How much vitamin D do I need to take?

Right, 1,25D is not a routine test. It's more expensive. If the 25D result is low, 1,25D is the logical followup test since it will reveal if disease (rather than diet) is the cause.
 
I only take 1000 IU per day, and recently tested at 61.6 ng/mL. I'm not sure how much I get from sun exposure, probably at least a little.

There is a lot to know about Vitamin D.

(1) Vitamins and other supplements are not regulated, and organizations like Consumer Reports have found that they may contain either much more or much less than claimed on the packaging. Great, right?

(2) It came out during COVID-19 that there is a difference between optimum levels and the amount needed to avoid an honest-to-God deficiency. I don't remember everything I read but my takeaway was that you want >50 ng/mL if you can.

(3) It is possible to take too much Vitamin D in supplement form; problems start to show up at a blood level of around 200 ng/mL but it's probably safer to stay below 150.

(4) To get any Vitamin D from sun exposure, the sunlight has to be fairly direct. Apparently the UV-B rays that activate the skin process are easily scattered in the atmosphere and not enough reaches you if the sun is too low in the sky. Also UV-B rays can't go through glass, you have to be outside.

(5) As we age our ability to make and absorb Vitamin D apparently decreases (but doesn't go away), so what works for a young person might not be enough for us older folk.
 
Vitamin K2 is super confusing because there are many different versions. Three of them are getting the most attention (MK-4, MK-7, and MK-9). There is a small Japanese study that suggests MK-7 is better than MK-4:

Comparison of menaquinone-4 and menaquinone-7 bioavailability in healthy women - PMC

Vitamin K2 contributes to bone and cardiovascular health. Therefore, two vitamin K2 homologues, menaquinone-4 (MK-4) and menaquinone-7 (MK-7), have been used as nutrients by the food industry and as nutritional supplements to support bone and ...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
 
GrayHare said:
Right, 1,25D is not a routine test. It's more expensive. If the 25D result is low, 1,25D is the logical followup test since it will reveal if disease (rather than diet) is the cause.
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I don't doubt you but the freaking quart of blood they took should have turned up a disease if I had one. . . :)
 
Koolau said:
I take 2 X 2000 IU and always test okay but YMMV.
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My vitamin D was low for several years, and this has been my daily dose for a long time. My levels have been normal in two tests, including a recent one. The 4000 IU daily dose did not resolve the deficiency quickly, which is probably where the large weekly dose comes in.
 
badatmath said:
Just sounds so huge but I can see temporary use.
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50,000 of anything sounds like a huge number but if you convert it into a more familiar number (mg, for instance) the number sounds trivial (50 mg). A standard Aspirin tablet is 325 mg, for instance. Even a "low dose" aspirin that many of us take every day is 81 mg. So don't let the huge number put you off.

They could have said 50,000,000 ng or 50,000,000,000 pg and it would have been the same dose. Or how about 0.050 grams? Doesn't sound like much - but it's also the same dose. It's just scaling to familiar units (familiar to doctors and other scientific types - aka nerds.):blush::cool:
 
badatmath said:
I don't doubt you but the freaking quart of blood they took should have turned up a disease if I had one. . . :)
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DR to patient: "After 117 blood tests, the only thing we found wrong with you is iron deficiency anemia. I'm putting you on an iron pill. That'll be $300 for today's visit (plus $2350 for the tests. Oh, and $50 for the pills").
 
Koolau said:
50,000 of anything sounds like a huge number but if you convert it into a more familiar number (mg, for instance) the number sounds trivial (50 mg). A standard Aspirin tablet is 325 mg, for instance. Even a "low dose" aspirin that many of us take every day is 81 mg. So don't let the huge number put you off.

They could have said 50,000,000 ng or 50,000,000,000 pg and it would have been the same dose. Or how about 0.050 grams? Doesn't sound like much - but it's also the same dose. It's just scaling to familiar units (familiar to doctors and other scientific types - aka nerds.):blush::cool:
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Actually, daily consumption of anything more than 4000 IU of Vitamin D3 is considered too high. I am surprised that the combined 5000 IU + 100mcg K2 capsules are widely available. Hence I stick to 4000 IU of Vitamin D3
 
RetiredHappy said:
Actually, daily consumption of anything more than 4000 IU of Vitamin D3 is considered too high. I am surprised that the combined 5000 IU + 100mcg K2 capsules are widely available. Hence I stick to 4000 IU of Vitamin D3
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I think my doctor had told me before to start with 5K but it was so many years ago I do not recall for sure.

I think there is a big difference in trying to correct a deficiency vs a maintenance dose vs trying to maintain an arbitrary high level.

It will take time to build it up regardless and I will get another test to check progress at some point.

But vitamins aren't really regulated. . . I only get things with the USP symbol and really seldom take them as you never know what is in there. I hate taking pills. Any pills. Partly just because I cannot swallow them well.
 
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Besides confirming vitamin D I expected, at 72, that my physician would recommend other supplements to me.

I asked about taking multi vitamins, salmon oil caps, calcium, etc. She looked at me and said take them if you wish but do not need them at this point in time.
 
brett said:
Besides confirming vitamin D I expected, at 72, that my physician would suggest others to me.

I asked about taking multi vitamins, salmon oil caps, calcium, etc. She looked at me and said take them if you wish but do not need them at this point in time.
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At least my PCP doesn't roll his eyes when I reveal the supplements I take. I take a cheap version of those fruit and veggie capsules that are being advertised constantly on TV. I don't know if they are valuable, but my low carb diet means that I eat very little in the way of vegetables and virtually no fruit. YMMV
 
badatmath said:
But vitamins aren't really regulated. . . I only get things with the USP symbol and really seldom take them as you never know what is in there. I hate taking pills. Any pills. Partly just because I cannot swallow them well.
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Even the USP symbol may not be reliable. Remember how the ratings agencies (S&P, Moody's, etc.) kept giving top ratings to those mortgage-backed securities that caused the GFC, right up to the end?

I hate taking big pills. No matter how much water I tried to wash them down with, those magnesium citrate pills I bought once always felt like they were still stuck in my throat.
 
engineernerd said:
Even the USP symbol may not be reliable. Remember how the ratings agencies (S&P, Moody's, etc.) kept giving top ratings to those mortgage-backed securities that caused the GFC, right up to the end?

I hate taking big pills. No matter how much water I tried to wash them down with, those magnesium citrate pills I bought once always felt like they were still stuck in my throat.
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At least in this case I will know if the level doesn't go up in my blood eventually I won't need to keep taking it!
 
RetiredHappy said:
Actually, daily consumption of anything more than 4000 IU of Vitamin D3 is considered too high. I am surprised that the combined 5000 IU + 100mcg K2 capsules are widely available. Hence I stick to 4000 IU of Vitamin D3
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5000 IU is not necessarily too high, depending on whether your lab tests show you're low or not. If you're trying to maintain at a certain level (and not make up a deficiency) it's perfectly okay to take a 5000 IU capsule every other day, or however many days a week that will maintain the desired level. Because Vitamin D is fat soluble it stays in your body, which also means you can take varying doses daily and it'll even out for you. That's also why you can just take a larger dose weekly for example, if you have trouble remembering to take it daily. For example, I take 5000 IU 4 days a week because after lab testing I've been able to maintain at around a level of '60' .
 
reneeh63 said:
5000 IU is not necessarily too high, depending on whether your lab tests show you're low or not. If you're trying to maintain at a certain level (and not make up a deficiency) it's perfectly okay to take a 5000 IU capsule every other day, or however many days a week that will maintain the desired level. Because Vitamin D is fat soluble it stays in your body, which also means you can take varying doses daily and it'll even out for you. That's also why you can just take a larger dose weekly for example, if you have trouble remembering to take it daily. For example, I take 5000 IU 4 days a week because after lab testing I've been able to maintain at around a level of '60' .
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How did you arrive at a desired level of 60? I'm wondering if I should really shoot for more than the minimum level . . . I've seen "experts" online saying more like 50-75 is the right thing but as I'm not even at 30 that seems a long way to go. . . Maybe I will go to whatever the mid level of the range listed on the lab report is.

I'd rather take it less often for sure. . .
 
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engineernerd said:
Even the USP symbol may not be reliable. Remember how the ratings agencies (S&P, Moody's, etc.) kept giving top ratings to those mortgage-backed securities that caused the GFC, right up to the end?

I hate taking big pills. No matter how much water I tried to wash them down with, those magnesium citrate pills I bought once always felt like they were still stuck in my throat.
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Off topic: DW struggled with taking pills to the extent I insisted that she see a physician who is an expert in such things. The doctor "trained" DW in the appropriate way to swallow pills. Stunningly, the training was very effective. DW had always assumed that the best way to swallow a pill was to throw the head back and take a great deal of water. The Doctor showed DW that the "proper" way is to hold the head in a normal configuration and do a "hard swallow" with water. This position holds the throat open while throwing the head back constricts the throat. Full disclosure: I too thought that throwing the head back was the best way to swallow pills. Bottom line, DW no longer struggles with swallowing pills. Give it a try.


Returning you now...
 
And if you have pills that "get stuck" sometimes, it might be wise to take a sip or two to get a downdraft going, and then add the pill in a later swallow.

As to "the vitamin D number", I'm wondering if research will end up being inconclusive for some of these wonderous health effects. This happened many times in the past with various molecules. They notice a correlation and they start doing lab experiments that show possible mechanisms that "explain" the correlation. Then supplementation spreads through the population, but health effects don't follow.

If you feel good, you go outside more, and you get a high vitamin D measurement. If you feel crummy, you don't go outside, and have a low vitamin D measurement. Now the guy that feels crummy supplements and everyone has a high vitamin D measurement.

There's intracellular vitamin D, produced in your skin. That might have health effects not matched by supplements because supplementing goes into your bloodstream, not into the same places as getting vitamin D the old fashioned way.

I'm not saying to stop supplementing, because there's probably no harm. But if you can get outside, I'd do that too. Look up Roger Seheult sun exposure.
 
sengsational said:
And if you have pills that "get stuck" sometimes, it might be wise to take a sip or two to get a downdraft going, and then add the pill in a later swallow.

As to "the vitamin D number", I'm wondering if research will end up being inconclusive for some of these wonderous health effects. This happened many times in the past with various molecules. They notice a correlation and they start doing lab experiments that show possible mechanisms that "explain" the correlation. Then supplementation spreads through the population, but health effects don't follow.

If you feel good, you go outside more, and you get a high vitamin D measurement. If you feel crummy, you don't go outside, and have a low vitamin D measurement. Now the guy that feels crummy supplements and everyone has a high vitamin D measurement.

There's intracellular vitamin D, produced in your skin. That might have health effects not matched by supplements because supplementing goes into your bloodstream, not into the same places as getting vitamin D the old fashioned way.

I'm not saying to stop supplementing, because there's probably no harm. But if you can get outside, I'd do that too. Look up Roger Seheult sun exposure.
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My dermatologist warned me specifically to stay out of the sun as much as possible.
 
From our doctors' recommendations, I take 2000UI/day, DW takes 1000UI/day.

We both spend time outdoors, but try to cover up - hats, sunscreen, etc. DW especially, as she has very fair skin. I think that is one reason at 67 she still has no wrinkles. I try to balance walking a round of golf on a sunny day by staying in the shady as much as possible, unless I am playing very, very well 😂 .
 
Koolau said:
My dermatologist warned me specifically to stay out of the sun as much as possible.
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So did mine. I said "what about vitamin D?" and he said your risk is low as long as you don't get a sunburn.

He said sun exposure still seems to have some very small risk even at low doses, so he says it's his job to tell everyone to always use sunscreen and stay out of the sun. I said thanks, but I only use sunscreen if I'm out for long periods without shade or protection. He was uninformed about the positive health effects of sun exposure and seemed to think supplementation with vitamin D was equivalent. But he's in a silo. I'll keep having him look for moles, but chances of a mole killing me or reducing my health span seems negligible. I'm going to enjoy the sun in appropriate doses.
 
sengsational said:
And if you have pills that "get stuck" sometimes, it might be wise to take a sip or two to get a downdraft going, and then add the pill in a later swallow.

As to "the vitamin D number", I'm wondering if research will end up being inconclusive for some of these wonderous health effects. This happened many times in the past with various molecules. They notice a correlation and they start doing lab experiments that show possible mechanisms that "explain" the correlation. Then supplementation spreads through the population, but health effects don't follow.

If you feel good, you go outside more, and you get a high vitamin D measurement. If you feel crummy, you don't go outside, and have a low vitamin D measurement. Now the guy that feels crummy supplements and everyone has a high vitamin D measurement.

There's intracellular vitamin D, produced in your skin. That might have health effects not matched by supplements because supplementing goes into your bloodstream, not into the same places as getting vitamin D the old fashioned way.

I'm not saying to stop supplementing, because there's probably no harm. But if you can get outside, I'd do that too. Look up Roger Seheult sun exposure.
Click to expand...

Emphasis added.

Issues as far as certain molecules may be the bio-availability of the form administered, whether co-factors are necessary to optimize results, the base health of the recipient (are they deficient/ are they able to process / utilize the tested molecule, do they have all other factors allowing them to optimize the use of the molecule), the quality of the study (dose, time, matching controls, etc.)
 
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