The only way to know if you have adequate levels of Vitamin D in your body is to get a blood test for 25(OH)D – Twenty-Five Hydroxy D. You can get this done at a doctor’s office, or, you can contact the folks at www.grassrootshealth.net, and they will send you a test kit.
We will get back to the testing, but first, jsust a brief word about the importance of an adequate Vitamin D level.
For ladies, one the BIGGEST risk factors for getting breast cancer is a low 25(OH)-D level. These are the publidshed estimations:
If a lady’s D level is 45 ng/ml, her breast cancer risk reduction is about 50%.
If her D level is 55 ng/ml it’s about 55%.
If her D level is 60ng/ml to 100 ng/ml, her breast cancer risk reduction is about 75%!!!
Now, gentlemen, if your D level is low, you have doubled your risk for prostate cancer.
For all us humans, if our D level is low, we increase for a total of 17 different cancers!
A recent Tennessee VA study demonstrated a high / adequate D level reduced the risk of admission to a hospital. And, if you were admitted, you didn’t stay as long, and you didn’t need as many lab tests.
The sun helps our body begin to make Vitamin D from the cholesterol molecule. But! here’s how much skin you must expose to “get enough”. Here are the rules:
If yesterday you got 30 minutes of sun between the hours of 10 am to 3 pm in your bathing trunks, your 2 piece bathin suit, or your birthday suit, then you don’t need to take Vitamin D today.
How much D? Where do I start?
If you haven’t taken Vitamin D regularly, or if you don’t have a golden tan, then you should start at 5000 IU of Vitamin D daily. Take it for three months before you do a blood test to determine if you blood level is greater than 60 but less than 100 ng/ml.
If your level is not up to this range, then add another 5000 IU for a daily total of 10.000 IU of Vfitamin D. Re-check your level in 2 months and adjust acccordingly.
A European study looked at the health benefits of giving 1000 IU of Vitamin D in oil beginning as newborns. Those infants were heallthier and got less sick less often than those who did not get Vitamin D regularly.
Vitamin D is cheap prevention and crucial to good health!
