I think vitamin D is the least of this guy’s worries in the sun… At first I thought his nipples were stickers.
If my life were perfect I’d live near the equator and get plenty of sunshine every day that my body would then naturally use to produce all the vitamin D it needs to be happy, healthy and less insane. Of course, that would also mean the mice that live in my kitchen would sing while cleaning it instead of pooping out a litter of mewling baby mice under my sink that scared me so badly I still get all twitchy every time I reach for the dish soap. (Don’t worry, my husband “disposed” of the disgusting nest before he mocked me for screaming and jumping on a chair. I’m not proud.) But life isn’t perfect and so while I would prefer to get all my nutrients from food and nature, reality precludes this and so I take supplements.
While multi-vitamins in general have gotten a bad rap over the past few years, vitamin D has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity. It seems clear from the latest research that a) thanks to sunblock and our indoor lifestyle many people are woefully deficient and b) people need more for overall good health than we previously thought. Unfortunately there is a lot of confusion about what this all means. Vitamin D is especially important to me because every winter I get S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder) and the mineral has been shown to help with both SAD and generalized depression, among other things. (I also use a “happy light” every morning which I think helps!) In addition to mood benefits, vitamin D has been shown to help with chronic illnesses, lessen your risk of cancer and diabetes and even help with chronic back pain!
Since I am no expert – not even in baby mouse extraction – I will instead point you to the latest and greatest. Experience Life magazine, known for being very well-researched and fact-checked, has a comprehensive article, “The Vitamin D Debate,” about vitamin D in this month’s issue. I encourage you to read the whole thing but here are some key points:
How much vitamin D do you need?
“In June 2011 the Endocrine Society, whose members are hormone specialists, weighed in with its clinical guidelines for physicians. Considered the Holy Grail of vitamin D recommendations, the Society’s guidelines generally suggested larger daily amounts of vitamin D to prevent and treat vitamin D deficiency than did the IOM: 400 to 1,000 IU for infants less than 1 year old, 600 to 1,000 IU for older children and teenagers, and 1,500 to 2,000 IU for adults. The Society also advised doctors that obese adults might need up to 10,000 IU daily for two months to correct a deficiency.”
Should you take a supplement?
“The ideal approach is to ask your doctor for a vitamin D blood test, which will eliminate the bulk of the guesswork — but not all of it.” (Charlotte’s note: which I have done and it was super helpful!) ” If you don’t currently have a significant deficiency, and if during the summer you spend a lot of time in the sun, with at least your arms and legs exposed, and you are not always slathered with sunscreen, you probably don’t need to take vitamin D supplements. If it’s fall, winter or early spring, if you don’t get a lot of sun exposure, or if you know you are D-deficient, you should definitely take vitamin D supplements. Your need will be greater if you are north of the latitude of Atlanta, since you will make little if any vitamin D from sun exposure during the months of November through March.”
What should you look for in a supplement?
The article says that most health pros recommend vitamin D3, also known as cholecalciferol. Liquid, gel or solid form apparently doesn’t matter. And “For most people, vitamin D toxicity occurs after taking more than 40,000 IU daily for months. So as long as you’re being moderate in your intake, don’t sweat it.”
My Solution
Yes my vitamins came with a free sample of diet pills (which I immediately got rid of) and female “stimulating” gel (egads!).
Through trial and error, I’ve discovered that I need to take a vitamin D supplement but also magnesium (I swear to you it’s a lifesaver for PMS) and fish oil. To add to my pill-popping I also take creatine on days I lift heavy (it totally helps both during the workout and with soreness afterward – love it!). And because I’m curious, I also like trying out new supplements that promise to help me with my workout. Enter the new GNC “Ultra Mega Active Vitapaks for women*.” Hyperbolic naming aside, I was really interested in them because they are specially formulated for women who workout. Not only does the vitamin pill have 1600 IU of vitamin D and 100 mg of magnesium for me but it is thankfully formulated without iron and is moderate in folic acid, two of the huge problems with most multis. The pak also includes a fish oil pill, CLA (conjugated lineolic acid) and L-Carnitine – supps supposed to help with fat metabolism and muscle repair – calcium, and an “energy enhancer” (which I set aside since it contains caffeine and we all remember how badly Charlotte reacts to caffeine).
While I am enjoying the vita-paks GNC sent me – I love the flexibility of being able to just take whichever pills I need that day – I had to giggle when I saw what else was in the box: diet pills and a female “enhancing” gel. So apparently women who workout are also supposed to be lusty skinny chicks as well as buff (talk about expectations!). The diet pills went bye-bye immediately and while I didn’t throw out the gel, I’m definitely not going to review it on this blog;)
What’s your take on vitamin D – are you lucky enough to live below Atlanta’s latitude so you can get it au naturel or do you supplement too? Anyone else ever get a weird sample in a package? Also, have you ever seen a baby mouse? (They are not cute critters at all.)
*FitFluential LLC compensated me for this sponsored post. The thoughts and opinions are all my own!
That’s a lot of supplements! Right now, I’m not taking any supplements and haven’t been for a while. Maybe I should start to think about vitamin D since I no longer live in CA..however we will spend the winter in Florida so maybe I’ll be ok.
Maybe we aren’t twins after all.. I think rodents in general are adorable. Baby mice are sooo cute! I even had pet rats growing up.
Yeah I’m weird that way. I seem to either take a bunch or nothing at all. Balance…not my strong suit;)
That photo is hilarious! I definitely supplement! We do not get enough vitamin D in Canada during the winter 😉 I take 2000 IU/day, most of the doctors and other health care professionals I’ve worked with seem to recommend that dosing. I bought delicious orange flavoured tablets though, I always have to remind myself that they are medicine… they taste so good! I was shocked to read that obese individuals might need up to 10000 IU/day… we were taught in nutrition class that 4000IU/daily would build up to toxic levels! Research studies can have so much variance…
So true about research! And what are these magical orange yummies?! I want to get some! It’s bad enough I burp fish oil…
They’re made by Jamieson, I got them at Zehrs which is a Canadian grocery store lol As well the fish oil I take is Metagenics: EPA-DHA, I was shocked when I first tried it because dare I say, it tastes refreshing! It’s barely fishy, mostly a nice zingy lemon!
Well, I live in Australia so getting adequate vitamin D isn’t really a problem – it’s sunny all year! My trainer told me to never take women-targeted supplements though. He also works in a supplement shop so I assume he knows his stuff. He said female supplements are just an inferior version of the normal product with an increased price!
Eeek! I hope that’s not true. The GNC vitapaks are all the same price regardless of what they’re targeted to (they have like 20 different kinds…) I’ll have to go to their site though and check out the men’s and women’s and see what is different in the formulations…
Well my trainer is the manager of his shop, and he’s about to open his own supplement store so I trust him. BUT supplements might be different in Australia. We get ripped off for just about everything, so I can understand the prices being more here but I can’t imagine why the formulations would be different.
a) your vitamins came with diet pills??? wtheck??
b) I am not good with Vitamin D 🙁 — or a lot of things as of late since I’ve been working so much. with pressure to go to the doctor I’d been debating taking a multivitamin (is that disordered that the thought of going to the doctor makes me want to take multivitamins? — sort of like people that don’t regular brush their teeth all of a sudden brushing all the time a few days before going to the dentist?)
c) I thought of you the other night… Someone I work with was making fun of one of the managers… I defended that manager, because I don’t agree with doing that and I genuinely like her… well, of course, the manager found out about it… and it made me feel so bad inside… literally hurt…because I know she’s sensitive – probably even moreso at the moment due to the long hours… so much so that I felt compelled to email her with regards to it (but not actually mentioning it in the email)… Isn’t it strange how something that didn’t even happen to you can make you feel so bad and hurt so much?
“Isn’t it strange how something that didn’t even happen to you can make you feel so bad and hurt so much?” 🙂 I prefer not to think of it as strange but that we are gifted with an extraordinary empathic ability! Good for you for standing up for your manager!! That can’t have been easy.
5000 IU per day, starting as soon as the clocks go back and continuing until they come forward again, and the daffodils bloom. It makes the difference between a suicidal me and an ‘I’m coping OK’ me.
Hmmm… this makes me wonder if I need to up my dose!
Just had my vitamin D levels tested and they were in the low normal range, so my doctor recommended taking some, he wasn’t specific though. I have read some studies lately that talk about vitamin D and it’s role in preventing chronic disease. Vitamin D is some powerful stuff. I also love magnesium. I take Natural Calm every day and often baths with Epsom Salts.
I take a mag supp too. I have some epsom salts but I don’t ever use them (I’m not a bath person). Is it possible to absorb the magnesium through skin??
I use a pure magnesium oil – dilute it with nice hot water and soak your feet in it for 15-20 minutes in the evening while watching tv. Not only is transdermal the best way to get it (even better than oral) it helps you sleep! Use a “foot bath” or, easier yet, slip a rubber band around each ankle. Mix up your mag & water in 2 gallon-size zip bags. Sit, put a bag on each foot and secure with the rubber band. If you wash your feet first (lol) you can reuse it several times, so being in a zip bag is a great solution!
Not a bath person either, but the Epsom salts help me get to sleep fast. Yes, it can be absorbed through your skin. There are also magnesium creams!
Although some magnesium might make it through the skin, it any does it will be a tiny amount. The skin is a very good barrier and the only things that can get through efficiently are oily (hydrophobic) small molecules.
ps, you have a typo where you say the “..mineral has been shown to help with both SAD…” it should be “vitamin” not “mineral”. Vitamin D is an organic chemical, not a mineral like potassium or magnesium.
You have perfect timing with this article! I just pulled out my supplements for the day and grabbed an extra vitamin D. Now that winter has fully set in, in Northeast Ohio, I never see the sun. This will only take me to 2000 IU per day, so we’ll see what impact it has.
I also take magnesium, fish oil, folic acid (we are TTC), and a probiotic.
Oh dear. There goes every last filament of any plan I may ever have had to become a professional cyclist.
I live in Australia where the sun is way too strong for my liking (I hate the heat) and for my skin (lily-white), so while I do try to get outdoors briefly, mostly in the mornings, I still supp with D3.
it is interesting to me that GNC is based out of PGH and when I resided in PGH (for 19 years and then returned :)) I neeeeeded me some Vitamin D supplementation.
It’s beyond gray there.
ANYWAY.
I digress.
Except to say I wish I’d gotten that box.
and not for the vitamins 🙂
This was a timely post. The kids and I are on D3 and I just told the hubs he should be too but I felt like I was guessing on the amount — 2000 IU. I’m thinking that is about right. Since I started my kids on it I really feel that they have been much healthier with far fewer colds.
I’m a bit of a pill popper, also doing a multi, fish oil, L-Carnitine, Glucosamine/Chondroiten, and calcium/magnesium. I’ve done multiweek periods of creatine but had not heard of the benefits of using it just on lifting days. I may consider it. The one supplement I added recently is Co-Q10. I can’t spout off all the reasons why but my trainer recommended it and the little research I did supported it. I have one of those GIGANTIC Sunday – Saturday pill boxes and I load it up each week!!
That photo is something else. Surely that should take your mind off the mouse baby image….blhe!
In addition to D3, I also take a teaspoon or two of cod liver oil every day during the winter months. I’ve had mild to kind of severe eczema all of the life (worse in the winter) and searched for a safer way of treating it after getting bad reactions to Elidel. I can’t tell you what an incredible different the CLO has made! It’s done a better job of managing my eczema than any medicine ever did.
Anyone else taking cod liver oil? (It’s not that bad. Just put a teaspoon of it in a little orange juice and shoot it down.)
Bobbi, My brother and I both had regular eczema -worse in the wintertime- that disappeared when we cut cow’s milk out of our diet. (eczema is one of common symptoms of cow’s milk allergy).
Have you tried that?
That’s good to know, Deb. I’ve been trying to remove milk from my diet, but it’s hard! I really, really love butter, cheese, cream… Well, you get the picture. I’m pretty happy with my cod liver oil treatment. 😉
I just started taking vitamin D a few days ago. (Trader Joe’s brand.) I used to get plenty of sunshine when I worked as a playground monitor, but now I work indoors and our sunny California weather hasn’t been so sunny this past year, so I figured what the heck. I was getting draggy and thought it might help. I actually do feel a bit perkier after just a few days.
I still am ambivalent on tis one. I do not take any Vit D except what I get in an occasional multi. sunlight is my primary source,although I use sunblock every day.
I live in Florida, of course.
I haven’t had my levels tested, but given that I’m a) biracial, and b) live in a city much further north than Atlanta…suffice to say, I take 2kIUs a day. And both my naturopath and regular doctor said that was the minimum I should be taking.
Calgary, while very sunny (when it’s light out? Which is like 7 hours a day in the winter, but like 16 hours a day in summer….), is too far north to ever get direct rays of sunlight, so I take Vitamin D all year round. Plus, I spend those 7 winter hours of sunlight in my office. And I don’t really do dairy. So I’m sitting at a place where Vitamin D has to come from tablets.
I guess I feel happier, which is nice.
There’s a GNC across the street Charlotte, so you let me know how you like these, because they may get themselves a customer out of this….depending on whether my naturopath approves.
I live in Florida. Just had my levels tested… I’m in the low end of the mid-range. I have been taking 5k daily for just over a year… My son takes 5k daily as well and has seen marked improvement in his low back pain! I also take turmeric, flax oil (no fish burps), and a real pure alfalfa (no hot flashes and my thryoid medicine is being better utilized…) Just added 1 heaping tablespoon of diatemacous earth daily. (for me, the dogs, the horses and all the other critters – 2 and 4 legged around here…) Within 3 days I saw evidence of it working to kill parasites in the horses (and yes, I chemically de-worm regularly – I was SHOCKED!) The horses and dogs are all older and are acting MUCH younger! The itching in the dog with flea allergies is nearly non-existent! My hair and nails are growing at an incredible rate. Those random aches and pains (knees, ankles, etc) are a thing of the past. And my 20 y/o is seeing improvement in his acne. I buy mine (make SURE it is food grade – preferably PermaGuard) from my local feed store, but you can certainly get it on Amazon. (And it qualifies for Prime…. always a good thing!)
I live in Stockholm, Sweden, where it, this time of year, gets dark at 2 pm – and here we definitely need extra D-vitamin. Everyone is taking it, and when you have a baby, it is more or less mandatory to give it D-vitamin during the first years.
I’m low on vitamin B and D. It’s odd, my doctor said she’s noticed pretty much everyone is chronically deficient in Vitamin D. I find to that chromium helps balance my blood sugar levels…but since I’ve been eating healthy that hasn’t been an issue. I take fish oils, vitamin B complex and vitamin D and it helps a lot with my energy levels. Up here in the Canadian prairies in the winter it can be days and days before I actually see the sun, with it going up after I get to work and going down before I leave for home…I don’t suffer from SAD thankfully but I know my husband and a few friends try to get all the sunlight they can in the winter. I
I am so bad at taking vitamins! I go through stages where I’ll remember to take them, but in all honesty, for the most part I’m a vitamin-free zone. The ones I do still occasionally take are starflower oil, evening primrose oil (both for PCOS) and milk thistle (for the liver, as I have a family history of issues)
Its never ever sunny in England! I definitely need to start taking vit-D, it’s gotten to the stage where the sky just moves between various shades of dark grey through the day!
I don’t take vitamins. That’s bad, probably. To be honest, I’m still stuck on wondering just what that guy was doing to get such a crazy tan on that pale, pale, pale skin.
I live in Hawaii, so while the weather keeps me happy, the outrageous cost of living toooootally negates that positivity 🙂 Also?! I’m so happy someone else has mice. I set out old school traps with cheese and everything, but they’re wily little rodents…
I’ve been doing pretty well at remembering to take my multiV, 2000IUs of Vit D and an O3 capsule each day, but that’s only because I’m gearing up to expand our little family to three humans (no twins, no twins, double-jinx) which gives me a better incentive than just my own health. I also just got my hubby to start taking the same at slightly higher doses as well as a Glucosamine/Chondroitin tablet for his knee health.
So far I feel better, a lot less SAD than usual this year (living in Canada is rough, we only get enough sunlight for three or four months a year *pout*), but visiting a tanning bed for 15 minutes once a week helps too. Bonus: I can no longer be used as a reflective device when I bare my arms.
Ugh I’m so bad. I don’t even take a multivitamin. I hate taking horse pills!
I take several supplements including vit D., but I’m not sure if I’m taking enough.
Besides that, I take a multi., betacarotene (I am a “rapid transit”-er. and no matter how healthy I eat, I do not absorb enough A through food), calcium and magnesium (come on implant and ossify!) and a low-dose aspirin.
(I think it’s funny that many people and doctors still call it a baby aspririn when babies haven’t taken aspirin in ages!)…
I’m interested in why you say that you need to take fish oil. I’m not challenging their utility–I take them every day and think they have multiple benefits. I’m just curious as to whether a doctor recommended them to you for any specific deficiencies? Sorry for a nosy question! I’ve been told to take them to help with anxiety, among other things, but not based on results of labwork or anything official.
Almost a couple of years ago, my doc tested me for Vitamin D as part of my annual physical. It turns out I was very deficient and he put me on a very aggressive plan to bring the levels back up to normal. His regimen got me back to normal limits and now I purposely run at when the sun is peaking to get good exposure to natural sunlight and take 2,000 mg of D3 Vitamin D daily to keep in the normal range.
Seems to have helped and I did notice a difference from when I was deficient to how I was feeling less than a month later while on the Doctor ordered regimen. I will continue to take my Vitamin D supplements, run close to noon and have the Dr. monitor my Vitamin D levels to ensure that I am in the “good” range. There are too many purported health benefits to ignore this one in my opinion.
Thanks for the post, as part of your annual physical if you live in the snow belt states or rainy day areas, this should be one of the tests ordered, especially if you are fighting mild depression or S.A.D. If not done automatically ask for it.
Harold
I take quite a bit of Vit D after continuously testing low, 5000-10000 per day. The acceptable range is much lower than what would be cosidered an ideal level which I’ve been told should be around 80, especially for someone prone to depression.
I also use a SAD light each morning and have found that immensely helpful!
I’m surprised that you take creatine! I guess I’ve only heard of that for dudes who have roid rage (exaggeration), but perhaps I should increase my research on this supplement. Also, my goodness, what is wrong with dude in the photo?? bad tan line? WOW. And crazy that absorption by osmosis (more or less) happens through feet with minerals. I’m exposed to so much when I read your articles! PS I hate horse pills and frown every morning when I force myself to take them, but I take Lifetime Fitness multi vitamin (MN in the house!), Magnesium/calcium, fish oil, and sometimes L Lysine, but that you’re supposed to take on an empty stomach and quite frankly, mine is hardly ever empty! 🙂
That first photo is shockingly disturbing…geez! what was he thinking? I was surprised to find out I was significantly Vit D deficient as I’m outside everyday, but living quite a bit north of Atlanta there’s just not enough ‘sun’ shining in the Seattle skies. I had to modify my general theory of getting all the nutrients I need through my diet. I usually take 2000 IUs…and by usually that probably works out to about 3x/week.
So many varying studies about supplements & multi’s these days. Ya don’t know what to do or believe! I am at the point that I take a multi specifically for women over 50 & not every day cause studies vary. I do work out hard so even though I eat well, I do want to be careful. As for D, I am in southern CA so…..
That enhancing gel, not to be TMI on you but as we age, well, I could use that! 😉
Even just a year or two ago, I probably would have been taking Vitamin D supplements too. But all the stuff I’ve read in those couple of years!! Is it progress, or (as I think you once expressed it) paralysis by analysis? Like today, when my boss took us out to lunch, I stared at the “healthiest” order I could think of on my plate before me (brisket, chicken and green beans) and wondered where the former vegetarian went. And which is really healthier?
But what I’m getting around to saying is that, although I once was totally into supplementing with whatever I read I really “needed,” I’ve kind of done a 180 on all that. I’m just not convinced that we know enough about what the human body really needs or how best to get it. Now, because I live in Illinois (where it’s currently dark by 5:00 when I get off work, which is at least better than the 2:00 mentioned by the commenter from Sweden!), and I’m skeptical about supplements…when I go for long weekend walks, I don’t wear my foundation with SPF. Is that enough? I hope so! (They are usually quite long walks….)
While I’m not that much into supplements to better health and weight, I really found your article intriguingly interesting. Enjoyed the read. Thanks for the share.
Vitamin D is perhaps the single most misunderstood calciferous nutrient in the world of nutrition. That’s probably because it’s free: your body makes it when sunlight touches your skin. Drug companies can’t sell you sunlight, so there’s no promotion of its health benefits.
Get as much of it and safely, as you can in Spring and Summer, as your body will dig into these reserves in Autumn and Winter….it will prevent Ricketts in the long term….also ensure you do plenty of load bearing compound exercises, such as Deadlifts, Squats etc.
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