Although researchers, physicians, and clinical nutritionists can't agree completely on dose rates, recommended blood levels, and expected clinical outcomes, there is no question that vitamin D status plays an important role in reducing, preventing, and in some cases, treating a wide range of chronic degenerative medical conditions. The purpose of the Vitamin D Life is to provide a convenient, comprehensive, and authoritative resource to investigate how optimizing vitamin D status may be helpful for you or someone you care about. It's a big subject so we urge you to spend some time exploring and learning about this important nutrient.
Table of contents
- Vitamin D is associated with many health problems
- Less sun ==> Less Vitamin D ==> Less Health (chart)
- Also, The Vitamin D Receptor limits the amount of Vitamin D in the blood actually gets to the tissue
- 6 times to 55 times more likely to get these health problems
- Health problem - examples
- Groups typically needing more Vitamin D
- Vitamin D supplementation
- Amount of vitamin D needed vs:
- Supplementation from Zika book (July 20, 2016)
- How often should I take 50,000 IU
- 10 minutes of sun not enough
- Loading Dose - to get the benefit as soon as possible
- Toxicity is rare
- Free Vitamin D evaluation service
- Cofactors are important if you take a lot of vitamin D for a long time
- Supplements categories in Vitamin D Life include
- Magnesium
- Omega-3
- Vitamin K2
- Calcium
- Boron - good, but not as essential
- Zinc - good, but not as essential
- Unfortunately cofactors as pills are costly and typically need to be taken daily
- Perspective of the importance of Vit D and co-factors to health
- See also Vitamin D Life
- See also web
- Genes can restrict Vitamin D from getting to the cells
- Additional Vitamin D information
Vitamin D is associated with many health problems
Less sun ==> Less Vitamin D ==> Less Health (chart)
click on image for details and translation
70 Proofs that Vitamin D prevents or treats the following diseases
Hypertension, Cardiovascular, Back pain, Diabetes, Influenza, Falls, Hip Fractures, Breast Cancer, Multiple Sclerosis, Raynaud's pain, Menstrual Pain, C-section and pregnancy risks, Low Birth Weight, Chronic Kidney Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, TB, Rickets, Respiratory Tract Infection, Lupus, Sickle Cell, leg ulcers, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson's Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Congestive Heart Failure (Infants), Middle Ear Infection (Infants), Gingivitis, stronger senior muscles, antibiotic use in seniors, short Infants, Gestational Diabetes, heart pump better after attack, Prostate Cancer, Asthma, Depression, Vitamin D in Breast Milk, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Hives, Cholesterol, COPD, Asthma, Quality of Life, Survive ICU, Restless Leg Syndrome, Hepatitis-C, Crohn's disease, Pre-term birth, Cluster headaches, Autism, PreDiabetes, Weight loss, Sarcopenia = muscle loss, Growing Pains, Osteoarthritis, ALS, Vertigo, Warts, Metabolic Syndrome, Hay fever, Preeclampsia, Blood cell cancer, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Urinary Tract Infection, Mite Allergy, Perinatal Depression, Vaginosis, Eczema, NAFLD, Knee Osteoarthritis, Tuberculosis, Ischemic Stroke, Sepsis, Trauma Deaths, Hemodialysis, Fatty liver - child, Fatigue, Poor Sleep, Pneumonia (Ventilator-associated), Male infertility, Waist size, ADHD, Alcoholic liver cirrhosis, Diabetic nephropathy. Ulcerative Colitis. Weight loss
Also, The Vitamin D Receptor limits the amount of Vitamin D in the blood actually gets to the tissue
The risk of 40 diseases at least double with poor Vitamin D Receptor as of July 2019
6 times to 55 times more likely to get these health problems
- Many health problems associated with low vitamin D
click to read the studies - 55 X more likely to have bone fracture requiring surgery
- 30 X more likely for COPD becoming suddenly worse
- 25 X more likely to have senior moment
- 23 X more likely to have vertigo
- 19 X more likely to get dementia
- 17 X more likely to have muscle inflammation
- 14 X more likely to die after first cardiovascular event
- 14 X more likely for dark skinned children to get T1 diabetes
- 12 X more likely to die from elderly pneumonia
- 11 X more likely to be allergic to peanuts
- 10 X more reactions to flu vaccine
- 10 X more likely for stroke patients to become depressed
- 9 X more likely to have Gastric Cancer
- 8 X more likely to have Autoimmune Hepatitis
- 8 X more likely for alcoholic to have Alcoholic liver disease
- 8 X more likely to get lupus
- 7 X more likely to have low birth weight infant
- 7 X more likely for pregnant teen to have anemia
- 7 X more likely to have leg pain
- 7 X increased chance of death from coronary artery disease
- 6.5 X more likely for infant to be Small for Gestational Age
- 6 X worse outcome following Sudden cardiac arrest
- 6 X more likely to get hip fracture after stroke
- 6 X more likely to die after coronary bypass
- 6 X more likely to have allergic rhinitis
- 6 X more likely to get diabetes if abdominal obese
- 6 X more likely to get cancer in children
CLICK HERE for entire 3X to 55X list for more information
Health problem - examples
Alzheimers-Cognition
Alzheimers-Cognition - Overview has the following summary
- FACT: Cognitive decline is 19X more likely if low vitamin D
- FACT: Dementia is associated with low vitamin D levels.
- FACT: Alzheimer’s 21 % more likely if low vitamin D
- FACT: Alzheimer's Disease is 4X less likely if less likely if high vitamin D
- FACT: Every single risk factor listed for Alzheimer's Disease is also a risk factor for low vitamin D levels
- FACT: Elderly cognition gets worse as the elderly vitamin D levels get even lower (while in senior homes)
- OBSERVATION: Reports of increased vitamin D levels result in improved cognition
- OBSERVATION: Alzheimer’s patients 3X more likely to have a malfunctioning vitamin D receptor gene – 2012
- OBSERVATION: Alzheimer's Disease has been seen to halt when vitamin D was added.
- OBSERVATION: 39 vitamin D and Alz. or Cognition lntervention trials as of Sept 2018
- OBSERVATION: 2 Meta-analysis in 2012 agreed that Alzheimer's Disease. associated with low vitamin D
- OBSERVATION: 50X increase in Alzheimer's while decrease in vitamin D
- OBSERVATION: Vitamin D reduces Alzheimer’s disease in 11 ways
- OBSERVATION: Alzheimer’s cognition improved by 4,000 IU of vitamin D
- OBSERVATION: Plaque removed in mice by equiv. of 14,000 IU daily
- FACT: Vitamin D is extremely low cost and has very very few side effects
- CONCLUSION: Everyone concerned about cognitive decline or Alzheimer's Disease should take vitamin D
- PREDICTION: By 2024 Omega-3 and high dose Vitamin D will be found to reverse Alzheimer's in humans
- As of 2018 that combination has worked well with Multiple Sclerosis, Sleep, and Cluster Headaches
- All items in category Cognition and vitamin D
290 Breast Cancer
Overview Breast Cancer and Vitamin D contains the following summary and sections
- 16+ meta-analyses of Vitamin D and Breast Cancer
example: 2X reduction of deaths from Breast Cancer if have enough Vitamin D. - Appears that having lots of Vitamin D will reduce by 3 X the chance of Breast Cancer
wonder just how much more proof is needed - Breast Cancer 4X more likely if have poor genes
- Cancer - Breast category listing has
223 items along with related searches Breathing
Breathing category starts with the following
382 items in Breathing category - Search Vitamin D Life for Pneumonia 1,360 items as of July 2019
- Search Vitamin D Life for phrase "COMMUNITY PNEUMONIA" 99 items - Jan 2020
- Search Vitamin D Life for BRONCHITIS 272 items as of July 2019
- Search Vitamin D Life for ASTHMA in title 142 items - Nov 2019
- COPD Overview
- Search Vitamin D Life for Wheeze 1480 items as of July 2020
- Cystic Fibrosis category listing has
41 items along with related searches - Air Pollution reduces Vitamin D
- Note: Air Pollution reduces UVB and keeps people indoors, both reduce Vitamin D
- Smoking reduces vitamin D
Supplementing with Vitamin D will improve the health of smokers and might decease craving- Overviews at Vitamin D Life:
Allergy Lung Cancer TB Asthma Influenza Colds and flu Pneumonia Respiratory infectionsCardiovascular
Cardiovascular category listing has429 items along with related searches 429 items In Cardiovascular category - Overview Cardiovascular and vitamin D
- Hypertension and vitamin D
- Overview Metabolic Syndrome and vitamin D
- Overview Stroke and vitamin D
- Peripheral arterial disease risk is 1.5X higher if low vitamin D – meta-analysis March 2018
- Peripheral Arterial Disease 3.7 X more likely in diabetics with low vitamin D – June 2019
- Heart attack ICU costs cut in half by Vitamin D – Oct 2018
Meta-analyses
- Heart Failure and Vitamin D meta-analyses - 2016, 2019
- Cardiovascular death 1.5X more likely if less than 20 ng of Vitamin D – 22nd meta-analysis Nov 2019
- Vitamin D supplementation reduces many Cardiovascular Disease markers– meta-analysis July 2018
Omega-3 Helps
- Cardiovascular Prevention with Omega-3 (finally using high doses) – Sept 2019
- Higher Omega-3 index (4 to 8 percent) associated with 30 percent less risk of coronary disease (10 studies) July 2017
A poor Vitamin D Receptor can block Vitamin D in blood from getting to tissues
- Heart Failure 15X more likely if poor VDR, even if good level of vitamin D (China) – March 2019
- Coronary Artery Disease without diabetes 5 times more likely if VDR gene problems – meta-analysis May 2016
Cholesterol, Statins
- Cholesterol is needed to produce both Vitamin D and Cortisol
- Overview Cholesterol and vitamin D
- Statins and vitamin D statins often reduce levels of vitamin D
- Statin side-effects are reduced by Vitamin D – US patent Application – April 2019
Diabetes
Overview Diabetes and vitamin D appears to be due to a lack of Vitamin D
- Diabetes is 5X more frequent far from the equator
- Children getting 2,000 IU of vitamin D are 8X less likely to get Type 1 diabetes
- Obese people get less sun / Vitamin D - and also vitamin D gets lost in fat
- Sedentary people get less sun / Vitamin D
- Worldwide Diabetes increase has been concurrent with vitamin D decrease and air conditioning
- Elderly get 4X less vitamin D from the same amount of sun
Elderly also spend less time outdoors and have more clothes on - All items in category Diabetes and Vitamin D
454 items: both Type 1 and Type 2 Vitamin D appears to both prevent and treat diabetes
- Appears that >2,000 IU will Prevent
- Appears that >4,000 IU will Treat , but not cure
- Appears that Calcium and Magnesium are needed for both Prevention and Treatment
- which are just some of the vitamin D cofactors
Number of articles in both categories of Diabetes and:
- Dark Skin
22 ; Intervention 49 ; Meta-analysis 28 ; Obesity 26 ; Pregnancy 39 ; T1 (child) 34 ; Omega-3 10 ; Vitamin D Receptor 18 ; Genetics 10 ; Magnesium 18 Click here to see details Falls and Fractures
Falls and Fractures category contains the following summary
219 items in FALLS and FRACTURES - see also Overview Seniors and Vitamin D
- Overview Fractures and Falls and Vitamin D
- Deaths due to falls doubled in just a decade (age-adjusted, perhaps decreased vitamin D) – June 2019
- Preventing Falls in Older Adults – Vitamin D combination is the best - JAMA Meta-analysis Nov 2017
- Falls cut in half by 100,000 IU vitamin D monthly - RCT 2016
- Vitamin D prevents falls – majority of meta-analyses conclude – meta-meta analysis Feb 2015
- Vitamin D and fractures – 24 meta-analyses and counting – Dec 2014
Hip fracture
- Search Vitamin D Life for "HIP FRACTURE" 191 items not in PDF as of July 2020
- A call to action: Vitamin D for hip fracture – Holick July 2020
- Risk factors for death after hip fracture surgery – 7 of the 8 are associated with low vitamin D – Aug 2020
- 3.5 X higher risk of death 2 years after hip fracture surgery if low vitamin D – Jan 2020
- Hip fracture recovery best with home exercise plus Vitamin D – RCT Dec 2018
- Hip fracture 58 percent more likely if low vitamin D – meta-analysis March 2017
- Fracture risk 40 percent higher risk if low Vitamin D - June 2019
- 1 in 3 died after hip fracture but only 1 in 14 if add Vitamin D and exercise – RCT April 2017
Kidney
Overview Kidney and vitamin D contains the following summary
- FACT: Kidney is the primary way to activate vitamin D
- FACT: When the Kidney has problems, there is less active vitamin D (Calcitriol) for the body
- FACT: When the Kidney has problems, there is increased death due to many factors - many of which are associated with lack of Calcitriol
- FACT: There are many on-going intervention clinical trials trying to determine how much of what kind of vitamin D is needed to treat the problem
- FACT: One Randomized Controlled Trial has proven that Vitamin D treats CKD
- FACT: Taking extra Vitamin D, in various forms, does not cause health problems - even if poor kidney
- Suggestion: Increase vitamin D getting into body now - and increase co-factors so that the vitamin D can be better used
Sun, UV lamp, Vitamin D supplement - probably > 5,000 IU,
Calcitriol - which bypasses the need for the kidney to activate vitamin D
Problems with Calcitriol however: typically only lasts for a few hours, also, possible complications
Update: Pre-cursor of active vitamin D made from plants is better than calcitriol – Sept 2012 - Category Kidney and Vitamin D contains
193 items Obesity
Overview Obesity and Vitamin D contains the following summary
- FACT: People who are obese have less vitamin D in their blood
- FACT: Obese need a higher dose of vitamin D to get to the same level of vit D
- FACT: When obese people lose weight the vitamin D level in their blood increases
- FACT: Adding Calcium, perhaps in the form of fortified milk, often reduces weight
- FACT: 153 trials for vitamin D intervention of obesity as of Sept 2020
- FACT: Less weight gain by senior women with > 30 ng of vitamin D
- FACT: Dieters lost additional 5 lbs if vitamin D supplementation got them above 32 ng - RCT
- FACT: Obese lost 3X more weight by adding $10 of Vitamin D
- FACT: Those with darker skins were more likely to be obese Sept 2014
- OBSERVATION: Many mammals had evolved to add fat and vitamin D in the autumn
- and lose both in the Spring - unfortunately humans have forgotten to lose the fat in the Spring
- SUGGESTION: Probably need more than 4,000 IU to lose weight if very low on vitamin D due to
risk factors such as overweight, age, dark skin, live far from equator,shut-in, etc. - Obesity category has
351 items Osteoporosis
Overview Osteoporosis and vitamin D contains the following summary
- FACT: Bones need Calcium (this has been known for a very long time)
- FACT: Vitamin D improves Calcium bioavailability (3X ?)
- FACT: Should not take > 750 mg of Calcium if taking lots of vitamin D (Calcium becomes too bio-available)
- FACT: Adding vitamin D via Sun, UV, or supplements increased vitamin D in the blood
- FACT: Vitamin D supplements are very low cost
- FACT: Many trials, studies. reviews, and meta-analysis agree: adding vitamin D reduces osteoporosis
- FACT: Toxic level of vitamin D is about 4X higher than the amount needed to reduce osteoporosis
- FACT: Co-factors help build bones.
- FACT: Vitamin D Receptor can restrict Vitamin D from getting to many tissues, such as bones
- It appears that to TREAT Osteoporosis:
- Calcium OR vitamin D is ok
- Calcium + vitamin D is good
- Calcium + vitamin D + other co-factors is great
- Low-cost Vitamin D Receptor activators sometimes may be helpful
- CONCLUSION: To PREVENT many diseases, including Osteoporosis, as well as TREAT Osteoporosis
- Category Osteoporosis has
189 items - Category Bone Health has
269 items Note: Osteoporosis causes bones to become fragile and prone to fracture
Osteoarthritis is a disease where damage occurs to the joints at the end of the bones
Osteoporosis category includes the following189 items in category - see also Overview Osteoporosis and vitamin D - Overview Fractures and vitamin D
- Bone - Health
269 items - Search BMD OR Bone Mineral Density 3250 results as of July 2020
- Search Vitamin D Life for OSTEOPENIA 1740 items as of July 2020
Pages in BOTH the categories Osteoporosis and Meta-analysis
- Osteoporosis Risk varies with Vitamin D Receptor – meta-analysis July 2020
- Osteoporosis 15 percent more likely if poor Vitamin D receptor – meta-analysis Dec 2018
- Fractures reduced with any amount of vitamin D and some Calcium - Cochraine April 2014
- Vitamin D Receptor genes bb and BB and Osteoporosis, esp. for blacks – meta-analysis Nov 2012
- Hip fractures reduced 30 percent with 800 IU of vitamin D – meta-analysis July 2012
- Vitamin D for elderly 800 to 2000 IU - Osteoporosis Canada - Sept 2010
- Hip fractures in India - editorial with recommendation - Sept 2010
- Cochrane review finds that Vitamin D and Calcium treat osteoporosis – Feb 2010
Pain
Pain - chronic category has the following
137 items in category Chronic pain See also
- Overview Pain and Vitamin D
- Overview Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue and vitamin D
- Overview Rheumatoid Arthritis and vitamin D
- Shingles and vitamin D
- Shin splints decrease with vitamin D
- Migraine and Vitamin D
- Headache category
63 items - "musculoskeletal pain" 374 items as of March 2018
- "chronic fatigue" 185 items as of Jan 2017
- Category Back Pain
37 items - "KNEE PAIN" 121 items as of March 2018
Parkinson’s
Overview Parkinsons and Vitamin D contains the following summary
Parkinson's Disease proven to be TREATED by Vitamin D (Many Meta-analyses of trials)- Parkinson's disease stabilized with just 1200 IU of vitamin D – RCT May 2013
First RCT to report results - +anticipate far better results when more vitamin D is used.
(Belief based on the results with vitamin D on MS and Diabetes)
Additonal proofs that vitamin D treats or prevents diseases - 6 clinical trials for PD with vitamin D intervention as of Jan 2016
A person could wait a few years to get the results of the clinical trials, but - Based on reading more than 4,000 studies of vitamin D at Vitamin D Life
- A (loading) dose of 20,000 IU of vitamin D daily for the 3 weeks should provide observable benefit
To avoid a rare reaction to Vitamin D
take 1,000 IU of vitamin D first, and stop if you you have an allergic reaction withiin 3 days
When continuing to take vitamin D you should also take cofactors
There is virtually no need have a vitamin D test in first 2 months - Parkinson's category has
82 items Schizophrenia
Overview Schizophrenia and Vitamin D contains the following summary
Many reasons to think that schizophrenia is associated with low vitamin D
1) 97% of patients with schizophrenia are vitamin D deficient
2) Schizophrenia varies with latitude (UVB) by 10X (controversy)
3) Schizophrenia is more common in those with dark skin (when away from the equator)
4) Schizophrenia is associated with low natal vitamin D
5) Schizophrenia has been increasing around the world when vitamin D has been decreasing (controversy)
6) Schizophrenia is associated with low birth rate, which is associated with low vitamin D
7) Schizophrenia is associated with Autism which is associated with low vitamin D
8) Schizophrenia Bulletin Editorial (Jan 2014) speculated that Vitamin D could be a major player
9) Schizophrenia 2X more likely if low vitamin D - meta-analysis
10) Schizophrenia increased 40 % for Spring births after Danes stopped vitamin D fortification
11) Schizophrenia is associated with season of birth
12) Schizophrenia is associated with poor Vitamin D Receptor genes
13) Schizophrenia risk is decreased if give Vitamin D after birth
Click here for some details
Omega-3 may treat schizophrenia wonder if Omega-3 and Vitamin D would be additive or even synergisticSports
Overview Sports and vitamin D has the following summary
Athletes are helped by vitamin D by:- Faster reaction time
- Far fewer colds/flus during the winter
- Less sore/tired after a workout
- Fewer micro-cracks and broken bones
- Bones which do break heal much more quickly
- Increased VO2 and exercise endurance Feb 2011
- Indoor athletes especially need vitamin D
- Professional indoor athletes are starting to take vitamin D and/or use UV beds
- Olympic athletes have used UV/vitamin D since the 1930's
- The biggest gain from the use of vitamin D is by those who exercise less than 2 hours per day.
- Reduced muscle fatigue with 10,000 IU vitamin D daily
- Muscle strength improved when vitamin D added: 3 Meta-analysis
- Reduced Concussions
See also: Sports and Vitamin D category231 items Groups typically needing more Vitamin D
Seniors need more vitamin D - 10 reasons
- Senior skin produces 3X less Vitamin D for the same sun intensity
- Seniors have fewer vitamin D receptors as they age
(The effect of low Vitamin D receptor genes does not show up on vitamin D test results) - Seniors are indoors more than when when they were younger
not as agile, weaker muscles; frail, no longer enjoy hot temperatures
(if outside, stay in the shade), however, seniors might start outdoor activities like gardening, biking, etc. - Seniors wear more clothing outdoors than when younger
fear skin cancer/wrinkles, sometimes avoid bright light after cataract surgery - Seniors often take various drugs which reduce vitamin D (some would not show up on vitamin D test) statins, chemotherapy, anti-depressants, blood pressure, beta-blockers, etc
- Seniors often have one or more diseases which consume vitamin D ( osteoporosis, diabetes, MS, ...)
- Seniors generally put on weight at they age - and a heavier body requires more vitamin D
- Seniors often (40%) have fatty livers – which do not process vitamin D as well
- Seniors not have as much Magnesium needed to use vitamin D
(would not show up on vitamin D test) - Seniors with poorly functioning kidneys do not process vitamin D as well
(would not show up on vitamin D test) 2009 full text online Also PDF 2009 - Vitamin D is not as bioavailable in senior digestive systems (Stomach acid or intestines?)
- Category Seniors and Vitamin D
341 items Infants-Child
Infant-Child category starts with
- No consensus on MINIMUM International Units (IU) for healthy infant of normal weight
- 400 IU Vitamin D is no longer enough
Was OK in the past century, but D levels have been dropping for a great many reasons.
FDA doubled the vitamin D level in milk in July 2016 - No consensus: range is 600 to 1600 IU – based on many randomized controlled trials
- Fewer infants were vitamin D deficient when they got 800 IU – RCT Feb 2014
- 1600 IU was the conclusion of three JAMA studies
1000 IU recommended in France and Finland – 2013 - appears to be a good level
A recommended level may be agreed upon around the world by 2020 - 5X less mite allergy after add vitamin D
- Child bone fractures with low vitamin D were 55X more likely to need surgery
- 75 % of SIDS had low vitamin D
- Children stayed in ICU 3.5 days longer if low vitamin D – Dec 2015
- 5 out of 6 children who died in pediatric critical care unit had low vitamin D – May 2014
Having a good level of vitamin D cuts in half the amount of:
- Asthma, Chronic illness, Doctor visits, Allergies, infection
Respiratory Tract Infection, Growing pains, Bed wetting
Need even more IUs of vitamin D to get a good level if;
- Have little vitamin D: premie, twin, mother did not get much sun access
- Get little vitamin D: dark skin, little access to sun
- Vitamin D is consumed faster than normal due to sickness
- Older (need at least 100 IU/kilogram, far more if obese)
- Not get any vitamin D from formula (breast fed) or (fortified) milk
Note – formula does not even provide 400 IU of vitamin D daily
Infants-Children need Vitamin D
- Sun is great – well known for 1,000’s of years.
US govt (1934) even said infants should be out in the sun - One country recommended 2,000 IU daily for decades – with no known problems
- As with adults, infants and children can have loading doses and rarely need tests
- Daily dose appears to be best, but monthly seems OK
- Vitamin D is typically given to infants in the form of drops
big difference in taste between brands
can also use water-soluable form of vitamin D in milk, food, juice, - Infants have evolved to get a big boost of vitamin D immediately after birth
Colostrum has 3X more vitamin D than breast milk - provided the mother has any vitamin D to spare - 100 IU per kg of infant July 2011, Poland etc.
More than 100 IU/kg is probably better
Getting Vitamin D into infants
Many infants reject vitamin D drops, even when put on nipple
I speculate that the rejection is due to one or more of: additives, taste, and oils.
Infants have a hard time digesting oils, 1999 1997 and palm oils W.A. Price 1 2 3
Coconut oil, such as in D-Drops, is digested by infants. 1, 2 3
Bio-Tech Pharmacal Vitamin D has NO additves, taste, oil
One capsule of 50,000 Bio-Tech Pharmacal Vitamin D could be stirred into monthly formula
this would result in ~1,600 IUs per day for infant, and higher dose with weight/age/formula consumption606 items in the category Infant/Child See also - breastfed 962 items as of Sept 2017
- "BIRTH DEFECTS" 172 items as of July 2016
- Stunting OR “low birth weight” OR LBW OR preemie OR preemies OR preterm 1940 items as of Oct 2018
- "SUDDEN INFANT DEATH" OR SIDS 177 items as of Nov 2018
- Overview of Rickets and Vitamin D
- Youth category listing has
148 items along with related searches Pregnant
Overview Pregnancy and vitamin D
Pregnancy category starts with750 items in Pregnancy category - see also
- Overview Pregnancy and vitamin D
- Number of articles in both categories of Pregnancy and:
Dark Skin25 ; Depression 17 ; Diabetes 39 ; Obesity 12 ; Hypertension 35 ; Breathing 29 ; Omega-3 30 ; Vitamin D Receptor 18 - All items in category Infant/Child
606 items - breastfed 887 items as of Jan 2018
- Preeclampsia 825 items as of Jan 2018
- Pre-term 4710 items as of Dec 2018
- "polycystic ovary syndrome" OR PCOS 303 items as of Jan 2018
- Gestational Diabetes
- c-section OR "caesarean section" (various spellings) 937 items as of Aug 2020
- postpartum depression 208 items as of Aug 2018
- Search VitaminDiiki for MISCARRIAGE OR "Spontaneous abortion" 794 as of Feb 2020
- Search Vitamin D Life for "Assisted reproduction" 33 items as of Feb 2017
- Fertility and Sperm category listing has
109 items along with related searches - (Stunting OR “low birth weight” OR LBW) 1180 items as of June 2020
- Healthy pregnancies need lots of vitamin D
- Ensure a healthy pregnancy and baby - take Vitamin D before conception
ProblemReduces Evidence 0. Chance of not conceiving 3.4 times Observe 1. Miscarriage 2.5 times Observe 2. Pre-eclampsia 3.6 times RCT 3. Gestational Diabetes 3 times RCT 4. Good 2nd trimester sleep quality 3.5 times Observe 5. Premature birth 2 times RCT 6. C-section - unplanned 1.6 times Observe Stillbirth - OMEGA-3 4 times RCT - Omega-3 7. Depression AFTER pregnancy 1.4 times RCT 8. Small for Gestational Age 1.6 times meta-analysis 9. Infant height, weight, head size
within normal limitsRCT 10. Childhood Wheezing 1.3 times RCT 11. Additional child is Autistic 4 times Intervention 12.Young adult Multiple Sclerosis 1.9 times Observe 13. Preeclampsia in young adult 3.5 times RCT 14. Good motor skills @ age 3 1.4 times Observe 15. Childhood Mite allergy 5 times RCT 16. Childhood Respiratory Tract visits 2.5 times RCT RCT = Randomized Controlled Trial
CLICK HERE to see entire pageDarker Skin
- Overview Dark Skin and Vitamin D
- Dark skin births are much riskier due to lack of vitamin D
- Vitamin D deficiency diseases in dark skinned people living far from equator – Meta-analysis Oct 2013
- Forearm fracture 3.5X more often in black children with low levels of vitamin D – Sept 2012
- Extra 4,000 IU daily raised the vitamin D levels of blacks to that of whites – July 2012
- Increased risk of multiple sclerosis risk in African Americans due to genes – June 2013
- Differences in black and non-black mortality and vitamin D – Oct 2012
- Diabetes (Type 1) 14X more likely in dark skin children with low levels of vitamin D – May 2015
Other High Risk Groups
High Risk of little Vitamin D category listing has49 items and has: - 40 percent lower vitamin D level if work other shifts (Italy) – June 2015
- Burkas reduce vitamin D levels, which causes pregnancy problems – Oct 2015
- The only supplement NASA gives crews is vitamin D - Sept 2015
- People with health problems lacking noon sun (severe Multiple Sclerosis, etc.) have even lower levels of vitamin D – March 2015
- Intellectually disabled 2X more likely to have low vitamin D (shut-in) – Sept 2014
- 4.7X less likely to feed self in nursing home if vitamin D deficient – Oct 2013
Vitamin D supplementation
Amount of vitamin D needed vs:
More vitamin D needed -nutshell category has the following
AgeLatitudeSeasonObesitySkin colorAvoid SunSupplementation from Zika book (July 20, 2016)
Vitamin D Recommendations: based on hundreds of successful Vitamin D studies (with/without pregnancy)
- 4,000 IU daily average minimum amount of Vitamin D
Similar dosing is 50,000 IU bi-weekly (Daily is probably slightly better)
It is 1/3 the cost and easier to remember than daily dosing.
Note: Taking vitamin D also increases chance of pregnancy - More is needed if likely to have very low levels of vitamin D:
6,000 IU daily average if:- having twins or had a recent birth,
- health problems associated with low vitamin D
- indoors a lot or avoid the sun
- dark skin
10,000 IU (50,000 IU every 5th day) if:- Obese
- Normal weight Obese (50 ng = 125 nanomole)
Click here for 2014 obesity study
- if diseases run in the family
- May want to restore levels as quickly as possible with 350,000 IU loading dose
during pregnancy, especially if there is the threat of Zika
this gets a strong immune system quickly, not with months of delay using a daily maintenance dose- 50,000 IU daily for 1 week if not pregnant
- 50,000 IU every second day for 2 weeks if pregnant
- Start ASAP during pregnancy (even before) so as to both avoid Zika and have healthy pregnancy and infant
- Should use a vitamin D which has no known adverse affects
No additives, no oils (30% of oil-based Vit D which restrict vitamin D adsorption) - Most people (80%?) can take regular vitamin D capsules
Options if:- Not want to take pills – use liquid Vitamin D or pour vitamin D powder from capsule into food/drink
- Poor gut – several “gut friend” forms are available
- Vegan – several forms of Vitamin D3 are made from plants such as lichen
- Halal, Kosher, etc.
- Magnesium Cofactor 100+ miligrams of element daily – tell why especially during pregnancy
- Increases the benefits of vitamin D
- Decreases chance of allergic-type reaction to Vitamin D (from ~ 3 in 1000 to 1 in 1000)
- Omega-3 Cofactor
- Vitamin K2 cofactor
- Test for Vitamin D is nice but very expensive ($60) and not really essential
- Take vitamin D just after evening meal
- about~30% more benefit with evening meal, but most anytime is OK
- Just concerned about average vitamin D during a 2 week time period
4,000 IU taken daily is virtually identical to 50,000 IU once every two weeks
OK to have missed your dose for a few days - just take nissed once all at once.
How often should I take 50,000 IU
How often should I take 50000 IU (1.25 mg) of vitamin D
10 minutes of sun not enough
No – 10 minutes per day of sun-UVB is NOT enough
- 5-10 minutes provides only 1,000 IU ONLY IF you are near the equator
- AND young
- AND not obese
- AND have light skin
- AND it is summer
- AND it is the middle of the day
- AND you have lots of skin exposed to the sun
- AND you are lying down
- AND you are not wearing sunscreen
- AND you have a healthy Liver
- AND no clouds and nor air pollution
- AND you have good response to sunshine (4X variation between individuals)
Loading Dose - to get the benefit as soon as possible
Overview Loading of vitamin D contains the following
Loading dose:153 studies at Vitamin D Life Vitamin D loading dose (stoss) proven to improve health overview
If a person is or is suspected to be, very vitamin D deficient a loading dose is typically given- Loading = restore = quick replacement by 1 or more doses
- Loading doses range in total size from 100,000 IU to 1,000,000 IU of Vitamin D3
- = 2.5 to 25 milligrams
- The size of the loading dose is a function of body weight - see below
- Unfortunately, some doctors persist in using Vitamin D2 instead of D3
- Loading may be done as quickly as a single day (Stoss), to as slowly as 3 months.
- It appears that spreading the loading dose over 4+ days is slightly better if speed is not essential
- Loading is typically oral, but can be Injection (I.M,) and Topical
- Loading dose is ~3X faster if done topically or swished inside of the mouth
- Skips the slow process of stomach and intestine, and might even skip liver and Kidney as well
- The loading dose persists in the body for 1 - 3 months
- The loading dose should be followed up with on-going maintenance dosing
- Unfortunately, many doctors fail to follow-up with the maintenance dosing.
- About 1 in 300 people have some form of a mild allergic reaction to vitamin D supplements, including loading doses
- it appears prudent to test with a small amount of vitamin D before giving a loading dose
- The causes of a mild allergic reaction appear to be: (in order of occurrence)
- 1) lack of magnesium - which can be easily added
- 2) allergy to capsule contents - oil, additives (powder does not appear to cause any reaction)
- 3) allergy to the tiny amount of D3 itself (allergy to wool) ( alternate: D3 made from plants )
- 4) allergy of the gut to Vitamin D - alternative = topical
Toxicity is rare
Overview Toxicity of vitamin D
Free Vitamin D evaluation service
Free Vitamin D evaluation service had the following questions
Positive answers indicates a possible vitamin D deficiency- At night, I ...... have a cold feeling ... have legs that hurt ... have a restless sleep ... wake up suddenly
- During the day, I am...... listless ... tired ... lethargic ... uninspired
- I feel cramps or twitches...... in the leg ... in the arm ... in the hand ... in the eyelid
- I get dizzy...... when I stand up ... when I exert an effort ... around noon ... when that happens, I need to lie down
- I feel sick...... when I stand up ... when I exert an effort ... around noon ... when that happens, I need to lie down
- My head hurts or I feel pressure in my head...... when I stand up ... when I exert an effort ... around noon ... when that happens, I need to lie down
- If I stand or work for an extended period of time, it hurts...... in my neck ... in my lower back ... in the groin ... in the feet
- The Sun at noon causes...... circulatory problems ... headaches ... an itching skin ... red spots
- I repeatedly have...... cold hands ... cold feet ... cold legs ... white fingertips
- My fingernails have… number of white spots
Cofactors are important if you take a lot of vitamin D for a long time
Vitamin D Cofactors in a nutshell
!!!!Cofactors need to be adjusted when taking a lot of vitamin D for more than a month
"A lot" is more than 4,000 IU Vitamin D daily (average)
There is virtually no agreement as how much of each cofactor is needed vs vitamin D level
The first three cofactors have, like vitamin D, greatly decreased in the human diet in the past 50 years
The goal is to restore Vitamin D, Magnesium, Omega-3, and Vitamin K back to where they had been
in a nutshell = summed up = condensedSupplements categories in Vitamin D Life include
Supplement # of
studiesIncrease D
to tissueOmega-3 330
Many benefits 30%? Magnesium 259
Many need Mg 30% Calcium 192
Reduce Vitamin K 127 Hard bones,
soft arteriesIron 53
Vitamin B12 42 Zinc 51 ?% Boron 29 +20% Iodine 24 Resveratrol 35 >100% if
poor VDRCurcumin 10 ? ?% if
poor VDRMagnesium
- About 1 in 300 people have a poor reaction to increasing Vitamin D
but the Vitamin D reaction (muscle pain) is almost always due to lack of Magnesium - Magnesium increases the benefits of vitamin D by about 30% (Mg and Vit. D are synergistic)
- Magnesium provides a great many health benefits independent of Vitamin D
- Magnesium is used at 8 stages of Vitamin D metabolism
- 100 milligrams of Magnesium (say from Magnesium Chloride) seems to be enough, even with high levels of vitamin D
Some people (not a consensus) believe that only 100 mg of Mg can be taken up by the gut at a time
If possible, take your Magnesium several times during the day - not just once- Vitamin D appears to consume Magnesium
- People with > 100 ng of Vitamin D (and do not supplement with Mg) are 2.5X more likely to have A-fib
- Overview Magnesium Magnesium category has
259 items Omega-3
- Omega-3 increases active vitamin D - especially in people with poorly functioning livers or kidneys
- 1 gram of Omega-3 seems to be enough. Note: different brands have widely different bio-availability
- Overview Omega-3 Omega-3 category has
330 items Vitamin K2
- K2 Keeps Calcium in bones and out of arteries
- Calcification due to K2 deficiency may be a reason for increased mortality for some diseases for high vitamin D
- Probably need 100 micrograms per 2,000 IU of vitamin D (i.e. 500 micrograms for 10,000 IU of Vit D)
- Perhaps Vitamin D consumes Vitamin K, so need more of it
- Vitamin D decreases the uptake of Vitamin K1 by 50%
- Perhaps should not take K2 concurrently with Vitamin D.
- Overview Vitamin K2 Vitamin K category has
127 items Calcium
- Too much Calcium is associated with cardiovascular problems years later, not stronger bones
- Should have less than 750 milligrams of Calcium supplementation
- Drinking a lot of water helps flush any excess Calcium from the Kidneys
- Overview Calcium Calcium category has
192 items Boron - good, but not as essential
- Boron increases Vitamin D and Magnesium in the body by ~ 20%
- Most people Boron deficient now that commercial fertilizers are used
- Should have 3-10 milligrams of Boron element daily
- Boron can be extremely low cost, less than $0.01 a day
- Boron category has
29 items Zinc - good, but not as essential
- Extra Zinc does not appear to increase D in the blood. but may increase D in the tissue
- Zinc is, however, essential to make Vitamin D Receptors and utilize Omega-3
- Low zinc is associated with many autoimmune diseases,infections, colds, etc
- Zinc, like Boron, is extremly low-cost and safe
- Zinc category has
51 items Unfortunately cofactors as pills are costly and typically need to be taken daily
- The cost of cofactors is 10X to 100X more than the vitamin D when taken as pills
- Bulk supplementation of Vitamin D, Magnesium, Zinc, B-12, K2, Boron etc. - lower cost and easier than pills
- just 40 cents per day as a powder
- Many of the cofactors need be taken daily (vs Vitamin D can be taken weekly or bi-weekly)
Perspective of the importance of Vit D and co-factors to health
See also Vitamin D Life
- Need to adjust cofactors if take 50,000 IU of vitamin D weekly – Nov 2013
- How you might double your response to vitamin D
- primarliy by increasing Magnesium, Boron, Vitamin K, Omega-3
- Too much Vitamin D long-term problems if take too much vitamin D without balancing cofactors
- Low cost cofactors for vitamin D - includes listing of what the founder of Vitamin D Life actually takes
- Supplements category listing has
96 items - Includes mortaity problems with >400 IU of Vitamin E
- Dr. Ames triage theory - Vit D, Mg, etc immediate needs reduce their use for long term needs such as DNA repair
- Vitamin D Receptor is one of the genes which can block vitamin D from getting to the cells
- The standard Vitamin D test cannot detect a poor Vitamin D Receptor
- Adding more Vit D, Mg, Omega-3, Boron, Resveratrol, Zinc, etc increases Vit D to the cells
See also web
- Supplement reviews by ConsumerLab – Vitamin D, Magnesium, Vitamin K, Calcium , Boron – Nov 2019
- Examine.com
short URL = is.gd/Dplus
Genes can restrict Vitamin D from getting to the cells
Even if vitamin D levels are OD (e.g. > 40 nanogram)
Genetics category listing contains the following266 articles in the Genetics category see also
384 articles in Vitamin D Receptor 140 articles in Vitamin D Binding Protein = GC 35 articles in CYP27B1 - Topical Vitamin D
- Nanoemulsion Vitamin D may be a substantially better form
- Getting Vitamin D into your body
Vitamin D blood test misses a lot
- Snapshot of the literature by Vitamin D Life as of early 2019
- Vitamin D from coming from tissues (vs blood) was speculated to be 50% in 2014, and by 2017 was speculated to be 90%
- Note: Good blood test results (> 40 ng) does not mean that a good amount of Vitamin D actually gets to cells
- A Vitamin D test in cells rather than blood was feasible (2017 personal communication)
- Commercially available 2019
- However test results would vary in each tissue due to multiple genes
- Good clues that Vitamin D is being restricted from getting to the cells
1) A vitamin D-related health problem runs in the family- especially if it is one of 51+ diseases related to Vitamin D Receptor
2) Slightly increasing Vitamin D show benefits (even if conventional Vitamin D test shows an increase)
3) Vitamin D Receptor test (<$30) scores are difficult to understand in 2016- easier to understand the VDR 23andMe test results analyzed by FoundMyFitness in 2018
4) Back Pain- probably want at least 2 clues before taking adding vitamin D, Omega-3, Magnesium, Resveratrol, etc
- The founder of Vitamin D Life took action with clues #3&4
Additional Vitamin D information
from Increased visibility for Vitamin D Life pages
Shorturl = http://is.gd/VitDisgd (Vitamin D Is Good)Highlights of Vitamin D Wiki46868 visitors, last modified 29 Jul, 2016,
- All items in category Infant/Child
- Category Bone Health has
- Air Pollution reduces Vitamin D
- 16+ meta-analyses of Vitamin D and Breast Cancer