Vitamin D deficiency

[amandapanda]

Hi just want to ask if anyone had this before just had some tests at Docs and been found to be very low in Vitamin D got to have a 7 week course of tablets twice a week and then have my calcium and vitamin D retested also got my B12 injection tomorrow and they going to do another test but didn't say what it was for any clue much appreciated

[Galixie]

Yes, vitamin D deficiency is fairly common. There is also a link between vitamin D deficiency and people who have autoimmune diseases.

Vitamin D is not tested routinely, so many people are deficient without knowing it. I was in my 30's the first time my vitamin D level was tested and it came back 13 (with a reference range of 40-100). I've been put on prescription strength vitamin D more than once since then but I only barely make it into the low end of normal (which for some unknown reason has been lowered to 30-100). I was also told that the region I live in is particularly susceptible to deficiency because of our dreary, drizzly weather.

[p101]

I too have low vitamin D. Have 6month course and yesterday I was told at the dietitian that you do not rely on your bloods to decide whether ur calcium levels are normal you use ur diet. Was told I need 3portions of calcium a day. (My calcium levels look normal in my blood. You also have to take into consideration that you need vitamin D to absorb the calcium- so chances are if D is low ur body is not absorbing enough calcium). Have u been checked for Coeliac disease? (These deficiencies are common with this). Looking like I have this too x

[LolalalalalaLola]

Hi Amanda, I too was diagnosed with a Vit D deficiency after reading book below I now take Vit K2 and Vit A with my D

I found out years ago that some vitamins need others to work to their full potential.

I downloaded the book to my kindle it was only a few pounds but well worth it...

Vitamin K 2 and the Calcium Paradox How a Little- Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life by Kate Rhéaume- Bleue

This is an excerpt from the book I hope it answers your questions 😊

Vitamin D increases the absorption of calcium from the intestines, which is a good thing for bone health. Certainly, vitamin D and calcium supplementation together have been shown to increase bone density better than either one alone. However, once calcium is absorbed into the blood stream, vitamin D has no power over what happens to it, which is a potentially bad thing for heart health. Some calcium will find its way into your bones, but more of it might wind up in your arteries. Vitamin K 2 tips the balance in favor of bone and artery health by putting calcium in its place.

When vitamin D is lacking, vitamin K 2 can't do its job escorting calcium away from arteries and into bones.

The sunshine vitamin truly is a wonder nutrient, if it has all the necessary allies needed to fulfill its potential. More vitamin D is better for heart health to a certain point, after which more is worse. Exactly where that point is depends on vitamin K 2 . Having plenty of K 2 enables us to profit from vitamin D like never before. If for years you have been following expert advice by dutifully gobbling up calcium and vitamin D, vitamin K 2 not only will allow you to finally reap all the benefits of those nutrients, it might just save your life.

[kontrolla]

Hi Amanda,

Did the doctor prescribe 20,000 IU twice a week? This is the current NHS guideline and it is what my doctor prescribed recently. Unfortunately this is not really enough. 5,000 to 10,000 IU a day is much more effective for getting vit D up to a reasonable level. You can get 5,000 IU tablets from amazon.

Ideally you want to get your level up to 150-200 nmol/L (60-80 ng/ml). My level was 24 nmol/L about 4 months ago and it is now 180 which is where I want to keep it. This article explains why getting your level into this range is so important:

drgominak.com/vitamin-d-3/

As Lola advises it is important to have K2 as well to ensure the calcium ends up in your bones and not your heart tissue.

If you want to check your level without waiting for the doctor you can get a testing kit here:

vitamindtest.org.uk/

You just prick a finger and drop some blood onto a card and send it back. It is quick and easy and they email the results within a few days.

Vit D is so important to our health in so many ways. My whole family have done this test in the last month and over half are deficient and are now supplementing. My brother was particularly low and since starting to supplement his health has improved significantly.

[amandapanda]

Thanks for the information very helpful yes he prescribed 20,000 IU but I got to take 2 tablets once a week packet says also had to go for some more blood tests too this morning something about seeing how my body absorbs its body salts and a coeliac test so got to wait for those results not but at least I've had myB12 injection too so will feel a bit better for a couple of weeks

[LolalalalalaLola]

Just a little add on from the book on how important it is to take all three vitamins as one doesn't work properly without the other.

A, D and K 2 : A Balancing Act Vitamins A, D and K 2 are intricately interrelated in complex ways that modern science doesn't yet entirely understand. That being said, the fundamental importance of these nutrients as the foundation of good health is so critical, yet so underappreciated, that this book would be incomplete without a chapter devoted to their special relationship. As much as “Vitamin K 2 is the ultimate supernutrient!” makes a great headline, the fact is that the benefits of K 2 are dependent on vitamins A and D— and, for many aspects of health, the opposite is also true.

[amandapanda]

Thanks guys for the help

[Marz in reply to amandapanda]

vitamindcouncil.org

grassrootshealth.net

thefatemperor.com/blog/2014...

The video above is so very good - when you have the time

[jaybo]

Vitamin D defiency is massive in the UK and most northern climates.

The trouble is you will get your blood levels up with these tablets then what when you stop taking them !!!!! Unless you get good sunshine regularly which is near impossible year round so regular supplementation is needed .

I would guess 70% of UK population is deficient .

D3 upregulates over 180 gene transcriptions all to do with disease and imflamation ( the people with the highest levels in a lot of cancers at diagnosis survive the longest .

I have a huge collection of published medical papers to do with d 3 and cancers .

A good site to start with is the d 3 council

When taking d3its good to take vitamin K 2 ( keeps the calcium in your bones )also needed for bone Strengh is magnesium

[Marz]

...agree with the above post - VitD is fat soluble so best eaten with healthy fats. VitD is a steroidal pre-hormone and almost every cell in the body has a receptor for D3 - once inside the cell it communicates with the DNA - all very complicated stuff but more than just a vitamin