Peachy the Magazine January / February 2014 | Page 82
Vitamin D Deficiency
The following recommendations
will serve as a basis to achieve the
proper levels of vitamin D:
• Request a measurement of total
25(OH) D level (total serum
25 hydroxyvitamin D). Normal
ranges are considered to be
10–55 ng/ml. Some believe optimal levels are in the range of
40–80 ng/ml.
• Vitamin D supplementation is
very safe and relatively inexpensive. There are two forms of
Vitamin D but it is important to
take the D3 formulation because
it is more bioavailable and has
a longer half life so it circulates
through the body longer. The
recommended dosage for maintenance is 2000–3000 units per
day. Higher doses should be
prescribed by a physician.
• It can take 6 months to a year to
correct a deficiency of Vitamin D.
• Try to get additional supplementation in food sources such as:
» Wild salmon (360 IU)
» Sardines (250 IU)
» Cooked mackerel (345 IU)
» Whole eggs (20 IU)
80
PEACHY
Vitamin D supplements can reduce the
risk by 80 percent that children will
develop diabetes 30 years later.
On-going studies have linked Vitamin D
deficiency to schizophrenia and depression and prenatal research has shown
supplementation in pregnancy and early
childhood may improve brain development in that infant. In older patients,
Vitamin D supplements were associated
with improved cognitive testing performance. Much more research is needed
but these initial results are promising.
As more and more studies surface
about the benefits of taking Vitamin
D it would seem that testing for a
deficiency would be forthcoming. Yet,
unfortunately, patients are not being
routinely tested and most aren’t being
counseled on the correct amount of
Vitamin D to take. This supplement
is safe and may have the potential to
prevent some chronic conditions. Prevention of disease is always preferred
to treatment. n