whats with the Vit D?

Vit D. deficiency is something that is fairly new. It has been surprising how many women, even in sunny areas, that are low in vit. D. Vit D. is used for calcium absorption and calcium is used for bone growth and muscle function. Being low in vit D and calcium can affect your bone density as well as your muscle function. There may be other benefits of vit D as well that are still being studied. These benefits may include decreased colon cancer risk, better prognosis with breast cancer, and decreased risk for pre-eclampsia in pregnancy.

It is thought that since we are staying out of the sun and drinking less milk-both sources of vit D-may be the cause of so many people having low levels.

So what do you do? First, get your vit D level checked-a simple blood test. If it is low then you may need supplementation. The amount you need will depend on how low your levels are. If severely low you may be put on 50,000IU's for 8 weeks. If borderline, you may just be given an over-the-counter vitamin. Pregnant women should probably be taking around 2,000IU. It is important for pregnant women to have adequate vit D for the health of your baby's bones.

There is no known "toxic level" of vit D. but megadoses are not recommended. In fact, some supplemention with vit D and calcium may cause kidney stones.

Again, I've been surprised at the number of tan, active women who have had low vit D levels. I've also been surprised that many of these women feel better when on their supplements. They feel stronger and will some increased energy.

If nothing else, enjoy a little sun (with SPF of course) and drink your milk!