Canadians are told: You all need the D

[+ FreshFluff]

An ad campaign from Yukon Canada.

 

http://logoonline.mtvnimages.com/uri/mgid:file:http:shared:newnownext.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/enhanced-7775-1453588812-2-1453755621.png?quality=0.8&format=jpg&width=1800

 

 

The sad consequences of getting fish instead of D.

http://logoonline.mtvnimages.com/uri/mgid:file:http:shared:newnownext.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/enhanced-6353-1453588869-13-1453755619.png?quality=0.8&format=jpg&width=1800

[+ Funguy]

The new recommendation for Vitamin D is 5,000 units per day.

There is not a single multivitamin that can give you anywhere close to that amount nor will being outdoors in the sunlight act as a substitute.

[+ WmClarke]

The new recommendation for Vitamin D is 5,000 units per day.

There is not a single multivitamin that can give you anywhere close to that amount nor will being outdoors in the sunlight act as a substitute.

Wondered what did it used to be so I did a quick online search and saw 600 mg. That's quite a jump!

[+ Funguy]

Actually, it went from 600 to 1,000 then 2,000 and now 5,000.

[Tigger]

Actually, it went from 600 to 1,000 then 2,000 and now 5,000.

 

How new is the 5000 recommendation? I had my level checked recently. I was only slightly low with a level of 8 when the reference range is 30 to 100. I've been placed on 50,000 units of Vit D2 once a week for 8 weeks with two weeks yet to go. I just had my level redone and after 6 weeks of 50,000 units weekly, it was a whopping 31.5. Yea!!! I'm cured.

 

I just got a call today that my NP is putting me on 1000 units of Vit D (cholecalciferol) when I finish my 50,000 units next week. I am a bit worried if it will affect my calcium due to being on a thiazide diuretic. They increase calcium all by their lonesomes.

 

Wondered what did it used to be so I did a quick online search and saw 600 mg. That's quite a jump!

 

Vitamin D is, I believe, only dosed in units not milligrams. Calcium which is often taken with Vit. D is dosed in milligrams.

[+ FreshFluff]

How new is the 5000 recommendation? I had my level checked recently. I was only slightly low with a level of 8 when the reference range is 30 to 100. I've been placed on 50,000 units of Vit D2 once a week for 8 weeks with two weeks yet to go. I just had my level redone and after 6 weeks of 50,000 units weekly, it was a whopping 31.5. Yea!!! I'm cured.

 

You too, Tigger? My level was 10, and I was told to take 5000 units of D3 daily. So were you advised to take ten 5000 unit pills, once a week?

[+ FreshFluff]

Either everyone missed the frat boy humor or graciously ignored it.

[+ Funguy]

Sorry Tigger but your level of 8 was NOT slightly low - it was hugely low to nonexistent. Your value of 31.5 after 6 weeks of 50,000 is minimally into the "normal" range. I will bet you that after your 50,000 units are done and you start 1,000 units a day that you will be under the minimum of 30 within 3-6 months!

 

OPTIMUM level is between 60 - 100 and this can be reached by taking 5,000 units per day. A lot of my patients are in the 50 - 60 range and as long as they take their Vitamin D they are fine.

 

As a reminder, cholecalciferol is vitamin D3 not D2. D2 is ergocalciferol. The basic difference is that D3 is found in animals and D2 is from plants. D3 is altered in the liver and then in the kidney to make 1,25-dihydroxyvitamine D or the active form of Vitamin D3.

[+ Truereview]

Either everyone missed the frat boy humor or graciously ignored it.

Hand slapped appropriately so. Ty Fluff. Post deleted to ensure proper decorum and respect sensibilities.

[+ FreshFluff]

Hand slapped appropriately so. Ty Fluff. Post deleted to ensure proper decorum and respect sensibilities.

 

Huh? I was talking about the ads!

http://www.newnownext.com/accurate-public-health-campaign-declares-we-all-need-the-d/01/2016/

 

I'd never slap your hand, TR! But I think doing K-9 is illegal now.

[+ Truereview]

Huh? I was talking about the ads!

http://www.newnownext.com/accurate-public-health-campaign-declares-we-all-need-the-d/01/2016/

 

But I think doing K-9 is illegal now.

Oopsy...too late, my dear. Now, I'm to go eat my third helping of fish and down it with my 6th glass of milk.

[Tigger]

You too, Tigger? My level was 10, and I was told to take 5000 units of D3 daily. So were you advised to take ten 5000 unit pills, once a week?

 

There is a 50,000 unit Vitamin D2 capsule that is prescription. You take it once a week. Some people think that Vitamin D2 isn't as effective as Vitamin D3. But that's not the opinion so far from most major medical organizations. And there isn't a 50,000 unit Vitamin D3 capsule available as far as I know which is why people aren't put on that.

 

Either everyone missed the frat boy humor or graciously ignored it.

 

I was a bit shocked it was posted by such a proper lady:eek:

 

But I was giggling on the inside.

 

 

Sorry Tigger but your level of 8 was NOT slightly low - it was hugely low to nonexistent.

When I wrote slightly, I was being sarcastic.

 

Your value of 31.5 after 6 weeks of 50,000 is minimally into the "normal" range. I will bet you that after your 50,000 units are done and you start 1,000 units a day that you will be under the minimum of 30 within 3-6 months!

 

This had crossed my mind and worries me a bit.

 

As a reminder, cholecalciferol is vitamin D3 not D2. D2 is ergocalciferol. The basic difference is that D3 is found in animals and D2 is from plants. D3 is altered in the liver and then in the kidney to make 1,25-dihydroxyvitamine D or the active form of Vitamin D3.

 

Doesn't Vitamin D2 undergo a similar conversion even though it is plant based?

 

Here is a NYT article from 2013 reporting how over the amount of Vitamin D in over the counter supplements may be different than what is listed on the label. I don't know if it's still pertinent or not.

 

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/well/2013/02/18/vitamin-labels-may-be-wrong/?referer=

[+ FreshFluff]

I was a bit shocked it was posted by such a proper lady:eek:

 

[Tigger]

I always hated that show.

[Rudynate]

Vit D supplementation by itself can cause arterial calcification. It needs to be paired with a vit K2 supp.

[Guest]

... nor will being outdoors in the sunlight act as a substitute.

 

Not if you live in Canada (especially not in the Yukon), but if you live in, say, southern Florida, you can easily get all the Vitamin D you need walking around in shorts for 20 minutes in the early afternoon. However, if the skin is covered in clothes and/or sunblock, you will not get the Vitamin D you need. Vitamin D is mis-named in that it's a hormone, not a vitamin. It is normally made by the body, but man evolved in tropical parts of the planet, not Canada. So almost everybody needs vitamin D supplements, especially in the Fall and Winter, since Vitamin D is not normally found in significant amounts in most foods (the Vitamin D found in milk is artificially added).

[+ Charlie]

My doctor tests my D levels, among other things, every six months, and he has always said they are fine. He attributes that to the fact that I live in the desert and play outdoors every day.

[Tigger]

My doctor tests my D levels, among other things, every six months, and he has always said they are fine. He attributes that to the fact that I live in the desert and play outdoors every day.

 

How do you keep 'your junk' from getting sunburned?

[+ Funguy]

He wears a junk protector!

 

My doctor tests my D levels, among other things, every six months, and he has always said they are fine. He attributes that to the fact that I live in the desert and play outdoors every day.

 

One thing, Charlie, that you must be careful about is when your doctor tells you your results are fine. You must always get a copy of your lab results or, at the very least, ask what the values are.

[sincitymix]

my body for some reason just doesn't absorb vit D through sunlight or foods very well anymore. It just stopped. I had to take 50,000 U 4 times a day for 1 whole year. I still have to take 15,000 U every day.

[mike carey]

How do you keep 'your junk' from getting sunburned?

I chose to read 'play outdoors' that way as well! Bad Michael!

[Despardo]

Everyone in Seattle is on the stuff--can't imagine why. I have a jar of 400 capsules from Costco--fortunately the stuff is cheap. If 5000 units per day is the new recommended dose, I can easily kick mine up a bit. This is the only vitamin supplement I take--that plus aspirin and 10 prescription drugs daily. Old age sure is fun.

 

So far, I choose to continue to believe the efficacy of vitamin D as opposed to the recommended stuff I used to take that turned out to be pointless or downright harmful:

 

Huge doses of vitamin E--very good for the heart until it turned out it was really bad for the heart.

 

Fish oil--after taking it in quantity for years, I now find out it does exactly nothing. (pretty conclusive study that last one) I no longer waste my money.

 

Fortunately, another recent, exhaustive, long term and pretty conclusive study has determined that coffee promotes longevity by as much as 15%. The maximum benefit kicks in at 5 cups per day. For me this is not a problem--did I mention I live in Seattle?

[mike carey]

If 5000 units per day is the new recommended dose, I can easily kick mine up a bit.

I am perplexed by '5000 units per day' being a new recommended dosage. The aim of taking vitamin D is to raise the amount in the blood to the recommended level. There should not be a universally applicable dose (as there is for some other vitamins), but rather an individually determined dose that gets your levels from where they are to where they should be in a clinically appropriate timeframe.

[Rudynate]

Y

 

One thing, Charlie, that you must be careful about is when your doctor tells you your results are fine. You must always get a copy of your lab results or, at the very least, ask what the values are.

 

 

To a lot of mainstream MDs, "fine" is just within the reference range, which isn't "fine" at all.

[Tigger]

I am perplexed by '5000 units per day' being a new recommended dosage. The aim of taking vitamin D is to raise the amount in the blood to the recommended level. There should not be a universally applicable dose (as there is for some other vitamins), but rather an individually determined dose that gets your levels from where they are to where they should be in a clinically appropriate timeframe.

 

The government sets RDA's (Recommended Daily Allowances) for certain nutrients like vitamins or in this case a pro-hormone. The RDAs for adults are referring to a hypothetical average adult in average health, with average diet, and living in an average place. Often they will specify male and female values and values for people with certain disease states. I'm sure either Australia or The Commonwealth have similar advisory statements.