Many people, who take food supplements, want to get this question answered: how much vitamin D is good for me and how much is too much? Vitamin D is one of the essential vitamins and so called pro-hormones for our health. It affects our bones and teeth formation, helps to keep our hearts healthy, strengthens immune system and even helps to prevent and combat cancer. That is why vitamin D deficiency is dangerous and doctors recommend people to take additional doses of vitamin D in food supplements.
So, to answer the above stated question, let us take a look at some facts on vitamin D and try to figure out, what quantities of it are safe for our health.
- The first fact is that vitamin D intake cannot be overdosed through its natural sources. I.e., you cannot get too much of it through your diet or through exposing your skin to UV-B sun rays.
- The next vitamin D fact is that recently USA Institute of Medicine has significantly increased the doses of vitamin D, safe for adults and children. The former outdated safe doses were set on 200 IUs per day for adults and got raised to 600 IUs a day.
- Some doctors even advice people to take no less than 2000 IUs of vitamin D a day during the so called “vitamin D winter”.
- The fact is that people in most countries, located higher than 51 degree of latitude experience the season, called “vitamin D winter.” This is the time of the year, when the lack of UV-B sun rays partially or completely stops the synthesis of vitamin D in our skin. That is the very time, when people need to start the intake of prophylactic doses of vitamin D.
- What is the scientific data on how much vitamin D is good for you and what is too much of it? Scientists say that anything above 4 000 IUs a day may be too much and can be harmful for your health
- Vitamin D overdosing may evoke such problems, as depression, digestion problems, vomiting, appetite loss, leading to weight loss, heart and kidney problems. All the health problems, evoked by vitamin D overdosing are treatable.
Keeping in mind all the above mentioned facts on vitamin D, you should take your vitamin D supplements under direct supervision of your doctor. Let the doctor run the tests and tell you, how much vitamin D is good for you.
