My vitamin D was measured in July as 75 (50-200). I haven’t been supplementing and now wish to start. I’d prefer it to be around the 125+ mark. Does anyone have any recommendations on a supplement brand (no lactose or gluten) and also starting dose? Once I start taking it, should I re-test in 6 months time or less?
Also any recommendations on brands of K2 and dosage appreciated. Do I need to take K2 apart from vitamin D? I believe vitamin D needs to be 4 hours apart from thyroid meds. Does the same apply for K2 or just one hour apart?
Thanks in advance!
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TiredMummy
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The Vit D Council, the Vit D Society and Grassroots Health all recommend a level of 100-150nmol/L (40-60ng/ml), with a recent blog post on Grassroots Health mentioning a study which recommends over 125nmol/L (50ng/ml).
So now you look at how much is needed to reach 50ng/ml and you'll see that they suggest 3,700iu per day, nearest to buy is 4,000iu.
Retest after 3 months.
Once you've reached the recommended level then a maintenance dose will be needed to keep it there, which may be 2000iu daily, maybe more or less, maybe less in summer than winter, it's trial and error so it's recommended to retest once or twice a year to keep within the recommended range. This can be done with a private fingerprick blood spot test with an NHS lab which offers this test to the general public:
There are important cofactors needed when taking D3.
D3 aids absorption of calcium from food and Vit K2-MK7 directs the calcium to bones and teeth where it is needed and away from arteries and soft tissues where it can be deposited and cause problems such as hardening of the arteries, kidney stones, etc. 90-100mcg K2-MK7 is enough for up to 10,000iu D3.
D3 and K2 are fat soluble so should be taken with the fattiest meal of the day, D3 four hours away from thyroid meds if taking D3 as tablets/capsules/softgels, no necessity if using an oral spray.
For D3 I like Doctor's Best D3 softgels, they are an oil based very small softgel which contains just two ingredients - D3 and extra virgin olive oil, a good quality, nice clean supplement which is budget friendly. Some people like BetterYou oral spray but this contains a lot of excipients and works out more expensive.
For Vit K2-MK7 my suggestions are Vitabay, Vegavero or Vitamaze brands which all contain the correct form of K2-MK7 - the "All Trans" form rather than the "Cis" form. The All Trans form is the bioactive form, a bit like methylfolate is the bioactive form of folic acid.
Vitabay and Vegavero are either tablets or capsules.
Vitabay does do an oil based liquid.
Vitamaze is an oil based liquid.
With the oil based liquids the are xx amount of K2-MK7 per drop so you just take the appropriate amount of drops.
They are all imported German brands, you can find them on Amazon although they do go out of stock from time to time. I get what I can when I need to restock. If the tablet or capsule form is only in 200mcg dose at the time I take those on alternate days.
If looking for a combined D3/K2 supplement, this one has 3,000iu D3 and 50mcg K2-MK7. The K2-MK7 is the All-Trans form
Magnesium should be taken 4 hours away from thyroid meds and as it tends to be calming it's best taken in the evening. Vit D should also be taken 4 hours away from thyroid meds. Vit K2-MK7 should be taken 2 hours away from thyroid meds. Don't take D3 and K2 at the same time unless both are oil based supplements, they both are fat soluble vitamins which require their own fat to be absorbed otherwise they will compete for the fat.
Don't start all supplements at once. Start with one, give it a week or two and if no adverse reaction then add the next one. Again, wait a week or two and if no adverse reaction add the next one. Continue like this. If you do have any adverse reaction then you will know what caused it.
Hi SeasideSusie, can I just check……the Vegavero capsules….it says they contain ground linseeds….I presume this qualifies as containing an ‘oil’ so I’d be good to take these at the same time as the Doctors Best D3? I would take them both with dinner (I take all thyroid meds first thing). Am I also OK to continue taking my magnesium with dinner? Thanks in advance!
I presume this qualifies as containing an ‘oil’ so I’d be good to take these at the same time as the Doctors Best D3?
I can't guarantee that I'm afraid. An oil based softgel contains the correct form of fat (eg containing extra virgin olive oil or some other liquid oil) is fine but I just don't know about a powdered form like that. I am using Vegavero at the moment and I don't take it at the same time as my D3 oil based softgel. Why not take your D3 at lunch time and K2 with dinner?
Yes you can take your magnesium with dinner, I use powder form of magnesium citrate and take it about an hour before bed.
That’s a good idea, thank you! I have trouble sleeping and need to order some more magnesium citrate as running low…..I usually take capsules (Allergy Research Group) but these are best taken with a meal (hence why I take them with dinner). I wonder if taking magnesium at bedtime might help with sleep. Do you need to have something to eat with the powdered form….? If not, I’d be interested in knowing what that powder is 🙂
I wonder if taking your D3 at dinner time is affecting your sleep? Some people have found this although as we're all individuals I don't expect everyone finds this.
Magnesium is calming so it may help with sleep.
No, you don't need to have anything to eat with the powdered form. I dissolve the powder in a little warm water, let it fizz to dissolve then add a little orange juice to make a nice tasting little drink.
I use Natural Calm Original (unflavoured) mag citrate powder. Not aways easy to find, sometimes on Amazon or Ebay but as it's imported it comes and goes.
Cheapest I ever got was from Dolphin Fitness but they were out of the unflavoured version a couple of weeks ago when I needed to reorder and their supplier had no stock, they did have two flavoured versions but I don't like to take those, I prefer as clean as possible with supplements and there's no added extras with the unflavoured version.
I got mine this time from iherb.
This is what ebay have at the moment but it is expensive for the 8oz size:
and once in the shopping cart 15% discount is automatically applied (at the moment) which brings the price down to £31.33. Postage is free as it's over£30. It comes from the US. If you check out the shipping page you will see that all duties, taxes and fees are pre-paid with a couple of shipping options so you have to make sure you choose the right one then nothing else to pay this end. Hermes is showing as the default carrier (do check that) and that's fine, that's who mine came with (we have an amazing Hermes courier),nothing to pay when it gets here.
Seems expensive but lasts a long time, there are many, many doses in the pack.
Mine took about 5 days to get here from confirmation of order.
Do be careful to start low and build up gradually as it is easy to overdose and you end up with diarrhoea. I weigh mine on kitchen scales to get the correct amount each time.
Make sure you don't get the one that contains calcium as well, the packs are very similar. The ones I've linked to are just mag citrate, no added calcium.
Thank you, I have an account already with iherb. I normally take my D3 with lunch so don’t think it’s that that’s affecting sleep. I think it’s the menopause but magnesium at bedtime might help. Thanks again!
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