How to properly take vitamin D - everything you need to know

Some foods, such as fish, dairy products and fortified breakfast cereals, contain vitamin D, but sunlight remains the best source of this vitamin. In thisBiopedia article, we will share how to properly take vitamin D so that our bodies can best absorb it.

If your location or underlying health condition prevents you from absorbing enough of this vitamin, you may need supplements as a supplemental source. The question of how to properly take vitamin D will be answered in this article.

Vitamin D is known as the "sunshine vitamin" because it is produced in the body when the sun hits the skin. But many people turn to supplements in the cooler months of the year, when cold and dark days limit time spent outdoors.

In such cases, it's important to know how to properly take vitamin D to make sure we're getting enough and not overdosing.

Decreasing levels of vitamin D in the body is not just a problem in winter. Over the last few decades, the number of Bulgarians with sufficient levels of this vitamin in the body has significantly decreased. On the one hand, this is due to the time we spend indoors at the expense of much less time outdoors.

On the other hand, the fact that we do not know how to take vitamin D properly and do not get the necessary doses may play a big role in the declining levels.

Definitions of exactly what vitamin D deficiency means range from less than or equal to 12 nanograms per milliliter (12 ng/mL) to less than or equal to 20 ng/mL at the high end.

Consuming less milk and using sunscreen are among the reasons vitamin D levels among Bulgarians have declined over the years.

The National Institutes of Health of a number of European countries note that deficiency has become more common especially in men, probably due to increasing weight, reduced milk drinking and increased use of sunscreen outdoors.

This decline is a problem because the vitamin is important for helping the intestines absorb calcium, which ultimately helps make for healthy and strong bones.

Vitamin D is also helpful for reducing inflammation and boosting immune function and cell growth. So that you don't miss out on the benefits of this important vitamin, let's talk more about how to properly take vitamin D in today's article.

How to properly take vitamin D - how much do we need?

Adults need 600 International Units (IU) of vitamin D every day (800 IU if you are over the age of 70), which can be obtained through sunlight, diet or dietary supplement intake.

If we're asking ourselves how to properly take vitamin D, the best advice is through moderate sun exposure, increased presence of dietary sources of the vitamin in our daily diets, and intake of high-quality supplements.

Alas, it is not always possible to meet all these conditions, then supplement intake is of utmost importance. Vitamin D2 is the plant form of vitamin D.

It is found naturally in mushrooms. Food sources that contain vitamin D3 include oily fish such as salmon, tuna and mackerel, fortified milk and other dairy products, fish liver oils and egg yolk.

Yet very few foods have enough vitamin D to supply the recommended daily intake, and sunlight may not be reliable in certain climates.

Men and women who rely on getting vitamin D through diet alone usually do not exceed an average of 288 IU per day. Even drinking a glass of milk will provide only 100 IU - one-sixth the amount many adults need daily.

But when supplements are added, they help bring you closer to the goal of 600 IU per day. Consider this: women between the ages of 51 and 70 who were taking an average of 156 IU through a diet-only approach reached 404 IU with the help of supplements, according to a study conducted in the United States.

How to take vitamin D properly - about supplements

Vitamin D supplements have long been touted as important for bone health. The problem is that several studies have found that they don't live up to the advertising.

Vitamin D supplementation does not prevent fractures or falls, nor does it have any clinically significant effect on bone mineral density, according to a large analysis of over 81 clinical trials.

Nor was vitamin D intake found to reduce the risk of cancer, heart attack, stroke or cardiovascular death in a controlled clinical trial involving over 25,000 participants conducted in the United States.

Yet researchers found that those who developed cancer had a 25% lower mortality rate when they took vitamin D.

Meanwhile, although detailed studies have suggested a link between low vitamin D levels and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, a controlled clinical trial conducted in 2019 in the US does not support this conclusion.

Vitamin D3 supplementation at a dose of 4000 IU per day did not result in a significantly lower risk of diabetes compared to placebo.

So the benefits of vitamin D supplementation for the prevention and treatment of these serious diseases are far from certain and confirmed.

However, taking the vitamin has a number of other benefits for our health and the function of the body and all its systems.

How to properly take vitamin D - why do some people need extra doses?

Why are some groups at greater risk of low vitamin D levels? In most cases this can be traced to the diet or lifestyle of these people. For example, many vegans have low vitamin D levels because they avoid foods that are rich in vitamin D - including meat, fish, egg yolks and dairy products.

Serum vitamin D concentrations are 34% lower among people who are vegan compared to those who consume meat and dairy.

If you also follow a vegan diet, or simply dislike animal products and consume them infrequently, you may need to take vitamin D supplements.

There are ways to add vitamin D to your diet as a vegan. For example, plant milk drinks, such as those made from soy, oats, and almonds, are often fortified with vitamin D to the level found in fortified cow's milk (about 100 IU/cup).

Of course, supplementation with this vitamin also remains a current and good alternative.

People with obesity may also need supplements. Research suggests that possible causes of deficiency include lower dietary intake of vitamin D among obese men compared to non-obese men and women, the possibility that obese people expose their skin less to the sun (not only because of poorer absorption), and a reduction in vitamin D absorption rates among people who have undergone bariatric or gastric bypass procedures.

As for older people, they are at risk because they are more likely to spend time indoors, but also because the process of synthesizing vitamin D from food or sunlight becomes less efficient with age.

Even if you don't fall into these few groups of people who are at greater risk of deficiency, you may also need supplemental intake. Talk to your doctor to get tested.

How to properly take vitamin D - vitamin D deficiency

Are you concerned that your body's vitamin D levels are too low?

Common symptoms of deficiency include feeling tired and sore, although there are often no symptoms at all.

The best way to find out for sure is by asking your doctor, who can do blood tests to assess your body's levels of the vitamin.

Vitamin D does not work alone

It's important to keep in mind that nutrients don't usually work in isolation. Many of them depend on each other, and increased intake of one nutrient may increase your need for another.

Some researchers argue that fat-soluble vitamins work together and that it's crucial to optimize your intake of vitamins A and K while supplementing with vitamin D3. This is especially important for vitamin K2, another fat-soluble vitamin that most people don't get enough of.

Magnesium - another important mineral that is often lacking in the modern diet - can also be important for the function of vitamin D. It is possible to be prescribed a combination of vitamins and supplements to find the ideal balance of all these trace minerals in your body, and to support the function of each supplement.