Fawn... Vit D.

[daisyHair]

I had decided I didn't need it, living in FL and all.. I do get outside almost every day for a while.. and have been laying out the last month for about a half hour a day..

I don't really need to sup. it do I?

[JBo]

Daisy, your avitar looks like you've been laying out with your clothes on. Your face is tanned but your great figure is still white. For best results on the vitamin D it would be best to take a few garments off.

[fawn]

Originally Posted by JBo

Daisy, your avitar looks like you've been laying out with your clothes on. Your face is tanned but your great figure is still white. For best results on the vitamin D it would be best to take a few garments off.

Oh J, we can always count on you!

Hey Cary, how about a 25-hydroxyvitamin D test? Then you'll know for sure. You can order one actually:

from my blog:The Vitamin D Council has partnered with ZRT Labs to make a discounted take-home Vitamin D Test Kit that you can order on the Internet. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each test will be donated to the Vitamin D Council by ZRT to help us in our mission to end the worldwide epidemic of vitamin D deficiency. The tests will be available to order in either a quantity of one (1) or four (4). Whether you will be testing your entire family or simply retesting yourself, consider the 4 test kit as it is much less expensive per test.

[DiamondDeb]

Originally Posted by daisyHair

I had decided I didn't need it, living in FL and all.. I do get outside almost every day for a while.. and have been laying out the last month for about a half hour a day..

I don't really need to sup. it do I?

It would be best to have your level tested to be sure, as Fawn suggests. I live in Central Florida, too, and have been deficient for years. Spending a lot of time outside in the sun did not save me.

[daisyHair]

Thank you both of you.
I will get the test.

[daisyHair]

Fawn,

I just wanted to let you know I found the link on your blog and am going to order it from ZRT Labs.

I left a comment, wondered if you saw it.

Thanks again dear!
Cary~

[aim in Fla*working]

Originally Posted by DiamondDeb

It would be best to have your level tested to be sure, as Fawn suggests. I live in Central Florida, too, and have been deficient for years. Spending a lot of time outside in the sun did not save me.

me as well I do carlson's at the moment.

[oceandiva]

my doc tests for minerals and vtd with every check-up. I was really low in d and now take one dose of 1.25mg once a week and have gotten my counts up to normal. Without the D, my arm hurt and my enegy drops. It didn't matter that I had lived in Hawaii, in Arizona and on a lake. There are so many toxins in the atmosphere that our bodies have trouble absorbing all the minerals and vts we need.

[JoSkids]

[COLOR="SeaGreen"]What kind of symptoms would someone have that you would suspect that you have low vit d levels?[/COLOR]

[fawn]

Originally Posted by JoSkids

[COLOR="SeaGreen"]What kind of symptoms would someone have that you would suspect that you have low vit d levels?[/COLOR]

The most obivious Jo is generally SAD or seasonal affected disorder, ie: depression. Others include, malaise, migraine headaches.......

[JoSkids]

[COLOR="DarkSlateBlue"]Thanks Fawn, no SAD this year, but have had it in the past. None of the other stuff either - looks like this one is one less thing for me to worry about at the moment - phew[/COLOR]

[fawn]

you are getting your Vitamin D right? You still need to supplement in the winter Jo. D3 perhaps? I know YOU won't drink cod liver oil.....

[JoSkids]

"I know YOU won't drink cod liver oil..... "

[COLOR="DimGray"]You got that right!!! But more supplements!? Gotta think on that one...[/COLOR]

[aim in Fla*working]

i get more pain in my body...all over

[Laura in Arizona]

Originally Posted by JoSkids

[COLOR="SeaGreen"]What kind of symptoms would someone have that you would suspect that you have low vit d levels?[/COLOR]

You might not have anything specific to let you know. But please understand that a D defficiency has been linked to A LOT of things - osteoporosis, breast, colon, prostate cancers, influenza.

More from Wikipedia:

"Vitamin D malnutrition may also be linked to an increased susceptibility to several chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, tuberculosis, cancer, periodontal disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, seasonal affective disorder [24][25], peripheral artery disease[26], cognitive impairment which includes memory loss and foggy brain,[27] and several autoimmune diseases including type 1 diabetes (see role in immunomodulation).[18][8] There is an association between low vitamin D levels and Parkinson's disease, but whether Parkinson's causes low vitamin D levels, or whether low vitamin D levels play a role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease has not been established "

Recent research has found that women who have adequate blood levels of vit D are 75% less likely to get breast cancer. And this is just the tip of the iceburg.

Please don't just assume your blood level is ok because you don't really feel bad and you live in Florida (or Arizona as I do). This is way too important. Get tested - if you find you are deficient this would be one supplement that could literally save your life.

[JoSkids]

[COLOR="Indigo"]Man, you guys are making too many good points to take more supplements!!! And here I thought I was in exceptional health (with the exception of Candida) Sheesh![/COLOR]

[Laura in Arizona]

Update on increasing my Vit D:

Gotta tell you guys, I started taking 5000 iu D3 about 3 weeks ago and I am starting to feel soooo much better. I did not have anything specific wrong with me but I feel better than I have in many years. The only thing I can attribute it to is the extra D. I had a blood test done about 2 weeks ago and am waiting the results - will be interesting to see what my blood levels are. Anyone else have a similar response?

[fawn]

I tell you Laura, between Vitamin D deficiency, Candida and a lack of Omega 3's, we're walking disease time bombs really. But we don't treat until we are in full blown disease mode. The word "Preventive" certainly applies here doesn't it?

[Laura in Arizona]

Originally Posted by fawn

I tell you Laura, between Vitamin D deficiency, Candida and a lack of Omega 3's, we're walking disease time bombs really. But we don't treat until we are in full blown disease mode. The word "Preventive" certainly applies here doesn't it?

You are so right. Lifestyle changes are not easy but very necessary. I really think many diseases are relatively easy to prevent but a bear to treat. I don't want to spend the time or money to treat something if I can spend less time and less money now to prevent it. The whole pain and suffering thing is something I would like to avoid for as long as possible.

I try to do what research I can and incorporate as much as I can as fast as I can. Anyone doing research into health cannot help but realize the importance of good fats to maintain the healthy integrity of the cell. It is the cell after all the makes the heart, the liver, the brain, the human. When I get tempted by some aweful food stuff, I try to stop and ask myself "Is this what I want my heart to be made out of?" Usually it works to repulse me enough that I can put the item down and walk away.

When I hear people say "oh, I could not live without my ____ (soda, cigarettes, donuts....fill in the blank)." I ask them "are they worth dying for?" They usually stop look at me suspiciously, like I know something they don't. The truth is they do know it but don't want to acknowledge it.

What I have found is that we are creatures of habit, we like the things we have always done because they are comfortable and familiar. Our taste buds adapt to what we feed them and we get to like what we usually eat. I stopped salting my foods and for a while things were a little bland, but I adapted and now food tastes good as it is. I do add salt, a little bit in cooking here and there but foods don't need lots of salt.

Same with sugar. When you don't eat sweet things, a ripe piece of fruit is unbelievably sweet. We don't need to add the sugar to experience something as sweet.

Now I am not perfect and I have a long way to go to get to an ideal, healthy diet but at least I am on the path and working towards it. Baby steps will get me there as well as big leaping bounds.

[fawn]

"oh, I could not live without my ____ (soda, cigarettes, donuts....fill in the blank)." I ask them [COLOR="Red"]"are they worth dying for?"[/COLOR] They usually stop look at me suspiciously, like I know something they don't. The truth is they do know it but don't want to acknowledge it.

WOW! That is an awesome statement!

[JoSkids]

[COLOR="DarkSlateGray"]I thought I read somewhere that vitamin d should be in gelcap form.

I was in a hurry when I went to get my vitamin D. I ran in grabbed a bottle of D3 and ran out (well, I did pay too), but when I got it home I realized i was capsules w/powder. Does it really matter? [/COLOR]

[fawn]

Hey miss Jo, you got cholecalciferol right? the difference you're referring to is cod liver oil capsules compared to Vitamin D3. 2 different items though both provide you the proper Vitamin D. What Cod Liver Oil provides is EPA/DHA, A & D. Make sense now?

[JoSkids]

Originally Posted by fawn

Hey miss Jo, you got cholecalciferol right? the difference you're referring to is cod liver oil capsules compared to Vitamin D3. 2 different items though both provide you the proper Vitamin D. What Cod Liver Oil provides is EPA/DHA, A & D. Make sense now?

[COLOR="DarkSlateBlue"]Make sense? Nope - remember I'm just a beginner in the supplement game. what is EPA/DHA? Sounds like that is not in D3. I know that you are a proponent of CLO - which I am not drinking no way no how, but CLO capsules I could do if they were significantly better than the D3 capsules or do they do the same thing?

[/COLOR]

[fawn]

nice job Laura......

Call me if you need to jo....you know where I am.

[johnny boy]

I found a great lecture on Vitamin D by Michael Holick:

The Vitamin D Pandemic and its Health Consequences

Originally Posted by Laura in Arizona

What I have found is that we are creatures of habit, we like the things we have always done because they are comfortable and familiar. Our taste buds adapt to what we feed them and we get to like what we usually eat.

That's so true Laura. People can get addicted to anything that provides a reward.

[JoSkids]

[COLOR="DarkOrange"]
"Because of this, I also take 5,000 IU of D3 (oil based only, do not use dry powder in a capsule - this has been shown to not be absorbed or utilized by the body very well)." [/COLOR]

[COLOR="DeepSkyBlue"]I had asked about powder in capsules previously cause those were the ones I ended up getting when I was in a rush to get them - the powder still works ok, doesn't it? Just not as effective. I will get the oil based ones next time.

I am still trying to get this all to sink in, but I don't have any severe symptoms so I am taking vitamin d as a precautionary - I am most likely deficient, but not excessively so I am just going to go with a recommended daily amount and not do a mega dose thing.

So which is more effective - cod liver oil or d3 (capsules - not drinking da oil I'll never say never cause I am doing healthy things now that I never thought I would, but still CLO?! )? [/COLOR]

I am going to go read the Michael Holick lecture info posted above and may find this info there, but wouldn't mind other people's opinions...

[Laura in Arizona]

Here is a post regarding dry d vs oil based:

"What vitamin D form?

In response to questions regarding why don't vitamin D tablets work, here are my observations.

When I first started correcting vitamin D levels around 3 1/2 years ago, people would begin with starting 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood levels of around 20 ng/ml.

Taking, say, 6000 units vitamin D as tablets over 3 months yielded blood levels of 24-30 ng/ml. Taking 6000 units in an oil-based form, and blood levels would commonly be 60-70 ng/ml.

In other words, tablets are very poorly absorbed. I also saw very erratic absorption with tablets, with tremendous variation in blood levels.

I witnessed this effect many times. I finally began telling patients to avoid the tablets altogether. It's simply not worth it. Taking dose X of tablets, you cannot predict what the blood level of vitamin D will be.

Now, you can sometimes make the tablets get absorbed by either taking with a teaspoon of oil (e.g., olive, flaxseed) or taking with an oil-rich meal. However, I am uncertain just how consistent the absorption is under these circumstances, not having done this enough times to know.

Oil-filled gelcaps are no more expensive than tablets (or perhaps a dollar more). Health food store employees and pharmacists don't know this. I have had many patients come to the office claiming they changed to tablets because that's all their health food store or pharmacy carried and the person behind the counter assured them it was the same. Blood level of vitamin D to confirm: right back down to the starting level or near it--little or no absorption.

The only way to know whether a preparation is absorbed is to check a blood level. But, in my experience, having checked vitamin D blood levels thousands of times, gelcaps never fail; tablets fail over 80% of the time."

If you already have the dry d then always take it will some fat and you will absorb more of it and buy oil based when you need more.

[JoSkids]

Originally Posted by Laura in Arizona

Here is a post regarding dry d vs oil based:

"What vitamin D form?

In response to questions regarding why don't vitamin D tablets work, here are my observations.

When I first started correcting vitamin D levels around 3 1/2 years ago, people would begin with starting 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood levels of around 20 ng/ml.

Taking, say, 6000 units vitamin D as tablets over 3 months yielded blood levels of 24-30 ng/ml. Taking 6000 units in an oil-based form, and blood levels would commonly be 60-70 ng/ml.

In other words, tablets are very poorly absorbed. I also saw very erratic absorption with tablets, with tremendous variation in blood levels.

I witnessed this effect many times. I finally began telling patients to avoid the tablets altogether. It's simply not worth it. Taking dose X of tablets, you cannot predict what the blood level of vitamin D will be.

Now, you can sometimes make the tablets get absorbed by either taking with a teaspoon of oil (e.g., olive, flaxseed) or taking with an oil-rich meal. However, I am uncertain just how consistent the absorption is under these circumstances, not having done this enough times to know.

Oil-filled gelcaps are no more expensive than tablets (or perhaps a dollar more). Health food store employees and pharmacists don't know this. I have had many patients come to the office claiming they changed to tablets because that's all their health food store or pharmacy carried and the person behind the counter assured them it was the same. Blood level of vitamin D to confirm: right back down to the starting level or near it--little or no absorption.

The only way to know whether a preparation is absorbed is to check a blood level. But, in my experience, having checked vitamin D blood levels thousands of times, gelcaps never fail; tablets fail over 80% of the time."

If you already have the dry d then always take it will some fat and you will absorb more of it and buy oil based when you need more.

[COLOR="Teal"]Thank you Laura! You and Fawn are just a wealth of information I appreciate your time answering my questions. Guess I will take my "powder" capsules with my coconut oil in the morning and evening - taking d3 with my fish oil capsules probably makes no difference... Next round are the gelcaps!

Again, I don't think that my vitamin d is so way off course that I need to get mega doses in at this time, but it will be nice, with the gelcaps, eventually to get the dosage that I expect to be getting. In the meantime I will get a lower dose - any little bit helps.[/COLOR]

[Laura in Arizona]

Originally Posted by JoSkids

[COLOR="Teal"]Thank you Laura! You and Fawn are just a wealth of information I appreciate your time answering my questions. Guess I will take my "powder" capsules with my coconut oil in the morning and evening - taking d3 with my fish oil capsules probably makes no difference... Next round are the gelcaps!

Again, I don't think that my vitamin d is so way off course that I need to get mega doses in at this time, but it will be nice, with the gelcaps, eventually to get the dosage that I expect to be getting. In the meantime I will get a lower dose - any little bit helps.[/COLOR]

Sounds like a good plan! I am happy to add what I can. We are all on this learning path together and the more we help each other the further we all get. It's a good thing.

[Laura in Arizona]

Originally Posted by johnny boy

I found a great lecture on Vitamin D by Michael Holick:

The Vitamin D Pandemic and its Health Consequences

Hey thanks for the link Johnny boy. It was a great presentation and I learned a lot from Dr. Holick.