Do I Really Deed to Take Vitamin D?
Once viewed as a waste of money vitamins are changing the landscape of health care. It only took a pandemic, pharmaceutical companies, and desperation to live to convince us that supplementing vitamins or consciously seeking them out in our diet is essential for survival. If you’ve been to our office then the chances are high that you’ve been asked about your vitamin D intake and typically one of our providers has told you that you should be taking it. Not because we want to sell you something! In fact, we don’t give a crap where you get it, just get it in your body! Sometimes our patients have heard this from other doctors and ask “do I really need to take vitamin D?”
Most people in the United States, especially in the Pacific North West, need to supplement with vitamin D especially during the winter months from October to March.
In a study published by Forrest & Stuhldrreher, it was discovered that 42% of the healthy population was deficient in vitamin D. Up to 81% were deficient in certain subpopulations.
Prevalence and correlates of vitamin D deficiency in US adults. Nutr Res. 2011 Jan;31(1):48-54. doi: 10.1016/j.nutres.2010.12.001.
What Happens if You Don’t Take Vitamin D?
Clinically low levels of vitamin Dare defined as less than 20ng/mL, although some other texts define it as less than 30ng/mL. These lab values were determined in the 1930s when we began fortifying milk with vitamin D to eradicate a harmful bone disease called rickets. One must be reminded that this was the decade immediately following “The Great Depression” which was certainly the reason for the onset of the condition in the first place due to the lack of nutritious food. Within a decade the FDA had nearly eradicated the condition through a simple supplantation process.
Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms
There are a large number of symptoms associated with low vitamin D however http://www.ecowatch.com has created a pretty good starter list that I like to follow.
- Getting sick or infected often
- Fatigue & tiredness
- Bone & back pain
- Depression
- Impaired wound healing
- Bone loss
- Hair loss
- Muscle pain
Can Vitamin D Prevent COVID-19?
I will keep this short and to the point. In a study conducted on Covid-19 patients, it was found that 94.27% of them were deficient in Vitamin D.
How Do I Prevent Low Vitamin D?
Harvard Medical School determined that anyone living north of the 37th parallel needs to supplement with vitamin D during the winter months (October to March). This is because the UVB radiation from the sun is not potent enough during these months to convert vitamin D to its active form in the body. IF YOU LIVE IN A NORTHERN STATE YOU MUST SUPPLEMENT WITH VITAMIN D. The European countries have known this for centuries and have even supplied their populations with krill oil and fortified milk to prevent the onset of disease.
Can Chiropractic Help With My Low Vitamin D?
If you are suffering from any of these symptoms, it is time to get to your doctor or chiropractor.
If you are suffering from any of these symptoms it’s time to get to your doctor or chiropractor
immediately. We are trained and licensed on ordering blood work and blood panels as well as treating blood-related disorders TO A CERTAIN EXTENT. There are a plethora of conditions that should be seen by a specialist far beyond a family medicine provider as well. Your chiropractor is able to make that referral if they find a uniquely abnormal value in your labs.
How Much Vitamin D Should I Be Taking?
The recommended daily allowance is between 600 and 800 IU however clinically, across the country, we have learned that is not sufficient to address this worldwide deficiency. Medical doctors around the world are prescribing 50,000 IU a week for some patients. I recommend between 5,000-10,000 a day. It is a fat-soluble vitamin as we get fatter in America due to poor eating and exercise habits we will need to continue to adjust our supplementation levels. So when asked “Do I really need to take vitamin D?” The answer is more than likely “Yes, you’re probably already deficient.”