with calcium to help you build and maintain strong bones. But vitamin D is important for many other aspects of our health as well, playing important roles throughout the body much as a hormone does. As SELF has reported, research suggests that getting enough vitamin D may help protect you from respiratory infections, promote healthy blood sugar levels, prevent pregnancy complications, and perhaps even reduce your risk of developing or dying from various types of cancer.
So how do you get more vitamin D? And how do you know if you need more in the first place? Heres what you need to know about getting enough vitamin D, and the best ways to get more.
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What Is Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a vitamin that our bodies can produce naturally. Its stored in the liver, but because vitamin D is fat-soluble, it can also be absorbed by fatty tissues, which prevent it from being put to good use elsewhere in the body. Being overweight can make it harder for your body to circulate the vitamin D it needs.
Vitamin D works as a secosteroid hormone in our bodies, and the human body creates it by absorbing sunlight. Ultraviolet rays convert a type of cholesterol in our skin into vitamin D3. Vitamin D2, the other type of vitamin D, typically comes to us from the foods we eat.
Sunshine is one of the best natural sources of vitamin D.
Once the vitamin passes into our bloodstream and goes through our liver and kidneys, it goes through enzymatic conversion, converting it into metabolites that function like hormones. These metabolites are what vitamin D tests measure to determine whether or not you have a deficiency.
After theyve been activated, the vitamin D metabolites then go to work helping our bodies absorb necessary minerals. They also help to regulate mood and blood pressure, maintain our immune system and bone structure, and carry out many other vital functions.
Vitamin D: Finding A Balance
Your body produces vitamin D when the skin is exposed to sun, and it is estimated that most people need 1,000 to 1,500 hours of sun exposure throughout the spring, summer, and fall to obtain the necessary amount of vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is very common and on the rise. This is mostly due to vigilant sun protection, since sunscreen with …
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Get More Fortified Food
Only a few foods contain vitamin D Hence, it is often added to everyday foods in the form of fortification. You should confirm the availability of these foods in your country and check the amounts added. Some fortified foods include cows milk, cereals, margarine, almond, milk, orange juice, soy, cereals, and yoghurts.
What Is Vitamin D Deficiency
A vitamin D deficiency is defined as a lack of adequate vitamin d in the body, which can lead to moderate to severe side effects, including :
- Mood changes
- Diabetes
- Cancer, etc.
A vitamin D deficiency can be caused by a lack of sun exposure or a poor diet. However, several other things could be at play and preventing your body from properly absorbing the vitamin as it should.
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Why Add K1 And K2 To A Vitamin D Supplement
Vitamin K works synergistically with vitamin D for a number of functions in the body, including the regulation of oxidative stress levels . It has been found that supplementing the two nutrients together is more effective than either one on its own.
Vitamin K comes in two forms: K1 and K2 and they have slightly different functions. Theres evidence that both forms are important for good health.
Vitamin K works with vitamin D to make sure calcium gets deposited in your bones and teeth rather than places it does belong, like in your kidneys and blood vessels .
Bottom line: Replenishing vitamin D levels is not difficult. If you are low, allow 4 to 6 months of a higher dose of 5,000 to 8,000 UI per day of vitamin D3. I like the D3 formulation with K1 and K2 added the one I personally use and recommend is D3 Maximus.
To learn more about how to balance your hormones with supplements , you can download our FREE Supplement Guide here.
How Long Should We Spend In The Sun
Most people can make enough vitamin D from being out in the sun daily for short periods with their forearms, hands or lower legs uncovered and without sunscreen from late March or early April to the end of September, especially from 11am to 3pm.
It’s not known exactly how much time is needed in the sun to make enough vitamin D to meet the body’s requirements.
This is because there are a number of factors that can affect how vitamin D is made, such as your skin colour or how much skin you have exposed.
But you should be careful not to burn in the sun, so take care to cover up or protect your skin with sunscreen before your skin starts to turn red or burn.
People with dark skin, such as those of African, African-Caribbean or south Asian origin, will need to spend longer in the sun to produce the same amount of vitamin D as someone with lighter skin.
How long it takes for your skin to go red or burn varies from person to person. Cancer Research UK has tips to help you protect your skin in the sun.
Your body can’t make vitamin D if you’re sitting indoors by a sunny window because ultraviolet B rays can’t get through the glass.
The longer you stay in the sun, especially for prolonged periods without sun protection, the greater your risk of skin cancer.
If you plan to be out in the sun for long, cover up with suitable clothing, wrap-around sunglasses, seeking shade and applying at least SPF15 sunscreen.
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