The Vitamin D Epidemic in the United States
Today, many Americans are found to be in a serious deficiency state. Over 95 percent of senior citizens in the US may possibly be deficient, along with 85 percent of Americans. The late winter average vitamin D level was found to be about 15 to 18 ng/ml, which is far below optimal levels.
Cases of vitamin D deficiency are also seen more frequently in individuals (of all ages) that have increased skin pigmentation, including those whose ancestors are from Africa, the Middle East, or South Asia.
This deficiency problem also applies to people who often use sun protection, or those who spend more time indoors than outdoors. Regardless of skin pigmentation, deficiency can be even worse if they live in northern latitudes, as there is very little sun exposure (I’ll discuss this in a bit).
The Vitamin D and Vitamin K2 Connection
Another critical point to remember is you shouldn’t take any vitamin D supplement without taking vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 deficiency is connected to vitamin D toxicity symptoms, which includes excessive calcification that can contribute to the hardening of your arteries.
One of the functions of vitamin K2 is to direct calcium to areas in your body where it is needed, such as your bones and teeth. It also functions to keep calcium away from areas where it shouldn’t be, including your soft tissues and arteries.
According to Dr. Kate Rheaume-Bleue, author of Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life:
“When you take vitamin D, your body creates more of these vitamin K2-dependent proteins, the proteins that will move the calcium around. They have a lot of potential health benefits. But until the K2 comes in to activate those proteins, those benefits aren’t realized. So, really, if you’re taking vitamin D, you’re creating an increased demand for K2. And vitamin D and K2 work together to strengthen your bones and improve your heart health.
…For so long, we’ve been told to take calcium for osteoporosis… and vitamin D, which we know is helpful. But then, more studies are coming out showing that increased calcium intake is causing more heart attacks and strokes. That created a lot of confusion around whether calcium is safe or not. But that’s the wrong question to be asking, because we’ll never properly understand the health benefits of calcium or vitamin D, unless we take into consideration K2. That’s what keeps the calcium in its right place“
The optimal ratios between vitamin D and K2 have yet to be determined. However, Dr. Rheaume-Bleue recommends that for every 1,000 IUs of vitamin D, you can benefit from about 100 to 200 micrograms of vitamin K2.
Healthy Sun Exposure Is Your Best Source of Vitamin D
I strongly recommend ample sunlight exposure as your main source of vitamin D, as the sun provides beneficial UVB wavelengths that are needed to optimize your levels.
Although most dermatologists will tell you to avoid the sun to prevent diseases like cancer, exposure can actually aid in skin cancer prevention – and there are studies confirming this. Melanoma occurrence is found to decrease with greater exposure to direct sunlight. According to a study published in the European Journal of Cancer, melanoma was found to be more common in workers who spent time indoors, and in body parts that are not exposed to the sun.
The sun emits two types of wavelengths at different periods in a day: UVA rays and UVB rays. Your body requires UVB for vitamin D production. UVA rays, on the other hand, have longer wavelengths and can penetrate the ozone layer, as well as clouds and pollution. Frequent exposure to this type of wavelength increases your risk of skin cancer and photoaging.
Occasional exposure of your hands and face to the sun does not constitute appropriate sunlight exposure. To optimize your levels, large portions of your skin needs to be exposed to the sun. However, over exposure to the sun can result in sunburn, which will increase your risk for skin cancer and premature skin aging.
Once you get the proper amount of sunlight, your body will stop producing vitamin D because of its self-regulating mechanism. Here are other important factors in safe sunlight exposure:
- Time – The best time to expose yourself to the sun is as near to solar noon as possible (during Daylight Saving Time, solar noon is typically around 1 pm). UVB rays, unlike UVA rays that are present all throughout the day, are very low in the morning and evening, and are abundant during midday – around 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Expose yourself to direct sunlight between these times for a short period, and you will have produced the most vitamin D3.
- Skin pigmentation – Fair-skinned people can potentially max out their vitamin D production in just 10 to 20 minutes, or when their skin has turned the lightest shade of pink. However, if you have darker skin, you likely need to remain in the sun longer.
- Sensitive body parts – The skin located around your eyes is thinner compared to other areas on your body. Since it has a small surface area, it will not do much to contribute to vitamin D production. You need to protect this part of your face, as it is very prone to photoaging and premature wrinkling. I recommend using a safe sunblock or wearing a cap that will keep your eyes in the shade.If you get sunburned, aloe vera is one of the best remedies to help repair your skin. This plant is loaded with powerful glyconutrients that will induce healing. I suggest deriving the gel from a fresh plant.
- Using soap – When UVB rays strike the surface of your skin, your skin will then convert a cholesterol derivative, which will turn into vitamin D3. However, the produced vitamin D3 does not immediately enter your bloodstream. It may take up to 48 hours before the vitamin D3 penetrates into your bloodstream.When you shower immediately after sun exposure, you risk washing away the vitamin D3 formed by your skin and potentially reduce the benefits of sun exposure.
While those living in tropical regions have an abundance of sunshine, there are individuals who hardly have exposure, especially in most of the continental US. It doesn’t make much sense to expose your skin to the sun when the temperature is lower than 50 degree F, which has a scarcity of UVB rays. This occurs a lot in most regions in the US, especially those who experience four seasons.
In those times of the year when UVB rays are very minimal, it may be wise to take a high-quality vitamin D3 supplement.
Proper Vitamin D Supplementation
During winter months, you can go with supplementation. But this is not as simple as taking any vitamin D pill; there are many things to consider.
What your body requires is vitamin D3 and not vitamin D2, the synthetic form commonly prescribed by physicians. One microgram of vitamin D3 or 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 is about five times more potent in raising serum 25(OH)D than an equivalent amount of vitamin D2. Aside from being less effective, vitamin D2 can also pose potential harm to your body.
It is very, very important to have your blood levels of vitamin D tested before and during supplementation. There are two vitamin D tests currently being offered: 1,25(OH)D and 25(OH)D. The correct test to order is 25(OH)D – also known as 25-hydroxyvitamin D – because it is the better marker of overall D status.
Top Vitamin D Sources to Prevent Vitamin D Deficiency Symptoms
While some foods provide vitamin D, exposure to sunlight is still the very best way to get the vitamin D you need in order to prevent vitamin D deficiency symptoms. However, eating foods that are rich in vitamin D also helps you acquire more, so try adding these good-quality, natural sources of vitamin D into your diet regularly: (source)
- Sunlight: Aim to spend 10–20 minutes of unexposed time in the sun daily (between 1,000 and 10,000 IUs). The range is so wide as it depends on the time of year, how far from the equator you live and how much skin is exposed. If you have lighter skin, less time is needed. If you have darker skin or live farther north (in the Northern Hemisphere, like Boston), you need about an hour of sun in the summer to get about 1,000 IUs of vitamin D.
- Halibut
- Carp Fish
- Mackerel
- Eel
- Maitake Mushrooms (exposed to UV light)
- Salmon
- Whitefish
- Portobella Mushrooms (exposed to UV light)
- Swordfish
- Rainbow Trout
- Cod Liver Oil
- Sardines
- Tuna
- Eggs
- Raw Milk
Vitamin D in Mushrooms
Mushrooms are a very interesting and rare food when it comes to vitamin D. They are one of the only plant sources of vitamin D and actually act similarly to how human skin does, absorbing more vitamin D when exposed to the sun. In some mushrooms that are now available in certain health food stores, the vitamin D content is boosted by exposing these mushrooms to ultraviolet light.
Mushrooms nutrition contains plant sterols that are able to convert UV light to vitamin D. Exposing mushrooms to as little as five minutes of UV light is believed to produce a substantial amount of vitamin D. (source) While mushrooms are typically grown indoors, many growers are beginning to grow them outdoors to take advantage of this, or they place the growing mushrooms under sunlamps.
Rare and sometimes difficult-to-find maitake mushrooms, for example, contain a huge amount of vitamin D, while portobello mushrooms and other mushroom varieties also make good sources, but they are not nearly as high. You can ask the workers at your health food store or the farmers at your local market if their mushrooms were grown indoors or outdoors in order to know if the mushrooms you are purchasing contain higher amounts of vitamin D.
Vitamin D in Pasteurized Milk and Raw Milk
Interestingly, and despite what many people think, regular pasteurized milk does not naturally contain much vitamin D at all. Synthetic vitamin D is added to pasteurized cow’s milk, soy milk and rice milk.
Almost all of the U.S. milk supply is fortified with 400 IU of vitamin D per quart, according to the USDA, but foods made from milk, like cheese and ice cream, are usually not fortified. Synthetic vitamin D added to foods is believed to be much less effective as naturally occurring vitamin D and can also potentially block natural vitamin D’s effects. (source)
Raw milk, on the other hand, is believed to contain a small amount of vitamin D naturally, which is found in its fat and not destroyed during pasteurization. Some sources show that raw milk has about 38 IUs of vitamin D per quart (four cups). However, it’s hard to know for sure how much vitamin D is in raw milk because it differs greatly depending on the specific milk being tested and correlates with the health of the animal that it came from.
On top of this, the USDA does not list the official vitamin D content of raw milk, and many sources claim different amounts of vitamin D to be present within raw milk. Keep this in mind if you consume raw milk to increase your vitamin D levels.
The reason raw milk is thought to be a better source of vitamin D than pasteurized milk is because unpasteurized, raw milk is usually superior in almost every vitamin and mineral overall. Raw milk normally comes from cows that are free to graze outside and to eat their natural diet of grass, as opposed to being force-fed grains and living indoors. Because the animal is healthier, so is its milk.
A lot of the nutrients that are in regular milk are also destroyed during the high-heat pasteurization process. Therefore it seems logical that higher quality raw milk would have more vitamin D to begin with and also retain more of it since it does not go through this nutrient-destroying high-heat pasteurization process.
Vitamin D Testing with the D*Action Study Measurement Kits
At Mercola.com, we offer vitamin D measurement kits courtesy of the D*Action study. The D*Action Project was initiated by GrassrootsHealth and is a worldwide project that aims to end the vitamin D epidemic by raising awareness on vitamin D testing (you can find out more about GrassrootsHealth and the D*Action Study in the resources provided below).
At the moment, the D*Action Project is looking for study participants, and you can be one of them. All you need to do is to purchase the D*Action Measurement Kit and follow the registration instructions included.
Using this kit, you can measure your vitamin D levels twice a year during a five-year program. Once you do, your health status will be shared to demonstrate the real significance of vitamin D. Take note that 100 percent of the kit proceeds will go to the D*Action study.
Below is a chart showing the ideal therapeutic levels of vitamin D you’ll want to reach and maintain:
There is a risk of overdosing on a vitamin D supplement that doesn’t exist with natural sun exposure, as your body simply stops producing vitamin D to prevent this. You need to consciously keep your vitamin D levels within the healthy range through regular vitamin D blood tests, and have your dosage adjusted accordingly.
Below are my vitamin D dosage recommendations for different age groups:
Vitamin D Dose Recommendations
| Age | Dosage |
| Below 5 | 35 units per pound per day |
| Age 5 – 10 | 2500 units |
| Adults | 5000 units |
| Pregnant Women | 8000 units |
WARNING: There is no way to know if the above recommendations are correct for you personally, as they are only guidelines. The ONLY way to know is to test your blood. You might need four to five times the amount recommended above. Ideally, your blood level of 25(OH)D should be 60ng/ml.
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