Vit D how much is enough?

silverharp

A very general question about Vitamin D taking into account the Irish situation. What I know about Vit could be written on a matchbox, but how much do you need based on the various sources. The bits of info stuck in my head is that from the Sun you are trying to get UVB rays and you need the Sun to be above 50 degrees so basically rules out several months of the yearhere. Also if you are office bound it means relying on getting 20ish minutes or so for 2 days a week if I am lucky.

Otherwise diet? supplements D3 or the like? do Irish people tend to be deficient?

Dave 101

silverharp wrote: »

A very general question about Vitamin D taking into account the Irish situation. What I know about Vit could be written on a matchbox, but how much do you need based on the various sources. The bits of info stuck in my head is that from the Sun you are trying to get UVB rays and you need the Sun to be above 50 degrees so basically rules out several months of the yearhere. Also if you are office bound it means relying on getting 20ish minutes or so for 2 days a week if I am lucky.

Otherwise diet? supplements D3 or the like? do Irish people tend to be deficient?

i supplement with 5000iu per day, large enough dose but iam stuck in office all day

LuckyLloyd

Irish people tend to be deficient, yes. Definitely one to supplement.

silverharp

Dave 101 wrote: »

i supplement with 5000iu per day, large enough dose but iam stuck in office all day

did you notice any difference or was it just a defense measure for bone heath and the like?

I had started on a 1000iu last week but think Ill up it to 3000iu in addition to trying to get small amounts of regular sun when possible.


I watched this youtube video by a doctor who works in this area and it is very interesting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiGBVDcbFVk

Blacktie.

I take 2,500 IU per day. I try to take it with breakfast or lunch whichever meal has some fat in it as it's a fat soluble vitamin.

fungie

Blacktie. wrote: »

I take 2,500 IU per day. I try to take it with breakfast or lunch whichever meal has some fat in it as it's a fat soluble vitamin.

Not really necessary.

You should really try get yourself up to a certain level of vit D in your blood rather than focus on IU numbers. I was taking 10000IU to get to a certian level, now Ive to just maintain that number.

silverharp

fungie wrote: »

Not really necessary.

You should really try get yourself up to a certain level of vit D in your blood rather than focus on IU numbers. I was taking 10000IU to get to a certian level, now Ive to just maintain that number.

how do you test? any home kits or through GP/Lab?

Dingle_berry

silverharp wrote: »

how do you test? any home kits or through GP/Lab?

The best way to test Vit D is by blood in the Maters lab. They do it by mass spec which is more accurate and can detect different forms.

A warning: vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, your body can't excrete it easily. It's rare but supplementation can lead to overdose. And labs other than the Mater can't detect other forms like D2 so if you overdose on D2 it won't be detected...

Edit: the main point of my reply was to say that a GP will order the test for you if they think it is clinically necessary

fondue

James's uses mass spectrometry for vitamin d levels now too.

Blacktie.

fungie wrote: »

Not really necessary.

You should really try get yourself up to a certain level of vit D in your blood rather than focus on IU numbers. I was taking 10000IU to get to a certian level, now Ive to just maintain that number.

It works for me. It's only 1 tablet anyway and I'm not putting the money/effort in to get my bloods done in a before and after fashion.

top madra

Just move to Oz, I spend half my day hiding from the Sun.