How Much Vitamin D Should I Take For Specific Conditions
How much vitamin D should I take if Im deficient?
If a blood test has revealed that youre low in vitamin D, you can either take smaller doses for a long period of time to bring your level up, such as 5,000 to 10,000 IU per day, or a high dose administered over the course of several weeks. For adults with low vitamin D levels, the Endocrine Society recommends taking at least 1,5002,000 IU per day.
If youre taking a very high dose all at once, such as more than 40,000 IU, then its possible that side effects may occur due to vitamin D toxicity. The best thing to do is talk with your doctor about supplementing with higher doses of vitamin D if you are severely deficient or have a very low level according to a blood test.
How much vitamin D should I take for depression?
Theres some evidence that low vitamin D levels are linked with depression, although this doesnt mean that vitamin D deficiency causes depression. Rather, its speculated that people who dont spend much time outside or eat vitamin D foods may also be more likely to develop depression. The dosages of vitamin D used in studies that have focused on depression have varied, typically between 600 IU/day to 4,000 IU/day.
How much vitamin D should I take to lose weight?
Treatment For Vitamin D Deficiency
Treatment for vitamin D deficiency involves getting more vitamin D — through diet and supplements. Although there is no consensus on vitamin D levels required for optimal health — and it likely differs depending on age and health conditions — a concentration of less than 20 nanograms per milliliter is generally considered inadequate, requiring treatment.
Guidelines from the Institute of Medicine increased the recommended dietary allowance of vitamin D to 600 international units for everyone ages 1-70, and raised it to 800 IU for adults older than age 70 to optimize bone health. The safe upper limit was also raised to 4,000 IU. Doctors may prescribe more than 4,000 IU to correct a vitamin D deficiency.
If you don’t spend much time in the sun or always are careful to cover your skin , you should speak to your doctor about taking a vitamin D supplement, particularly if you have risk factors for vitamin D deficiency.
Tolerable Upper Intake Level
The tolerable upper intake level of vitamin D for a 40-year-old woman is 4,000 International Units, or 100 micrograms. The tolerable upper intake level, or UL, is the highest amount of vitamin D that can be consumed each day without causing potentially dangerous side effects. Taking more than the UL of vitamin D may cause heart arrhythmia, the development of kidney stones, severe weight loss, kidney and blood vessel damage, muscle weakness and excessive urine production.
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What Are Various Functions Performed By Vitamin B12
Maintaining Normal B12 levels by age is essential for a healthy body. The following are Important functions performed by Vitamin B12
Red Blood Cell Formation
Vitamin B12 helps in the formation of Red Blood cells. The deficiency of Vitamin B12 leads to low-level and poor-quality RBCs. Deficiency of Vitamin B12 may cause megaloblastic anemia.
Reduced Risk Of Birth Defects
Normal B12 levels are essential for proper fetal growth. Vitamin B12 is required to reduce the risk of neural tube defects. It also avoids miscarriage and premature birth.
Bone Health
Vitamin B12 levels and bone mineral density are interlinked. Reduced level of vitamin B12 increases the risk of osteoporosis. Osteoblasts require an optimal level of Vitamin B12 for proper functioning.
Eye Health
Vitamin B12 lowers the level of homocysteine. Increased levels of homocysteine increase the risk of age-related macular degeneration. Increased homocysteine levels may also cause other disorders.
Neurological Health
Vitamin B12 improves mood. It does this by maintaining the level of serotonin. Vitamin B12 helps in the normal conduction of nerve impulses. It also improves memory and cognitive function.
Energy Synthesis
Vitamin B12 helps in improving energy levels. A person with vitamin B12 deficiency may feel weak and fatigued.
Cardiovascular Health
High levels of homocysteine have an impact on the heart. It increases the risk of heart disease. Vitamin B12 lowers the level of homocysteine.
Understanding Your Vitamin D Levels
Doctors have a better idea of the vitamin D levels associated with deficiency than of the vitamin D levels associated with good health. There is general agreement that if your 25 vitamin D level is 10 ng/ml , then you are at immediate risk for losing minerals from bone. This condition is called rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.
If your 25 vitamin D levels are 30 ng/ml or higher, there’s good agreement that you have all the vitamin D that your body needs for good health. If you have some number in between 10 and 30 ng/ml, however, you may still benefit from taking a supplement.
Normal 1,25 2 vitamin D levels run between 12 and 55 pg/ml. This is the activated form of vitamin D. And normal parathyroid hormone levels run between 12 and 50 pg/ml. These are not the first two levels your doctor should be looking for. Usually the level of the storage form of vitamin D is what you are looking for.
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Just Right: How Much Vitamin D Is Enough
For many years, various organizations and studies have said you can get too much vitamin D while others say the opposite. Fortunately, clinical trials could provide answers to this controversial question soon.
There is little debate over the role of vitamin D and calcium in bone health, but the question of whether much higher intakes of vitamin D could have a host of nonskeletal benefits remains hotly debated. New studies linking vitamin D deficiency to nonskeletal problems are popping up with great frequency, but correlation is not causation, and most meta-analyses have not found evidence to bolster claims of wide-ranging benefits.
We are at a crossroads in terms of vitamin D research, says JoAnn Manson, MD, DrPH, a professor at Harvard Medical School who served on a recent Institute of Medicine task force on reference intakes for vitamin D. We have numerous observational studies suggesting associations between low vitamin D levels and increased risk of myriad diseases, but we dont yet know whether there is a cause and effect relationship. We do know that vitamin D deficiency is a health problem associated with bone disorders. Th e real issue is whether you have greater health benefits from exceeding, rather than meeting, the recommended dietary allowance for vitamin D. We dont yet know that giving vitamin D supplementation will lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, cognitive decline, depression, and a host of other diseases.
How Much Vitamin D Should I Take For Optimal Health
Your need for vitamin D goes up if any of these factors apply to you:
- You know youre already deficient in vitamin D
- You have dark skin
- Youre an older adult over 70 . Infants, children and older adults are all at risk for low vitamin D.
- You spend little time outdoors or always wear sunscreen when exposed to sunlight
- Youre a shift worker, health care worker or another indoor worker, which means you get little outdoor time and sunlight exposure
- Youre overweight or obese
- You are a nursing home resident or hospitalized patient
- You have a health condition, such as celiac disease, Crohns disease or cystic fibrosis, that interferes with absorption and processing of vitamin D in the intestines, kidneys or liver
- Breast-fed infants are also at risk for vitamin D deficiency, which is why supplementing is recommended
How much vitamin D should women take per day?
According to the USDA and National Institutes of Health, the standard recommendation of vitamin D that adult women should take in order to prevent deficiency is between 600 to 800 international units per day, depending on age. The exact number is debatable, and some experts feel that a higher dose of vitamin D, around 2,ooo to 5,000 IU per day, may be more beneficial.
How much vitamin D should men take per day?
The standard recommendation for adult men is also between 600 to 800 IU of vitamin D per day. Adults over 70 should supplement with more, at least 800 IU per day, while younger adults need at least 600 IU daily.
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Vitamin D Status Following 3
During the 3-month run-in phase, 55% of participants received one daily calcium tablet containing 200 IU of vitamin D, and 11% received two daily tablets providing an additional 400 IU of vitamin D. Thirty-four percent did not require a calcium supplement. In the 373 women who completed the 3-month run-in phase, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D increased by 62% , serum calcium decreased by 2% , and PTH was elevated by 13% . At the conclusion of the run-in period, no women had vitamin D deficiency, and vitamin D insufficiency decreased from 48% to 20% . The vitamin D dose-response was similar in patients receiving 400, 600, or 800 IU of vitamin D per day i.e., serum vitamin D levels returned to normal in 75%, 81%, and 79% of women, respectively.
Measurement Of Serum Vitamin D
25-hydroxyvitamin D3 D) is the primary circulating form of vitamin D, which is the most abundant vitamin D metabolite and considered the best indicator of an individuals vitamin D status within the human body . Therefore, serum 25D was measured to determine vitamin D status with chemiluminescence immunoassay. Blood samples from fasting women were collected at times of usual blood draws. Serum 25D levels were detected using the Elecsys 25D kit with a functional sensitivity of 4.0ng/mL on a Roche Cobas E602 immunoanalyzer. All the assays were performed according to the manufacturers instruction. The interassay variability is 4.27.8% for 25D concentrations between13.8 and 42.5ng/mL, based on a sample of 40 patients.
Vitamin D deficiency is defined as a serum 25D below 20ng/mL , insufficiency as a 25D of 2029ng/mL , and an sufficient level as 30ng/mL or greater, according to the Institute of Medicine and World Health Organization .
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How The Vitamin D Test Is Done :
If your doctor wants Vitamin D test on you, you may need a Vitamin D blood test. During the Vitamin D blood test, a pathologist will put a needle into your veins and take out a small quantity of blood. A pathologist is a physician in the medical field who thoroughly studies the causes and effects of disease. Within a few hours you will get your Vitamin D Test report by your pathologist.
Signs And Symptoms Of Vitamin D Deficiency
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Vitamin D is an extremely important vitamin that has powerful effects on several systems throughout your body .
Unlike other vitamins, vitamin D functions like a hormone. Every single cell in your body has a receptor for it.
Your body makes it from cholesterol when your skin is exposed to sunlight.
Its also found in certain foods such as fatty fish and fortified dairy products, though its very difficult to get enough from diet alone.
For most adults, the Recommended Dietary Allowance for vitamin D is around 600800 IU, but many experts recommend getting even more than that.
Vitamin D deficiency is very common. Its estimated that about 1 billion people worldwide have low blood levels of the vitamin .
According to one review, 41.6% of adults in the United States are deficient. This number goes up to 69.2% in Hispanic adults and 82.1% in African American adults (
Here are some of the most common risk factors for vitamin D deficiency:
People who live near the equator and get frequent sun exposure are less likely to be deficient, as their skin produces enough vitamin D to satisfy their bodies needs.
Most people do not realize that theyre deficient, as symptoms are generally subtle. You may not recognize them easily, even if theyre having a significant impact on your quality of life.
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Serum 25 Vitamin D Levels Of Adolescent And Young Medical Students
Asli Derya Kardelen1, Ismail Yildiz2, Beyhan Omer3 and Fatma Oguz4
1Department of Pediatrics, Istanbul University, Turkey
2Department of Pediatrics, Sisli Memorial Hospital, Turkey
3Department of Medical Biochemistry, Istanbul University, Turkey
4Department of Pediatrics, Istanbul University, Turkey
*Corresponding author: Asli Derya Kardelen, Department of Pediatrics, Istanbul Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, Turkey, Tel: +90-5308701984.
Citation: Kardelen AD, Yildiz I, Omer B, Oguz F Serum 25 Vitamin D Levels of Adolescent and Young Medical Students. Int J Pediatr Res 4:032. doi.org/10.23937/2469-5769/1510032
What Were The Conclusions About The Relationship Of Calcium And Vitamin D To Chronic Disease
The IOM expert committee reviewed a number of health outcomes that could potentially be related to calcium and vitamin D, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and immunity, and found that the evidence existing to date is inconsistent and does not demonstrate a cause-and-effect relationship. Consequently, these health outcomes could not be used for the purposes of determining nutrient requirements.
The evidence surrounding the role of calcium and vitamin D in bone health was judged to be convincing, and was used as the basis for determining requirements for calcium and vitamin D.
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Vitamin D And Fertility For Women
For women trying to conceive naturally,higher vitamin D levelsare associated with higher odds of conception. Studies also show that higher vitamin D levels in thefollicularfluid may improve embryoimplantation rateand the outcome of fertility treatments.Several studieshave linked normal vitamin D levels with higherIVF pregnancy ratesandlive birth rates.
Your vitamin D levels remain important throughout pregnancy. Most reproductive health experts believe that maintaining a normal vitamin D level during pregnancy is critical. Anormal vitamin D levelduring pregnancy may improve pregnancy outcomes, and it has been linked to a reduction of pregnancy complications.
Most prenatal vitamins contain 400-1,000 IU doses of vitamin D. This low dose is not enough for most women, especially if your levels are already low.Higher doses,2,000 to 4,000 IU of vitamin Dper day, may be more beneficial and are completelysafeduring pregnancy.
Vitamin D From Mushrooms
Mushrooms are a fascinating, complex, and somewhat controversial natural food source of vitamin D. They are low in calories, carbohydrates, and fat, and provide important nutrients, including vitamin D, selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, protein, and fiber.
Mushrooms form vitamin D when exposed to either natural sunlight or artificial UV light. Wild, foraged mushroomsboth fresh and driedare typically very high in vitamin D, whereas commercially produced mushrooms, which are grown in the dark, are not, unless they have been purposely exposed to light. Many large-scale mushroom producers in the United States are now taking these measures so that many of the mushrooms on supermarket shelves contain appreciable amounts of vitamin D.
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Testing Your Patients For Vitamin D12
Many physicians recognize the importance of testing vitamin D levels in their high-risk patients, such as older adults and those who are dark-skinned or receive little or no sun exposure. Patients with low vitamin D levels are at risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, as well as cancer and respiratory disease. Patients who are pregnant or lactating should be tested too, since they represent another high-risk group. Deficiency in pregnancy can lead to preeclampsia, and deficiency while lactating can cause rickets in infants.
An important part of the testing process is advising patients on their vitamin D supplementation needs based on their test results. Heres what you need to know.
Vitamin D And Calcium: Updated Dietary Reference Intakes
The U.S. Institute of Medicine released its report on the review of the Dietary Reference Intakes for vitamin D and calcium on November 30, 2010. The review was jointly commissioned and funded by the U.S. and Canadian governments.
The decision to commission the IOM review reflects the government’s goal of ensuring that Canadians benefit from the most up to date health and nutritional advice.
The IOM report states that there is no additional health benefit associated with vitamin D or calcium intakes above the level of the new Recommended Dietary Allowance . Health Canada reminds Canadians that total nutrient intake should remain below the level of the new Tolerable Upper Intake Level to avoid possible adverse effects.
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The Serum Levels Of 25d Among Preconceptional Fertile Women And Factors Associated With 25d Level
The mean serum 25D for the cohort was 14.7±5.4ng/mL. The concentrations ranged from a low of 4.5ng/mL among young age women between 22 to 30years to a high of 36.0ng/mL among women aged 31 to 44years. There was no effect of the gravidity, induced abortions, and BMI of the woman on the serum 25D level. There was however a statistically significant influence of the 25D level and season, number of deliveries, womans employment status, and age of women . Table shows the mean of 25D levels for specified subgroups. Women aged 2230years had significantly lower 25D level compared with those between 31 and 44years . The mean vitamin D level was significantly lower in working women compared to non-working individuals or housewives . Women who had delivered a previous child had higher 25D levels in comparison to women without a history of childbirth . Mean serum 25D concentrations varied by month and season of sample collection. The 25D concentrations were the lowest in winter among that in spring, summer, and autumn . The range of 25D concentration was from 18.0ng/mL in July and August to 11.4ng/mL in January .
Table 1 Association of serum 25D level with woman’s general characteristics and season
