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What Can I Take For Vitamin D

What Is The Best Way To Supplement Vitamin D

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Avocados, nuts, seeds, full-fat dairy and eggs are nutritious sources of fat that increase vitamin D absorption. Summary Research shows that taking vitamin D from a large meal or source of fat can significantly increase your intake. Many people choose to take a supplement such as vitamin D first thing in the morning.

Optimal Vitamin D Dose With Blood Test

If you suffer from a disease that makes it absolutely necessary for your vitamin D level to be in the optimal range, or if you want to know your exact level, then you should have your vitamin D level measured. The blood test to measure your vitamin D levels is called the 25D blood test.

The result of the blood test helps determine how much vitamin D you should take in the form of vitamin D capsules or vitamin D drops, etc., or whether you should increase your exposure to the sun in order to build up an optimal vitamin D level.

Since everyone absorbs vitamin D differently, the 25D value may develop differently. This means that not ever person will achieve exactly the same 25D level in their blood even if they take the same dose of vitamin D.

The following recommendations represent guidelines on how your vitamin D blood levels could increase when taking the respective amount of vitamin D. Therefore, this information should not be regarded as a guarantee for the specified values.

About 3 months after you begin taking your dose, you should have your vitamin D level re-measured to check on things. Once you have the result, you can assess how your vitamin D level has changed during the time you’ve been taking it, as well as to what extent the dose should be adjusted.

How Long Does It Take To Raise Your Vitamin D Levels

The fastest way to increase your vitamin D levels is to expose your skin to natural sunlight. It is vitamin D3, a component of vitamin D that your skin produces in combination with the sun. The Vitamin D Council states that in a light-skinned person, the body can produce 10,000 to 25,000 IU of vitamin D in just 15 minutes.

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People At Risk Of Vitamin D Deficiency

Some people will not make enough vitamin D from sunlight because they have very little or no sunshine exposure.

The Department of Health and Social Care recommends that adults and children over 4 take a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D throughout the year if they:

  • are not often outdoors for example, if they’re frail or housebound
  • are in an institution like a care home
  • usually wear clothes that cover up most of their skin when outdoors

If you have dark skin for example you have an African, African-Caribbean or south Asian background you may also not make enough vitamin D from sunlight.

You should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10 micrograms of vitamin D throughout the year.

You Value Is Higher Than 150 Ng/ml

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These values could harm your health. You should therefore take steps to reduce your 25D value to below 100 ng/ml. To achieve this, simply stop taking vitamin D dietary supplements and avoid sunbathing. After roughly 3 months, have your 25D levels retested. After your Vitamin D value is back in the normal range, adjust your vitamin D intake accordingly.

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Vitamin D And Osteoporosis

In the past, scientists have become very excited about other ‘antioxidant’ vitamins, particularly vitamins A, C and E and their role in preventing heart disease. The thinking went something like this: people who eat lots of fruit and veg are less likely to have heart attacks fruit and veg are high in antioxidant vitamins antioxidants are a good thing because they mop up ‘free radicals’ which can damage DNA so if people don’t get their vitamins through fruit and veg, giving them in supplement form will be just as good. In fact, when the studies were done, topping up with supplements didn’t cut heart disease risk at all.

The new study shows a similar result for vitamin D, at least as far as fractures, falls and bone density are concerned. There is no evidence that taking supplements cuts the risk of fractures or falls, or improves bone density. So doctors need to question whether they should be prescribing to people at risk of osteoporosis, and we all have to go back to the drawing board to protect ourselves.

For strong bones, calcium is also important. Dairy products, seeds, pulses, tofu, tinned fish with bones and some green leafy vegetables are all good sources. Interestingly, calcium supplements don’t appear to help much, and recent research suggests they may actually increase the risk of heart attack, so doctors are much more wary about prescribing these too.

Sunlight And Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a unique vitamin. This is because your body can make it when it is exposed to sunlight.

Many factors can reduce how much vitamin D your body makes, including:

  • smog
  • amount of skin exposed to sunlight
  • age:
  • you make less vitamin D as you get older
  • amount of melanin :
  • it takes longer for people with more melanin to make vitamin D from the sun’s ultraviolet rays
  • These factors make it hard to estimate the amount of vitamin D you make from sun exposure.

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    Can You Ever Have Too Much Vitamin D

    Yes. You can get too much vitamin D if you overdo the supplements. Interestingly, you cannot get too much vitamin D from the sun. Vitamin D toxicity is, thankfully, quite rare but can lead to hypercalcemia and together the symptoms can include:

    Do not take higher-than-recommended doses of vitamin D without first discussing it with your doctor. However, your doctor might recommend higher doses of vitamin D if he or she is checking your blood levels and adjusting your dose accordingly. Also, be cautious about getting large doses of vitamin A along with the D in some fish oils. Vitamin A can also reach toxic levels and can cause serious problems.

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    Incorporating It Into Your Morning

    Many people prefer to take supplements such as vitamin D first thing in the morning.

    Not only is it often more convenient, but its also easier to remember your vitamins in the morning than later in the day.

    This is especially true if youre taking multiple supplements, as it can be challenging to stagger supplements or medications throughout the day.

    For this reason, it may be best to get in the habit of taking your vitamin D supplement with a healthy breakfast.

    Using a pillbox, setting an alarm or storing your supplements near your dining table are a few simple strategies to remind you to take your vitamin D.

    Summary

    Some people may find that taking vitamin D first thing in the morning is more convenient and easier to remember than taking it later on.

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    Ideally, you never want to exceed 4,000 IU per day, Clifford says. Too much vitamin D can lead to anorexia, weight loss, irregular heartbeats, and excessive urination.

    It gets more serious when you end up with excess calcium absorption, which puts your heart, kidneys, and blood vessels at risk.

    Symptoms of vitamin D toxicity include:

    • Loss of appetite

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    Getting Vitamin D From Food

    Most foods dont contain much vitamin D so its hard to get enough vitamin D from food alone.

    Foods which contain vitamin D include:

    • oily fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, trout
    • red meat
    • liver and fish liver oil
    • egg
    • foods with vitamin D added such as most fat spreads, some breakfast cereals and some plant-based alternatives to milk. Check the labels.
    • infant formula which has vitamin D added to make sure babies get enough.

    As most of these foods are animal products, its harder to get vitamin D from food if you are vegan or vegetarian. Plant-based sources of vitamin D include sun-exposed mushrooms and fortified foods such as vegetable spreads, breakfast cereals and plant based dairy alternatives.

    In the UK, cows’ milk is generally not a good source of vitamin D because it isn’t fortified, as it is in some other countries. There are some yoghurts which have been fortified, but check the label as they can also be high in saturated fat and so should be avoided.

    Vitamin D Can Help Battle Depression

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    The sun can brighten up your mood, and so can vitamin D. According to a 2017 review article in the journal Neuropsychology, researchers found “a significant relationship between depression and vitamin D deficiency. While they acknowledged that more research is needed to define the exact workings of itsuch as, if low vitamin D levels are a cause or effect of depressionthe authors recommend screening for and treating vitamin D deficiency in subjects with depression noting that it is an easy, cost-effective and may improve depression outcome.

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    What Type Of Vitamin D Is Best

    Vitamin D comes in two major forms, vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 .

    The human body can absorb and process both forms. However, as vitamin D3 occurs naturally as your bodys response to sunlight, its generally considered the preferred form of supplementation.

    Vitamin D3 supplements are typically made using lanolin, a type of wax extracted from sheeps wool. However, at BetterYou, we use a plant-origin source of D3 in our Vegan Health Oral Spray and Vegan DLux 1000 Oral Spray.

    Healthy Foods That Are High In Vitamin D

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    Vitamin D is the only nutrient your body produces when exposed to sunlight.

    However, up to 50% of the worlds population may not get enough sun, and 40% of U.S. residents are deficient in vitamin D .

    This is partly because people spend more time indoors, wear sunblock outside, and eat a Western diet low in good sources of this vitamin.

    The recommended daily value is 800 IU of vitamin D per day from foods .

    If you dont get enough sunlight, your intake should likely be closer to 1,000 IU per day (

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    Can I Take Magnesium With Other Minerals And Vitamins

    Yes. Vitamins and minerals all work in combination and rely on each other to be fully effective.

    Taking magnesium supplements helps your body to absorb and use minerals such as calcium, phosphorus and potassium, and vitamins like vitamin D.

    If you take vitamin D supplements, they wont work properly in strengthening your bones unless the concentrations of boron, magnesium and zinc, and vitamins K and A, are at the correct levels.

    Vitamin D Can Help You Lose Weight

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    Dr. Boyd points out that obesity is a known risk factor for low vitamin D levelswhich means more vitamin D may help with weight loss. One 2009 study in the British Journal of Nutrition found that, in overweight or obese women with low calcium levels, those who took a daily dose of calcium paired with vitamin D were more successful shedding pounds than those who took a placebo supplement, due to an appetite-suppressing effect of the combination.

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    How Much Vitamin D Is Too Much Daily

    If your sun exposure and dietary intake of vitamin D are limited, you may benefit from vitamin D supplements. According to the Institute of Medicine, a daily intake of 4,000 IU of vitamin D is the maximum acceptable intake for adults. Taking too much vitamin D can cause side effects, so large doses should only be taken under medical supervision.

    Symptoms Of Too Much Vitamin D

    Generally, when you have consumed too much vitamin D, youll experience symptoms that will let you know that all is not well in your body. These vitamin D overdose symptoms are mainly the result of too much calcium accumulating in the blood a condition known as hypercalcemia.

    The symptoms include:

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    Symptoms Of Vitamin D Deficiency

    Does vitamin D deficiency cause symptoms?

    Yes, deficiency of vitamin D can cause bone pain and muscle weakness. However, mild vitamin D deficiency is not necessarily associated with any symptoms. Vitamin D has been referred to as the “sunlight vitamin” because it is made in our skin when we are exposed to sunlight.

    Why We Need Vitamin D

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    Vitamin D helps you absorb calcium and phosphorus from your diet and use these minerals to keep your bones, teeth and muscles strong. This helps prevent falls as you get older.

    Vitamin D may have other roles in the bodys immune system and heart health too.A lack of vitamin D can cause bone problems such as rickets in children and muscle weakness and painful or tender bones in adults.

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    Can Too Much Vitamin D Be Harmful

    Getting too much vitamin D can be harmful. Signs of toxicity include nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, constipation, weakness, and weight loss. Excess vitamin D can also damage the kidneys. Too much vitamin D also raises the level of calcium in your blood. High levels of blood calcium can cause confusion, disorientation, and problems with heart rhythm.

    Most cases of vitamin D toxicity happen when someone overuses vitamin D supplements. Excessive sun exposure doesn’t cause vitamin D poisoning because the body limits the amount of this vitamin it produces.

    How To Actually Raise Your Vitamin D Level

    • Sunshine – Vitamin D is often referred to as the sunshine vitamin. Your skin contains cholesterol, which makes vitamin D in the presence of sunlight.
    • Seafood: Fatty fish and shellfish are some of the richest natural sources of vitamin D.
    • Mushrooms: Mushrooms are the only purely plant-based source of vitamin D.

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    Where Can I Buy It

    Vitamin D supplements are widely available from supermarkets and chemists. They may be just vitamin D or part of a multivitamin tablet.

    The ingredient listed on the label of most Vitamin D supplements is D3, the one made by your skin. Vitamin D2 is produced by plants.

    Vitamin drops are available for babies.

    Can You Overdose Is Vitamin K

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    Vitamin K is a fat-soluble nutrient thats important for blood clotting, healthy bones and other bodily functions. Its rare that youll overdose on vitamin K by eating things like broccoli. But in supplement form, it can induce blood clots, which can lead to heart attacks and strokes, if you take too much.

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    Your Value Is Between 20

    Although official sources say that this value is acceptable, in the opinion of the Vitamin D Council this still constitutes a vitamin D deficiency. However, the risk of developing health problems is low. The parathyroid hormone levels may still be elevated, resulting in disruption in calcium uptake. There is less risk of fractures compared to lower vitamin D levels.

    If your vitamin D blood level is e.g. 25 ng/ml or higher and you want to increase them, you can take the following amount of vitamin D :

    To reach the mentioned value.. take this vitamin D Dose per day:

    30 ng/ml ..600 IU 40 ng/ml ..2000 IU 50 ng/ml ..3700 IU 60 ng/ml ..5800 IU 70 ng/ml ..8600 IU

    Your Value Is Between 0

    This value indicates severe vitamin D deficiency and represents significant risk to health. This low vitamin D level means that calcium cannot be sufficiently absorbed into the blood, which may lead to osteomalacia. This may also affect muscle strength and motor coordination.

    If your vitamin D blood level is e.g. 25 ng/ml or higher and you want to increase them, you can take the following amount of vitamin D :

    To reach the mentioned value.. take this vitamin D Dose per day:

    20 ng/ml ..1000 IU 30 ng/ml ..2200 IU 40 ng/ml ..3600 IU 50 ng/ml ..5300 IU 60 ng/ml ..7400 IU 70 ng/ml ..10100 IU

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    Which Vitamin D Supplements Are Recommended For Pregnant Women

    It is likely you will be taking various supplements during your pregnancy, so it is important that it contains at least 10µg of vitamin D or you take an individual vitamin D3 10µg tablet.

    A good pregnancy support supplement duo is folic acid and vitamin D, as folic acid is also very important for pregnancy.

    Taking supplements formulated specifically for pregnant women makes sure that you do not risk taking too much vitamin A, which is not recommended during pregnancy.

    Summary

    • Vitamin D is vital for pregnant women for their own health and the healthy development of their baby
    • Pregnant women should take 10 micrograms of vitamin D each day

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