Vitamin D levels/ more important than ever

This week's topic VItamin D levels/ More important than ever

Food superstars come and go. One minute something is going to cure all of your ills and the next minute it might be considered poison (lets just hope that chocolate and wine stay on the beneficial foods list !) One of the good guys is vitamin D. At the same time that scientists were recognizing the importance of this vitamin, they were also discovering that many folks are vitamin D deficient without being aware of it.  Suddenly with the pandemic wrecking the world as we know it, Vitamin D is making headlines again. No one is suggesting that it can prevent covid-19, or cure it. What they are finding though is a correlation between a patient’s vitamin D level and how they fare once they get sick. People with vitamin D deficiencies seem to be having a rougher time. One wonders if this isn’t part of the issue for folks living in nursing homes. They likely aren’t getting outside for a dose of sunshine and I wonder if anyone thinks about their D level. Years ago, vitamin D deficiency was most associated with Rickets (a disease that causes very soft bones.) More recent studies found that vitamin D levels are also very important well beyond good bone health. Deficiencies are linked to multiple illnesses including diabetes, cancer, heart disease and even mood disorders. Some studies are watching the link between low levels of D and obesity. There are ongoing studies underway to see if there is a link between low Vitamin D levels and increased allergies. Other studies are linking D deficiency to insomnia and ADHD. There have been studies linking Vitamin D and cognitive health in older folks. This list goes on and on. Just recently a large-scale meta-analysis using more than 10,000 participants concluded that vitamin D supplementation may help to prevent acute respiratory tract infections. Even without the pandemic it is important to make sure our babies are getting enough. There are 2 forms of vitamin D: D2 and D3. Most experts are in favor of focusing on D3, which is the more natural form. Quality infant formulas have vitamin D in them. Babies who get 32 ounces of formula per day have their needs covered. If your baby is breastfed, that is a different story.  The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all breastfed babies start getting 400 IU of a vitamin D supplement within the first few days of life. (IU stands for international units, which is a common way that vitamin D is measured.) Unfortunately, the segment of the population who often test the lowest for vitamin D are pregnant and breastfeeding women. If you are a nursing mom and you are deficient, your baby is simply not getting the amount that they need from your milk. It would be nice to believe that breast milk is a "complete source" for all of your baby's needs. With vitamin D this is not necessarily the case; it comes down to the mom. If mom has a good level, her milk might be adequate but there are no good reasons to take a chance. There are some studies that claim that if a nursing mom takes 4,000 IU/daily, this can adequately fortify the milk and ensure that the baby is getting the suggested amount of 400 IU. Giving vitamin D drops directly to the baby can take the guesswork out of this and remains the AAP recommendation.  There are many different brands available for your baby. If you are giving your baby a multivitamin supplement like Poly-Vi-Sol, that already has the D in it. If you are giving the D alone, one of the most common brands is the Enfamil D-Vi-SOL. One dropper is 1 ml; this gives the daily dose of 400 IU. Babies seem to tolerate this well. There are some other forms out there that give 400 IU in each drop! That is quite a difference. It is essential that you be a careful label reader! Vitamin D is one of the fat soluble vitamins, you cannot get "too much" from natural sources such as the sun or diet, but as with any supplement, you don’t want to overdo it.  Dr Den from the http://theacupunctureden.com/ in Noe Valley says that Vitamin D is the supplement that she encourages in many of her patients. She likes the Nordic Natural brand that doses the 400 IU in one drop. Nordic Naturals also has a 1000 IU gummy which most kids find super yummy. Den isn't usually a fan of gummies especially when the drops are so easy, but most kids really like these. You can order these from her website. You need to click on the pharmacy tab, sign in and go from there. Children over the age of one, and all adults, should make sure they are at the very least getting 600 IU daily. I have no concerns about bumping that up to the 1,000 unit gummy if that is the easiest way to get your kid to cooperate. Milk and orange juice that have D added, some fatty fish, and cod liver oil are on the short list of good dietary sources for vitamin D, but a person would have to drink ten tall glasses of vitamin D fortified milk each day just to get minimum levels of vitamin D into their diet. Other foods like some mushrooms and eggs will get you a bit, but not enough to begin to make a dent in the daily requirement. Historically much of our vitamin D is/was from sun exposure. Folks who live in sunny climates generally have higher levels. Darker pigmented skin has a harder time absorbing it. Being out in the sun unprotected for 30 minutes, 2 or 3 times a week, would probably give most people the amount they need. But wait!! Do we really want to expose ourselves and our children to the risks associated with sunburn? To compound things, the rays of natural sunlight that produce vitamin D in your skin cannot penetrate glass. This means you can’t get vitamin D from indirect sunlight in your car or at home. In fact, our recent healthier sunscreen practices are quite possibly the cause of our lower vitamin D levels. Weak sunscreens (such as SPF 8) can block Vitamin D by up to 95%. It is hard to find a balance. Some exposure is healthy, but overdoing it is problematic, Sunburn and an elevated risk of skin cancer don’t seem like a sensible answer. In any event, it isn’t a bad idea to know what your level is. The next time you are getting routine blood work, consider asking your doc to add an order for the vitamin D level. The recommended test usually ordered is a 25-hydroxy vitamin D level. There is some debate about what the proper level should actually be, but everyone seems to agree that: < 12ng/ml is severely deficient. 12-20 ng/ml is still not adequate 20-50ng/ml is a reasonable range of normal (measurement is nanograms/milliliter) Many naturopaths and healers prefer the level to be over 50.  40% of folks tested in this country are low!! Please make sure that you and your baby are not one of those. Daddies, you need it too!!!  I have had many calls over the years from frantic parents who are learning about this for the first time and haven’t been giving any supplements to their kids. Take a deep breath. It is more common than you might think that the vitamin D discussion didn't make the list and your baby is several months old before you learn about the recommendation for the supplement. Please don't stress. This is not just a recommendation for newborns; it is a lifelong health issue. We can’t manage the past. Now you know and can make a vitamin D plan for your family. None of the studies on the magic of Vitamin D are definitive. Some of the studies have flaws. Of course Vitamin D is no magic bullet, but if taken in safe doses it can likely have a positive impact on your health. My family takes it daily!