Alternative Health Blog

For 16 years as a health columnist for two major newspapers I talked to hundreds of scientists about their research on dietary supplements. I make it a point to always ask the same question during our conversation: Do you take this stuff yourself?

In a story last summer about vitamin D deficiency in the Los Angeles Times, reporter Thomas H. Maugh II notes that “most researchers in the field now take 1,500 IUs [international units] per day” or nearly four time the federally recommended daily amount of vitamin D.

That is telling. And the vitamin D buzz hasn’t slowed in the last year. 

Researchers are gripping the central role of vitamin D before the rest of us—in their animal labs and from clinical trials and meta-analsyes with humans. They realize ‘D’ stands for “Defend” your body from heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other conditions.

Some examples: A study published in late 2008 shows a link between low body levels of vitamin D and increased risk for diabetes. Another 2008 study, published in the Annals for Internal Medicine by Harvard School of Public Health researcher Dr. Edward Giovannucci, evaluated more than 18,000 men. The analysis indicated men with vitamin D deficiency are twice as likely to suffer a heart attack as males with normal amounts of D.

Vitamin D researchers say the research isn’t conclusive enough to make a direct cause-and-effect between the vitamin and disease. Yet they do say that keeping an adequate amount in the bloodstream doesn’t seem unhealthy—and might turn out to be a health ace in the hole. Scientists speculate that low vitamin D levels might lead to calcium buildup in plaque on artery walls or perhaps adversely affect blood pressure or heart muscle contractions.

You probably know that 10 to 20 minutes of daily sunshine on the face and forearms can suffice for vitamin D intake as the body manufactures it through the sun exposure. In fact, 20 minutes of lunchtime exposure for a white adult on a sunny day can provide up to a natural 20,000 IU boost. Dark-skinned individuals have to stay in the sun longer for the same IU outcome. For the record, researchers say it is potentially toxic to take any more than 4,000 IU per day on a supplement basis.

So it might be wise to develop a plan that allows you some sun time without sun block, but not so much you burn or increase risk of skin aging or cancer. A morning walk with the dog or a post-lunch brisk jaunt without sunscreen can be adequate. You can also naturally increase vitamin D by eating oily or cold-water fish (salmon, anchovies, sardines, herring) and drinking milk (there are some studies pointing to milk from grass-fed cows being more nutritious and potentially higher in vitamin D content). Fill out your vitamin D intake with a supplement, keeping in mind the researchers in the know are not hesitant to reach 1,200 IU per day.

Bob Condor blogs for Alternative Health Journal every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.