Since my last blog post, Vitamin D Supplementation-Part 1, our entire family got our Vitamin D levels checked and we have since begun supplementation. We went through our regular family doctor and she wrote an order for the lab work, but you can order your own vitamin D test kit at any of these links: Dr. Mercola, The Vitamin D Council, Amazon, and The Life Extension Foundation.
Reference ranges vary by lab, but on the average, "normal" appears to be anything between 20 and 100 ng/ml. However according to my favorite neurologist, Dr. David Perlumutter, 79-80 ng/ml should be the goal, especially if you have any health issues. I will be thrilled if we can get everyone in our family anywhere close to 70 ng/ml during the winter!!
LEVELS
So here is where we started:
Scott-34.2 (sporadic supplementation at time of testing)
Danna-48.2 (sporadic supplementation with 5000IU at time of testing)
Gracie-43.8 (supplemented with 5,000IU daily 60 days prior to testing)
Gemma-27.8 (no supplementation at time of testing)
Luke-35.6 (sporadic supplementation with 1000IU at time of testing)
Marshal-50.9 (regular supplementation with 1000IU at time of testing)
Nyla-42.5 (regular supplementation with 1000IU at time of testing)
DOSAGES
After reviewing several different sources, for the children, I've decided to follow the The Vitamin D Council's dosage recommendations based on body weight. For Scott and I, I'm going with Dr. Perlmutter's recommendation to aggressively raise levels.
Scott-10,000IU daily
Danna-10,000IU daily
Gracie (13yrs, 118lbs)-5000IU daily
Gemma (11yrs, 90lbs)-4000IU daily
Luke (9yrs, 62lbs)- 3000IU daily
Marshall (almost 6yrs, 41.5lbs)- 2000IU daily
Nyla (3.5yrs, 38lbs)-2000IU daily
In about 2 months we'll test again and adjust our dosages accordingly. Vitamin D3 is a fat-soluble vitamin which builds up in fatty tissue over time, so once desired levels are reached, we will reduce our intake to a maintenance dose. The trick will be determining each person's maintenance dose, but my plan is to drop everyone down to half of their loading dose, then test again to see if levels are maintained.
BRANDS/FORMS
There are countless brands and forms of vitamin D3 on the market. I can't recommend one over another but I will tell you that Dr. Perlmutter prefers Vitamin D3 encapsulated in MCT oil (medium-chain triglyceride) and says to avoid soy oil. My youngest 3 can't/won't swallow pills yet, so we have a variety! As I continue to research this, I may change brands, but here is what I've settled on for now:
Scott, Danna and Gracie-5000IU capsules from Seeking Health
Gemma-2000IU drops from Seeking Health
Luke, Marshall and Nyla-1000IU gummies from Nordic Naturals
Did you know no matter how long you stay out in the sun, you won't make vitamin D in the winter at Nebraska's or Ohio's latitude? Due to the physics and wavelength of UVB rays it will only penetrate the atmosphere when the sun is above an angle of about 50° from the horizon. When the sun is lower than 50°, the ozone layer reflects the UVB-rays. You can see what days and hours the sun is above 50 degrees from the horizon in your area at the US Naval Observatory Azimuth table.
Stay tuned for Part 3 when I report our levels after 60 days of supplementation!
