Do you know your vitamin D level?

Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin. Your body is able to make D when you are exposed to sunlight. Do you know your vitamin D level?

The trick here is that that only happens when you are out in the sun without sun protection. Very few of us get enough unprotected exposure to manufacture adequate levels of this important vitamin. On top of this fact, as we age the amount of vitamin D we are able to synthesize via sunlight decreases. Where you live, the pigment of your skin and time of year also effect how much vitamin D we produce. And, of course, even our poor intestines start to struggle to absorb vitamin D as we get older. Ugh! It’s always something, right??

Benefits of Vitamin D

Almost all of us know that vitamin D helps build strong bones by helping calcium absorption. However, this connection between D and calcium can also cause problems. You must take D in combination with another nutrient, vitamin K2.

During the pandemic, much attention was focused on D. Several studies indicate that low levels of D may be a risk factor for serious Covid infection. In science, there isn’t much that is definitive but the benefits of D in regards to Covid give ample motivation to ensure your levels are adequate.

Testing your Vitamin D level

How nice would it be if there was a specific dose of vitamin D that everyone should take to maintain adequate levels? Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, there are too many varying factors to come up with a dose that works for everyone.

To know how much vitamin D YOU should take, it is vital that you test your levels.

I will use my sweet husband as an example. Thank goodness he is such a good sport.

After checking his D level, we found his serum level was 30 ng/mL. My level was 67 ng/mL. We both had been taking 5000 IU A DAY!! Two of us on the same dose each day and totally different results. This was on top of a summer of hanging out in the pool during the boring months of Covid.

Although 30 ng/mL is suppose to be adequate, it is at the lowest range of acceptable levels. Looking into studies on vitamin D and Covid, levels in the 60-80 ng/mL range are preferred.

*If your doctor hasn’t checked your vitamin D level, you can use websites like ultalabtest.com to order your own if allowed in your state.

Finding the Right Dose

Needless to say I was shocked. I quickly found a vitamin D calculator online, yes this is a thing, and found that we needed to seriously bump up his intake.

The calculator uses your current blood level of D, weight and desired D level. I set his desired level to 60 ng/mL.

It recommended that he supplement with 25,000 IU a day for 11 days and then switch to a maintenance does of 10,000 IU a day. That is what we followed and 2 months later his blood level had increased to 60 ng/mL.

No matter how game my husband is to play my reindeer games there is no way he would have taken that amount of vitamin D without some actual science behind it. I would say the same to you. Know your levels so that you are supplementing with the appropriate dose for you.

Hopefully you will notice a constant theme throughout my posts of individuality. Each of us is a unique being with different metabolic, hormone and health issues and concerns. What works for me may not work for you. The key is to keep an open mind to experimentation based on as many factors as you can gather.

The Buddy System

Wikipedia defines the buddy system as a procedure where 2 people operate together as a single unit so that they can help each other out. This is exactly what vitamin K2 does for D.

Taking D increases the calcium in your blood. This sounds fantastic, right? It is but it isn’t. If you are taking too much vitamin D, you can build up an excess concentration of calcium. What happens to the excess? The excess calcium can build up in the walls of your veins, arteries and other soft tissues leading to heart disease and other health problems.

Vitamin K2 proteins help direct calcium away from the brain, heart, blood vessels, and other soft tissues and towards the bones, teeth, and nails that need it. K2 also is essential for the coagulation processes required for healthy wound healing.

There are many D supplements sold that are combined with K2. It is always nice when one pill gives you more bang for your buck.

In this case, it is vital. Vitamin D aids calcium absorption and its buddy, K2, tells that calcium where to go.

One randomized controlled trial conducted with postmenopausal women who suffered from weak and brittle bones found that after 2 years of supplementation with vitamin D3, vitamin K2, or both, the women who received both vitamin D3 and K2 experienced better bone mineral density compared to the other groups that took only vitamin D3 or vitamin K2.

From this and other research, it seems that vitamins D3 and K2 can provide greater benefit together than what each nutrient offers individually.

Please remember to check your serum level of vitamin D before supplementing!