Vitamin D

Vitamin D has recently been recognized as an important co factor in maintaining bone health and preventing osteoporosis and possibly avoiding other health conditions. The primary sources of vitamin D include sunlight, foods that are fortified with it and vitamin D supplements.Some locations like Western Washington have as high as an 80 % incidence of vitamin D deficient residents due to lack of sufficient sunlight. Physicians can easily measure vitamin D levels with a nonfasting blood test and compare that to accepted norms. Treatments for this include getting as little as 15 minutes daily of sunlight, taking vitamin D fortified foods like milk, orange juice or egg yokes, liver,and oily fish. Unfortunately these same foods in the amounts needed to achieve sufficient vitamin D levels can increase the risks of cholesterol related heart disease. Similarly sufficient sunlight exposure without sunscreen can also increase the risk of skin cancer. The safest method to boost vitamin D levels is to take Vitamin D3 which is available over the counter at a minimum dose for adults of 1000 IU (International Units) daily and remeasure the level in the blood 8 weeks later. Your physician can then advise you if you need more vitamin D based on the new level in your blood until you achieve a therapeutic dose.Other health conditions linked to vitamin D deficiency may include hypertension, heart disease, some cancers, possibly multiple sclerosis, and inflammatory arthritis. http://bit.ly/9QWP6e
Simply seeing your doctor and measuring a vitamin d level and then taking that vitamin if needed can go a long way to helping you stay healthy.
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