Research has proven that the Sun and Vitamin D is needed to optimize your health.  We are unable to know when our vitamin D is low, therefore, we need to ask our doctor to do a test to check for Vitamin D deficiency.  This test should be done yearly, along with your yearly checkup when they do blood work for cholesterol, sugar, etc.  I went in for a bone density test and they decided to check my vitamin D because the test showed some bone loss.  It came back 3 points low.  I am now taking calcium and vitamin D3 to correct my problem before it becomes a major problem.  Up to 85 percent of Americans have Vitamin D deficiency.  Are you one of the 85 percent?  I am  but I am taking steps to eliminate this problem. 

The doctors once would not prescribe vitamin D because they believed it could build up to toxic levels in your body but with much research, they realize that the recommended 400 IUs is not nearly enough.  Research has found  that there are two types of vitamin D.

Vitamin D2 is found in some foods and is less active.  Vitamin D3, which is the most active, is the form of vitamin D which your skin manufactures with exposure to sunlight.  Plus, vitamin D3 is just as much hormone as it is a nutrient, and it is critical for preventing many diseases.

Without enough Vitamin D, you are at higher risk for everything from diabetes to cancer.  Vitamin D deficiencies are linked with rickets.  Research has proven that vitamin D affects your immune system, modulating many activities in your body, and promotes anti-tumor activity.  Studies have found that low levels of vitamin D are associated with type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, Crohn’s disease, hypertension, fibromyalgia and cardiovascular disease.

The best way to ensure you’re not on the vitamin D risk list, the recommended dose of vitamin D3 is 2,000 to 4,000 IUs daily if you are healthy.  If you are compromised with a chronic illness or an illness of uncertain cause like fibromyalgia, the recommended dose is 5,000 to 10,000 IUs daily.  Ask your doctor to test your vitamin D level periodically.  If you take other medications, it can deplete your body’s store of vitamin D.

You must have adequate vitamin D, especially D3, for optimum health.  I recommend going to the health food store and ask for Vitamin D3.

Another important source of vitamin D comes from the sun.  You need to spend 20 minutes in the sun when it is available.  If you are sun sensitive or told to keep out of the sun because of certain types of cancer, you can cover all your body except for your hands.  You can expose the back of your hands for 20 minutes to the sun. 

Fight to stay healthy.  Talk to your doctor about Vitamin D3 and vitamin D deficiency.