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Vitamin D – essential to health?

Vitamin D

My experience:
I have taken 5000IU of vitamin D3 daily for the past year and a half. This is significantly above normal dietary recommendations, but has been suggested to be safe in one study cited below.  I do not recommend taking such doses without a doctor’s supervision and checking blood levels.

As is the case with many vitamins, there are strong correlations between deficiency and poor health.  However, association does not prove causation.  With vitamin D supplementation, many studies suggest benefits for bone strength in the elderly, and better glucose tolerance.  However, a few studies suggest that supplementing with vitamin D also allows more calcium to get into atherosclerotic (“hardening of the arteries”) arteries, contributing to heart attacks and/or stroke.

My review of what the literature says:

Another exhaustive review:  Vitamin D3. Keeping Up with the Research. By Kimberly Pryor

Dr John Ellis MD

Board-certified anesthesiologist, with expertise in cardiovascular anesthesia and the implications of obesity and sleep apnea in anesthesia. See vascularanesthesia.com for professional information. Dr. Ellis has used the strategies in here to: (1) lose 120 lbs over 18 months, (2) stop all antihypertensive medicines, and (3) no longer need CPAP treatment for sleep apnea.

One Comment:

  1. COLETTE
    January 17, 2011 at 09:04

    Thanks for posting this–its a much ignored topic and particularly critical for African Americans who possess a natural defense against the minimal aggregate accumulation of Vit.D levels. I’m convinced that Vit. D deficiency is the genesis of most illnesses and believe its more than coincidential that its the only vitamin that our bodies manufacture naturally. Thanks for all the wonderful nutritional info. What about an article on organic vs. conventional? :):)!

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