Vitamin D Health Benefits
This blog is supported by our readers and contains affiliate links. If you purchase a recommendation using the article links, we may earn compensation. As an acupuncturist and integrative health practitioner, I recommend products to my patients following extensive research and clinical use. I am not compensated for endorsing these products and the opinions written in this article are my own. Additionally, as an Amazon Associate I earn compensation from qualifying book purchases. OMBE Integrative Health Center is an independently owned company located in the South Shore of Massachusetts.
How common is Vitamin D deficiency?
Many patients ask about the benefits of vitamin supplementation for overall health. Vitamin D supplementation is one of the most commonly discussed topics in my practice every week. This nutrient is critical for the prevention of disease in almost every system of the body, as well as being a key factor in women’s health and fertility.
Recent studies have shown that the prevalence of Vitamin D deficiency is approximately 42% in the United States. These percentages increase in African American (82.1%) and Hispanic (69.2%) populations. Given the widespread deficiency in the United States, I encourage all of my patients to consider their Vitamin D levels when thinking about optimal health. I hope to answer some of the frequently asked questions I hear every week:
Can Vitamin D prevent certain diseases?
Yes! You can visit the Disease Incidence & Prevention Chart to see how optimal Vitamin D levels can prevent breast cancer, colon cancer, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, type 1 diabetes, fractures, multiple sclerosis, and heart attacks in men.
How does Vitamin D benefit so many different systems of the body? Vitamin D is not actually a vitamin. Vitamin D is a hormone with the ability to affect almost every type of cell and organ in the body by turning genes “on and off”. We know after decades of research that Vitamin D deficiency also plays a role in the prevention of the following chronic health conditions:
Autoimmune disorders
Cancers
Cardiovascular disease
Depression and other neuropsychiatric conditions
Type 2 diabetes
Infections and other diseases related to the immune system
Infertility: For more about this topic, read our Vitamin D & Fertility Benefits post.
Obesity and weight management
Osteoporosis
Should I get my Vitamin D levels tested?
Yes, especially if you have never had your Vitamin D levels tested or it has been longer than a year. I like to test my patients at the end of winter or early spring. A lab value at this time of the year represents the lowest value one might have coming out of the winter months with less sun exposure.
Many companies also offer at-home lab kits that allow you to test in the comfort of your home. If you are considering an at-home, Vitamin D kit, contact us and we can make a recommendation for a company that will ship to your area.
What is a normal Vitamin D Level?
The medical and scientific community is still debating what is considered to be normal versus optimal for Vitamin D3 levels. Levels over 30 ng/mL are generally considered to be normal. However, levels in the range of 40-60 ng/mL are found to be protective for the majority of diseases mentioned above, including breast, prostate, and colon cancer.
I recommend that my patients try to maintain their Vitamin D levels in this optimal range. If you want to look at Vitamin D ranges for the prevention of a specific health condition that may be in your medical history or family history, visit that Disease Prevention & Incidence Chart to see what a helpful target Vitamin D3 level may look like for you.
How much Vitamin D should I supplement?
The majority of our Vitamin D intake occurs through sun exposure. However, most of us are not spending eight hours outdoors. If we are spending a day outdoors, we are usually protected by clothing or sunscreen. To make matters worse for the sun-deprived, sun exposure decreases in populations living further away from the equator. Additionally, individuals with darker skin have more melanin, a pigment that provides skin color. This can reduce the ability to synthesize Vitamin D.
While some foods such as fatty fish, egg yolks, and mushrooms contain Vitamin D, most likely you will need to supplement to keep your levels in an optimal range. Similar to the debate about optimal Vitamin D levels, there is no “one-size-fits-all” recommendation for Vitamin D supplementation levels.
When starting Vitamin D supplementation, consult a Vitamin D-literate practitioner so that they can balance Vitamin D supplementation with other fat-soluble vitamins such as Vitamin K2. I take the following factors into account when I am calculating supplementation levels:
Current Weight
Current Vitamin D3 intake
Current Vitamin D3 serum levels
Optimal Vitamin D3 levels according to health and family history
Vitamin K2 and mineral intake
What type of Vitamin D supplement should I take?
Not all supplements are created equal. I tend to choose a handful of companies that have been around longer than I have been practicing. These companies typically third-party test, conduct research, and have relatively high standards for their ingredient lists. I also try to avoid a growing “no-thank-you” list of ingredients. My “no-thank-you” list includes synthetics, questionable additives, and potential allergens.
Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, so I typically recommend supplementing with a given amount for 12-week period and then retesting. Don’t forget to balance your supplementation with other minerals and vitamins such as Vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 is another fat-soluble vitamin that rivals Vitamin D in importance.
I recommend that patients supplement with Thorne's Liquid Vitamin D* in addition to PureHeart K2D by Pure Encapsulations*. Vitamin D and Vitamin K2 work synergistically in the body and they should be taken together. The combination of these two supplements will give you an optimal dose of both as well as the ability to customize the amount of Vitamin D you need depending on your health goals.
When you click on these links, you will have access to OMBE’s full online apothecary through Thorne and Wellevate. Thorne offers 10-20% off their online supplement dispensary depending on the type of order you place. Wellevate offers 10% off all supplement purchases including PureHeart K2D by Pure Encapsulations*. Once you create an account, you will find these recommendations at the top of the product page as they are my favorite recommendations for Vitamin K2 and Vitamin D.
Why do I need to supplement Vitamin K2 with Vitamin D?
The name of this Vitamin K2 supplement suggests that it only benefits the heart. It’s true that Vitamin K2 has a number of heart health benefits at this dosage. However, all Vitamin K2-MK 7 supplements will benefit a long list of health conditions mentioned in my article about Vitamin K2 Health Benefits. Vitamin K2 and Vitamin D work together in the body. In nature, they are often found together in food sources. In order for you to reap the benefits of both of these Vitamins (including maximizing calcium absorption), you should take them together.
Additionally, PureHeart K2D by Pure Encapsulations* offers an optimal dose of Vitamin K2 in a single capsule without any additional ingredients. The supplement includes 1000 IUs of Vitamin D. Thorne's Liquid Vitamin D* allows you to increase your Vitamin D supplementation typically required to reach preventative levels. If you would like to learn more about my supplement research and why I have chosen these two products above many others, visit: The Best Vitamin K2 & Vitamin D Supplements.
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*This blog is supported by our readers and contains affiliate links. If you purchase a recommendation using the article links, we may earn compensation. As an acupuncturist and integrative health practitioner, I recommend products to my patients following extensive research and clinical use. I am not compensated for endorsing these products and the opinions written in this article are my own. Additionally, as an Amazon Associate I earn compensation from qualifying book purchases. OMBE Integrative Health Center is an independently owned company located in the South Shore of Massachusetts.