Vitamin D
Vitamin D is not actually a vitamin. It is a hormone.
Why Should I Care about Vitamin D?
Because Vitamin D is one of the most effective tools available to you for the prevention of most health problems.
Even when you already have health issues, Vitamin D can help in the treatment of most illnesses.
Effects of Vitamin D
Almost every organ system in your body is influenced by Vitamin D.
Here's a summary:
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Vitamin D is important for the absorption of ingested calcium. If you don't have enough Vitamin D, you don't appropriately absorb calcium.
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Vitamin D is important for the health of our bones and muscles. If you are low in Vitamin D, you're at risk for osteoporosis. You can also develop muscle aches and pains, which often get misdiagnosed as Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
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Vitamin D is important for the normal functioning of our immune system.
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Vitamin D also has anti-cancer properties and may prevent various cancers.
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Vitamin D may prevent heart disease.
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Vitamin D may even prevent diabetes.
Myths about Vitamin D
Unfortunately, there are a number of myths about Vitamin D.
Myths that I frequently hear that are incorrect:
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I can't be low in Vitamin D because I drink milk.
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I can't be low in Vitamin D because I take a multivitamin as well as a calcium tablet that also contains Vitamin D.
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I can't be low in Vitamin D because I live in sunny southern California.
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I go outdoors 15 minutes a day. Therefore, I should have agod level of Viatmin D
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I read there is a high risk of Vitamin D toxicity if I take Vitamin D.
Epidemic Of Vitamin D deficiency
The fact is that most of us are low in Vitamin D.
At the Jamila Diabetes & Endocrine Medical Center, which is located in sunny Southern California, we routinely measure Vitamin D in our patients.
More than 90% of our patients are low in Vitamin D! Many of these patients drink milk and take a multivitamin as well as a calcium tablet that contains vitamin D.
So why is Vitamin D deficiency so common?
The sun is the main source of Vitamin D and accounts for 90% of Vitamin D in our body. Upon exposure to the sun, our skin manufactures Vitamin D, which then finds it's way into the blood stream. Cholesterol is the raw material for the synthesis of Vitamin D.
Most of us don't get enough sun exposure. Often our jobs and lifestyle forces us to stay indoors. Even when we do go out in the sun, we make sure to put a healthy layer of sun-screen which blocks the synthesis of vitamin D in our skin. Even most makeup now contains sun-screen.
Unfortunately, we're not told that the sun is beneficial as well. The truth is that the sun is both good and bad for us. It provides us with Vitamin D, but may also zap us with an occasional skin cancer.
How do I know If I am low in Vitamin D?
Get your vitamin D level checked. It's a simple blood test. However, it's very important to get the correct test for Vitamin D.
There are two tests for vitamin D level:
25 OH Vitamin D and 1,25 OH Vitamin D.
25 OH Vitamin D (and NOT the 1,25 OH Vitamin D) is the correct test for diagnosing Vitamin D deficiency.
Another common problem is the normal range provided by the lab that comes with the results. In my experience, most normal ranges provided by the lab are incorrect. A 25 OH vitamin D level less than 30 ng/ml (or 75 nmol/L) is considered low by most endocrinologists.
What's the treatment of Vitamin D deficiency?
Treatment of Vitamin D deficiency varies from person to person and must be individualized.
The "one shoe size fits all" approach does not work here.
What is Vitamin D toxicity?
If you take too much Vitamin D, your serum calcium level may get elevated, which if mild usually does not cause any symptoms.
However, if serum calcium is too high, you may develop heart problems, drowsiness and in extreme cases, even coma and death.
So it is important that you let your physician know about your vitamin D dose. Your physician should monitor your serum calcium level which is often included in a routine chemistry panel.
For details on Vitamin D, please refer to Dr. Zaidi's new book, "Power of Vitamin D."
This article was written by Sarfraz Zaidi, MD, FACE. Dr. Zaidi
specializes in Diabetes,
Endocrinology
and Metabolism.
Dr. Zaidi is an assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCLA and Director of the Jamila Diabetes and Endocrine Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, California.
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