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Vitamin D – what it does, why we need it and how we get it?

Sunshine - a great source of Vitamin D

Sunshine – a great source of Vitamin D

After a couple of days of London sun it is no surprise that a healthcare blogger’s thoughts turn to Vitamin D.

One of the first things to note about Vitamin D is that it is not strictly speaking actually a dietary vitamin.  This is because in theory humans can absorb Vitamin D from sunlight rather than diet.

So what does Vitamin D actually do?

Discovered by Edward Mellanby, a British physician, in 1922 who was looking for a cure for rickets or as it is formally known – Osteomalacia.  Because of this discovery rickets has been almost wiped out in the developing world.

One of its most important functions is to help the body absorb calcium.  It can also affect bone density causing osteoporosis or bone fractures.

P. Tuohimaaa, T. Keisalaa, A. Minasyana, J. Cachatc, A. Kalueffc  in their article ”Vitamin D, nervous system and aging”  published  in the  December 2009 edition of Psychoneuroendocrinology suggest

“Clinical data suggest that vitamin D3 insufficiency is associated with an increased risk of several CNS diseases, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, seasonal affective disorder and schizophrenia.”

As well as concluding that a lack of vitamin D could cause premature ageing.

So all in all it seems pretty important to keep up our levels of Vitamin D.  But how is it best to do so?

Obviously most people can get Vitamin D from sunlight.  But with over exposure to the sun comes risks of developing medical conditions such as skin cancer.   Indeed in Australia, with no shortage of sunlight, it has been suggested that nearly a third of the population are Vitamin D deficient.

Oily fish such as mackerel, sardines and salmon are a great dietary source of vitamin D.  Eggs are another good way of racking up Vitamin D.

Finally of course you can take supplements.  These are available from most supermarkets and pharmacies.

But it is recommend by the UK’s NHS  website that “If you take vitamin D supplements, do not take more than 25 micrograms (0.025mg) a day, as it could be harmful. However, taking less than this is unlikely to cause any harm.”  It is suggested that excess vitamin D increases absorption of calcium which in turn can cause kidney damage.

With that short Vitamin D round up it is now over to you.  We would love it if you could share you experiences with Vitamin D deficiency to help other readers.

Any part of your story is of interest but you may wish to consider the following questions:-

  1. Have you ever suffered from Vitamin D deficiency?
  2. What medical problems did this Vitamin D deficiency cause?
  3. How did you treat the Vitamin D deficiency?
  4. How do you ensure that you get enough Vitamin D?

Please feel free to tell your story using the comments box below.  Feel free to share any links which you think might be of interest to other readers.

Thanks very much in advance for you contributions.

41 thoughts on “Vitamin D – what it does, why we need it and how we get it?”

  2. I have Fibromyalgia -Vitamin D3 supplementation cleared the constant muscle pain that I had for over 10 years.  I did high levels for 3 weeks & was pain free. I knocked the dose down to 2000iu’s a day & a week later the pain was back. After restarting high levels, the pain was managed again after 3 days.
    I personally did 35,000iu per day for 2 months trying to refill my stores. It is highly recommended that you have your vit.D levels tested but my research shows toxicity only at outrageous, long term levels.
    I originally did B12 injections daily for a couple of years & then I tried guaifenesin (Dr.St.Amand’s protocol) for 10 years but discovered vit.D3 supplementation 6 year’s ago & that has worked better than anything else!
    “Standard Care” for vitD deficiency is 8 weeks of 50,000iu a week but 50,000iu weekly is 7143iu daily & is just a little more than what the body needs according to recent research.  Current recommendations from researchers are for 35iu per pound – a 143# person needs minimum of 5000iu per day  (which is for minimal needs and does not replenish depleted stores).
    Since 600,000iu seems to be the number to fill depleted stores & if you are taking 7143iu daily & if your needs are appx. 5000iu, that leaves 2143iu to replenish stores. According to these calculations, it would take 280 weeks (5 years) at 50,000iu weekly to maximize vitD levels.
    Research published by Grassroots Health from the D*Action study shows that 97.5% of the adult population needs to take 14,100iu’s of vitamin D per day in order to elevate their levels above 50ng/ml, which they believe is the best for disease prevention.
    Up to 600,000iu one time “loading doses” are sometimes used to get someone extremely deficient rapidly & safely to normalized 25OHD levels I would not recommend this without a physician monitoring & testing first though.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19101755
    http://www.vitamindwiki.com/Loading+dose+for+Vitamin+D

  5. CarolineSnyder MarilynRoberts   He is from one of the top MS hospitals in the country!  He is with the MS Clinic of Brigham and Womens Hospital (with Harvard Medical School) in Boston.  I see him twice a year and he draws blood for study each time.  I know the nurse who draws blood too.  Rosa has been with him for at least a decade!

  6. After I had a total hysterectomy, my V it D has been between 10-18 on labs. I am now on a 50,000 units 1/week for 16 weeks to see if it helps. When I have taken it in the past, it helps my fibromyalgia. My Dr told me low levels make my fibro worse. I believe it.

    • julietalley were fibroids the cause of your hysterectomy. The reason I ask is that new research is coming to light to show that fibroids are CAUSED by Vitamin D deficiency: 
      “Now, it’s looking like vitamin D deficiency may be a cause – or co-promoter – of fibroid tumors…”
      http://www.vitalchoice.com/shop/pc/articlesView.asp?id=2043 
      I am hoping that you are taking Vitamin D3 and NOT Vitamin D2, which is commonly prescribed? 
      AND 
      “Vitamin D Reduces Pain in People with Fibromyalgia” – Weeks after the treatment ended, patients who took the supplements were
      still experiencing reduced pain, while people who had taken placebo
      didn’t see a change in their pain level, according to the study,
      published today (Jan. 17) in the journal Pain.
      “Vitamin D supplementation may be regarded as a relatively safe and
      economical treatment” for people with fibromyalgia,” said study
      researcher Dr. Florian Wepner, an orthopedist at the Orthopaedic
      Hospital Speising in Vienna.
      http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_144101.html

    • MarilynRoberts Wow! That doctor is a keeper! Hopefully he checked your levels? 75-100 ng/ml is the optimal level.

  8. when my diagnostic labs were drawn, my levels were drastically low. my doc gave me 50K once a week for 8 wks, redrew and i was borderline normal. i take 20K a week, 10K on tuesday/friday. so far my levels have been in the normal range. this has been for 3 years now.

    • usafrnped I’m curious.. what are the actual levels that your doc considers normal? I generally look for a level of 75-100 ng/ml as being optimal, as opposed to “normal”.

  9. Living in Florida (USA) you’d think no need to take Vitamin D, but when I was first diagnosed with MS in 2004, one of the first things my Dr added to my diet was taking a high dose Vitamin D supplement. Is it part of why I have gone so long with no other issues since? Who knows? We are talking MS… But my 4 lessions have each gotten SMALLER, and I have had no new ones! I started taking Copaxone week one, and moved to Gileyna about 2 years ago. Diet and when I feel like it exercise probably doesn’t hurt either. So making sure I get enough, I do combine it with a calcium supplement that claimss to allow better absorbtion of vitamin D. I actually also take a line of vitamin B too.

    • Aubri328You and your doc sound really switched on!  So your lesions are getting smaller? That’s great.. presumably no new ones eiher.  High dose vitamin D3 stopped the disease process in its tracks in my case. A daily dose of Methylcobalamin (Methylated sublingual B12) 1000 mcg REVERSED my lesions. Two years later I had another MRI of my brain and the lesions had completely disappeared. The ONLY things that can bring on symptoms are 1. high temperatures and 2. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) and its analogues, Aspartame (Nutrasweet) and its ugly sisters such as Acesulfame. It is getting increasingly difficult to avoid these dreadful neurotoxins though…   MSG (Glutamates) and MS http://www.msgtruth.org/multscle.htm

  10. I have been taking 2000iu of D3 for about a month now. I have noticed that I am less fatigued. Having PPMS, I am wondering if a higher dose would benefit me even more. Also, are there other vitamins/supplements I should be taking? (I notice that thiazides are mentioned here, and I am on a regimen of hydrochlorothiazide for edema) I hear so much about the benefit of supplements, but also know there are dangers of taking them incorrectly as well.

  11. Can someone please tell me the difference between vitamin D and vitamin D3?   One MS expert I know only advocates Vitamin D3.

    • MarionHounsome1 The two commonly available forms of Vitamin D are Vitamin D2 and Vitamin D3. D2 is the usual one prescribed by doctors and is often used as a food additive.. it is synthetic, potentially toxic, poorly metabolised and is to be avoided like the plague. 
      D3 is the form which should ALWAYS be used.

  12. My Doctor told me to start taking D3-2000 iu once a day along with Caltrate 600-D3 twice a day. I need to get out in the sun more.

  13. I have always felt better in the sunlight as long as I can remember, I was diagnosed with rrms 2 years ago it started with acute optic neuritis a week before my 29th birthday, for 1 year I have been off all the medications except lorecet fir my bad pain days and xanax, Vitamin D is the best medicine I have found,. Every day I wake up and apend 20 minutes in the aun and my bones feel better everything feels better in the winter I take a littke extra vitamin d supplement to make up for cloudy cold days. Thank you so much for this article it truly makes me feel better knowing I was right.

  15. My neuro has me on 5,000 IU 3x week + CentraSilver daily to lower any D toxicity through Vita A. I had been consistently low on vitD levels in blood tests previously.. Now I’m in the right range.

  16. My vitamin D level was 29 ng/l. My Gyno said ideally he would like it around 75. I do get sun daily so I do not know why it would be so low.
    I try to take 5000iu of D3 daily, although I do forget sometimes. I do have extreme GI issues since having my Gallbladder out 18 months ago. I can not eat any fat due to my gut issues. My symptoms seem to have gotten worse along with my GI issues. So needless to say I am over whelmed with not only waiting for a DX for my Neuro symptoms but also the GI symptoms . I guess I will get it all figured out.

    • Hend200You definitely need MUCH more Vitamin D3 after gall bladder surgery. I would suggets 50,000 iu twice weekly. The fat issue is an easy one. Use Coconut Oil. Coconut Oil breaks down soon after consuming and requires NO bile acids or pancreatic enzymes for digestion. Take the Vit D with something like Oatmeal (porridge) with a couple of teaspoons of coconut oil and you will be amazed at the improvement in your symptoms. I buy Coconut Oil, 1 gallon, for $15.68 from Bulk Apothecary. I hate coconut flavour and this has no flavour. If you are in the UK then you can buy a kg cheaply off Amazon or Ebay.  There are hundreds of wonderful recipes out there. We use it for most everything these days 🙂  Tips for Easy Fat Digestion After Gall Bladder Surgery  http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/tips-for-easy-fat-digestion-after-gall-bladder-surgery/

  17. Six years after I was dxed with MS, I finally had my Vit D levels drawn.  Despite taking a normal “multivitamin”, imagine my surprise when my level came back as something like 9!  I’m now on a weekly megadose of Vit D.

  18. WOW!I’m a 55-year-old man, whose been having to
    take medications for decades, ever since the age of ten, for Epilepsy.Little did I know however, the various medications
    that I had to take, were actually combatting another problem I never realized I
    had, (PTSD)………… Decades went by with me taking my medications.As I neared age 40, that was when I was told
    that I had PTSD.My medications were
    increased. …….. In the last 20 years or more, I found out that one of my
    medications, (Dilantin), was ruining my Bone Density, as my Bones began to
    break.I was told to take Vitamin
    D.But because I’ve had to take so many
    other medications daily, I just didn’t take much Vitamin D anymore………… 2011 was
    a horrible year for me.In the spring of
    that year, I broke my hip.But then in
    the fall, I could see that my memory was beginning to leave me, as well!I’m beginning to feel like a senior already……………
    Just over a week ago, I went to a speaker’s seminar, to tell everyone about
    MTHFR.“What’s that?” you say?I know the feeling.But it was then that they just happen to
    mention Vitamin D3 & how it can help to improve your memory.BINGO!! For me, that now sounds like the
    vitamin, which may now cover both my Bone Density Loss, & my Memory Loss,
    just as my medications have begun to ruin both.This is getting so interesting now.Terry Bold.6/30/13.

  19. I’m vegan and went to the doctor with a number of symptoms – bone-shatteringly tired, pains in the bones of my foot, headaches, if I cut myself or injured myself it took an age to heal…..I’d been vegan for about 18 months by then. I had a blood test and came back with a reading of 21 (was told it should be a minimum of 75-200) Anyway, I’ve been on 25mg twice a day for months but my levels have only come up to 33 and I’m still wiped out tired! Still, onward and upward, won’t give up being vegan because I love it and I do balance my diet very well and I’m outside in whatever bits of sun we get here in the UK

    • dorishedgewitch 25mg VItamin D is 1000 iu.. so you are on 2000 iu a day. If it’s Vitamin D2 that is not good. D3 is the natural form and is WAY more effective acording to research.  BTW, that is the equivalent of around 1 minute’s arms, legs, torso exposure to the midday summer sun without sunscreen. FYI, I had secondary progressive MS and my level was 18ng/ml. I have ended up on a monitored dose of 50,000 iu of VItamin D3 twice weekly which maintains me at around 75 ng/ml. ALL symptoms are under control. Chronic pain 24/7 has mostly gone. Hubby is on the same dose twice weekly and has a level of 105 ng/ml. Needless to say, my 68 year old hubby is as healthy as a hog!  To EVERYONE who takes Vitamin D, you need to increase your MAGNESIUM content at the same time.. Magnesium is critical to at least 400 enzyme reactions and in the US deficiency exists in aound 80% of the population. Have your RED BLOOD CELL MAGNESIUM levels checked if you can. Now Magnesium Citrate powder is inexpensive and can be added to water or fruit juice.. 1/2 teaspoon daily helps the metabolism of Vitamin D and Calcium.

  20. I live in South Dakota I have never had any issues with my Vitamin D levels until I was  diagnosed with MS after doing so many IV steriods my lowest level was a 12. My neurologist has me on 50,000 IU three times a week 5,000 IU’s daily. I have been doing this for about a month now. They just checked my levels it only came up by 4 points so I’m waiting to find out what she wants to do from here.

    • MaureenPatchSmookPlease check my reply above to dorishedgewitch about enhancing your Vitamin D absorption and metabolism… make sure you are taking Vitamin D3.. take it with food containing oil or fat to enhance absorption. Low fat diets dramatically reduce Vitamin D absorption, and many drugs affect Vitamin D’s also affect its metabolism such as
      Thiazide Diuretics
      ALL Steroids 
      HRT
      Calcium Channel Blocking Drugs used for high BP
      Antacids
      H2 inhibitors such as Famotidine, Pepcid, Tagamet, Zantac 
      Hope this helps!

  21. I live in Washington State and I was told my Vitamin D level was 17.. one of the lowest levels my Doctor had EVER SEEN in her practice.. I was prescribed 50,000 units in 1 pill a week! I refused to take that much do to the Dangers of OVER doing the Vit. D.. so I choose to take 1,000 a day INSTEAD! I have MS AND Heart Disease, (it isn’t mentioned here but this is ANOTHER Condition they have talked about) 2 conditions they say may be linked with Low Levels of Vitamin D!!

    • MS Group Leader I cannot believe that you didn’t follow your doctor’s orders.  Doctor’s prescribe meds for a reason.  Luckily for me, unlike you and your doctor, my doctor and I have a good relationship.  He talks to me, but also listens to me.  My doctor prescribed a massive dose of vitamin D (50,000 units) for me.  He had me take it once a week for twelve weeks because my level was so low.  I now take 5,000 units daily.  Please do something about improving the relationship you have with your doctor, you need to listen to each other.  Don’t be afraid to ask questions.   I don’t have MS, my sister does.  I have heart disease.  I’m still trying to convince my sister how important it is for her take vitamin D.

    • Seriously? You’re knocking someone for thinking for themselves? Doctors are not gods. They are human and they make mistakes. Patients need to be involved in their own care, which means doing their own research and being educated on the treatments they accept. Taking an active role in your own healthcare is so important…and sometimes that means disagreeing with the doctor.

    • MS Group Leader I live in Washington state as well and had a low normal vit D level.  I asked my doc to prescribe a dose of vit D that might help my fatigue and hair loss.  He did.  2000 IUs per day.  I have been taking that and it helps a lot .  He checks my levels regularly via a blood test.  Talk to your doc.  Take what is prescribed but with the caveat that you get a blood test in a few months to make sure your vit D levels are not too high.

    • MS Group Leader Mine was 18 ng/ml.. it has now been remedied with large doses of Vitamin D3 (not D2)… I WAS on 50,000 iu Vitamin D3 daily and it took three months to get my levels up to where my Dr wanted them! I have 6 monthly checks of my levels. I now maintain 75 ng/ml on 50,000 iu of Vitamin D3 twice weekly. 
      My secondary progressive MS was halted back in 2006 as my Vit D3 levels rose, and, using a special form of Vitamin B12 called Methylcobalamin (as opposed to CYANOcobalamin), 1000 mcg daily.. which I still take religiously, my lesions disappeared on the MRI scan after around a year and I got my life back. Speech  vision, continence, balance … my frontal lobe was loaded with lesions which affected memory, mental co-ordination.. I ran a mail order business and was terrified of answering the phone.. my speech pattern was SOoo bad and I had problems simply making sentences.  I had excruciating nerve pains in both legs that could not even be controlled, even by Tramadol.. insomnia was a massive issue. I could barely grip a fork or mug.. I had regular violent vertigo attacks with vomiting. We couldn’t go anywhere that was not within 50 yards of a lavatory. I would get uncontrollable urgency and often soil myself.. hubby was 100% supportive, thank God!  I would spontaneously burst into tears for no apparent reason and depression would set in for days on end. I had massive mental and physical fatigue. It would sometimes be like hitting a wall.. body and brain seemed to, quite simply, stop! All I could do was collapse on a sette and fall asleep.. often for several hours at a time. My vision was also failing.. I could no longer drive safely. ALL of that has been revesed with D3/Metyhylcobalamin.

      Interestingly the severe Seasonally Affected Depression I had experienced for decades also lifted after Vitamin D3 supplementation. Note also that despite previous manic use of sunscreen for decades, preventing Vit D formation in my skin almost completely, I was diagnosed with Melanoma.. that is a killer skin cancer.. for which I had surgery and the removal of a large chunk of my arm.. I now know that Melanoma is related to Vitamin D deficiency. I also resolved my PCOS with the Vitamin D.. I have a wonderful Dr who is very supportive AND is willing to learn from my experience.. so so please don’t be afraid to go along the high Vit D3 route! The good news is that toxicity in humans has been observed to occur on a dose of 1,000,000 units a day of Vitamin D3 (NOT D2 which can be VERY toxic!) when taken for 6 months. This was an accidental overdose after a batch of D3 was wrongly formulated. Symptoms of an overactive parathyroid appeared.. including tetany due to high calcium levels. The good new is that as soon as the victim stopped taking Vit D, his levels started to drop!  BTW, the “half-life” of Vitanin D3 in the body is a mere 2 weeks.. so every two weeks, you have half the amount that would have been recorded 2 weeks ago.  You know about the cancer (Colon Cancer, Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer) links with low Vit D levels and the increased heart disease risk of course. You have EVERY reason to want to get better and live a long life for your friends and family so please re-consider your doctor’s offer!

  22. Hi, I’m a Lupus sufferer and as many such sufferers are, I’m UVA and UVB sensitive and thus try to svoid the sun as much as possible! But, like it is stated, with it comes it’s own medical complications! After avoiding the sun for two years already, I’ve gone for a bone density scan this past week and found out that I’ve developed Osteoporosis even though I was taking a very high dosage of calcium daily. Sean

  23. I have had a deficiency of vit D twice. M.D. ordered 50k units for several months. My level returned to normal range & I now take 2k per day.
    Interestingly, I developed Parkinson’s! ! (I did sit in the sun for 20 min/day, thinking I was getting plenty od Vit D!)

  24. My neurologist orders a Vitamin D blood test each 6 months to ensure my levels.  I do take 5000 IU of Vitamin D3 and Omega oil supplements but living in FL, I make sure I get plenty of natural sunlight, also.  I just cannot eat mackerel, sardines and salmon.  I can tolerate albacore tuna.  So far my levels have maintained the level the docs want.

    • souheil I totally agree. 10,000IU equals 250mcg, not 25mcg as this article suggests. 25mcg is waaaaaay too low to do anything. I’ve been taking between 10,000 and 15,000IU per day for about six months now and finally got my Vitamin D levels into the “normal range”, though still at the very bottom number. It’s only if you take 40,000 IU/day or more that you could run into trouble, and that’s still pretty unlikely. I have MS too, and D3 is a vital part of managing it.

  26. I would like to know how much vitamin D-3 is required daily for MS patients like myself Because I take 5000 IU, I use daily and it seems to be benefiting me very well according to my multiple sclerosis doctors at Ohio State University.

    • EndlessBargainsBlvd Please look at my post on Multiple Sclerosis above. 10,000 iu daily worked for me but I found it much cheaper and more convenient to take of the Biotech 50,000 iu product twice weekly. This gives me 14,000 iu daily. A year’s supply of Vitamin D3 now costs me less than $20.. for good health that is Priceless!

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