Vitamin D Deficiency
42% of the US population is Vitamin D deficient:
- Sun blocks and dark pigmentation can prevent the natural production of Vitamin D in the skin
- Inadequate intake of foods containing vitamin D such as fish liver oil, trout, salmon, mushrooms and egg yolks
- With age, kidneys may reduce the capacity to covert vitamin D to it’s active form
- Poor digestion prevents absorption of vitamin D
- Obesity, as fat cells sequester vitamin D, reducing the available vitamin D
Depending on your complexion, 20 minutes of unprotected sun exposure of your arms and legs will manufacturer your daily vitamin D requirements.
Vitamin D Supplements
Although fat soluble, toxic levels of vitamin D are rare. Toxic levels require an excessive intake, greater than 40,000 IU of vitamin D, over an extended period of time to reach harmful levels.
Daily supplementation of 4000 to 10,000 IU of vitamin D is beneficial according to current medical literature. The addition of Vitamin K2 promotes the cellular absorption of vitamin D. Increasingly, supplement manufacturers are combining K3 with vitamin D for a more effective result. Much greater dosages are indicated for short-term, therapeutic treatment of an infection.