The "D" Defense Against the Dark

Posted by: Dr. Ken Bennett

You wake up, it’s dark. You leave work, it’s dark. Oh and by the way, it’s freezing outside too. That’s basically life in Chicago from mid November until mid March (man I can’t wait for Spring Training already). I’m sure you’re saying, “Hey Dr. Ken, thanks for pointing out the obvious.” Well the reason I’m pointing out the obvious is because without any sunlight we all become deficient in Vitamin D. Without vitamin D our immune system is depressed and we wind up with colds, flus or worse.

Vitamin D is a requirement for health and wellness, everyday for everybody. Our bodies are designed to make vitamin D through direct sun exposure on the arms and legs for at least 15 minutes. This is why vitamin D deficiency is so common. In the winter months, there’s very little sunlight and we are bundled up when we’re outside. For those of us who work, even in the summer we’re typically inside and get very little sun. In either case, you can see why we need to figure out another way to get vitamin D. Unless you want to eat fish liver (this is why cod liver oil has become so well known) you need to take a vitamin D supplement everyday. This will ensure you are sufficient and your immune system is supported along with a plethora of other benefits.

Two common questions come up with all supplements: How much should I take? And can I take too much?

The government's RDA (recommended daily allowance) is only 400 IUs. This is drastically low to satisfy our needs at anytime of year, let alone in the winter. Adults should take at least 2000 IU/d and kids should take 1000. In the winter, adults can safely take anywhere from 2000 - 6000 IU/d (especially if you start to feel like you’re coming down with something). As I did research about this I came across a newsletter from the Vitamin D Council*. “One researcher reports that human toxicity probably begins to occur after chronic daily consumption of approximately 40,000 IU/d.” He concludes by stating that (this is kinda funny) “In fact, living in America today while worrying about vitamin D toxicity is like dying of thirst in the desert while worrying about drowning.” So basically, don’t worry about taking too much.

Daily supplementation with vitamin D will strengthen and support your immune system. This isn’t limited to helping you not catch a cold or flu. There’s plenty of evidence that links vitamin D deficiency with cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, allergies, autism and autoimmune disorders too. Vitamin D also plays a huge role in absorbing calcium which can obviously help to strengthen your bones, AKA decrease your chances of osteoporosis.

Bottom line: Take 2000 IU/d to support your health and wellness.

References:
http://www.innatechoice.com/uploads/newsletters/vitamin_d_what_everyone_needs_to_know.pdf
*http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-vitamin-d/what-is-vitamin-d/vitamin-d-toxicity