MONDAY, Feb. 11, 2013 HealthDay News — Many vitamin D supplements may not contain what their label says they do, a new study warns.

Some pills may pack a lot more vitamin D than the label states, and others may provide markedly less, according to the findings, published in a research letter Feb. 11 in JAMA Internal Medicine.  The researchers are more concerned by pills delivering too little of the vitamin than pills providing too much.

“It can be hard to overdose on vitamin D,” said study author Dr. Erin LeBlanc, an endocrinologist and researcher with the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore.  However, the findings “may be a concern for those who have been told by their doctor to take vitamin D if their chosen supplement does not have the amount listed.  “Vitamin D is known as the sunshine vitamin because it is produced in response to exposure to natural sunlight.  This nutrient is also added to milk and other foods, and is available in small amounts in fatty fish, beef liver, cheese, and egg yolks.  Still, it can be challenging to get as much D as needed through diet, so supplements are often recommended. Some researchers have linked vitamin D deficiency to the bone disease osteoporosis, heart disease and some types of cancer.  To read the rest of the article:

via Vitamin D Supplements: Is What You See What You Get? – Diet and Nutrition Center – EverydayHealth.com.

Make Sure you are getting enough!  Try our Liquid D3 for great absorption!

Vitamin D is synthesized in the body from sun light. But, due to the winter season, weather conditions, and sunscreen blockers, the body’s ability to produce optimal vitamin D levels may be inhibited.  In fact, it has been proposed that annual fluctuations in vitamin D levels explain the seasonality of influenza.  All of these factors point to the value of taking a daily vitamin D supplement to ensure optimal vitamin D intake.

Vitamin D has long provided significant support for healthy bone density.  However, scientists have also validated the critical role that vitamin D plays in regulating healthy cell division and differentiation, and its profound effects on human immunity.  These findings link a deficiency of vitamin D to a host of common age-related problems.  As a result of startling evidence of a widespread vitamin D deficiency, prominent nutritional scientists are calling on Americans to increase their vitamin D intake to 2000 IUs per day and higher. Currently, most experts in the field believe that intakes of between 1000 and 5000 IUs for adults will lead to a more healthy level of serum 25(OH)D, at approximately 75 nmol/L.

 

Vitamin D3 (Vitamin D’s most active form) is essential.  Research has shown maintaining a serum vitamin D level of 50 ng/mL provides the following disease prevention: all cancers, ovarian cancer, non-hodgkins lymphoma, fractures, heart attack, endometrial cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and kidney cancer. (See our Vitamin D Prevention Chart).

With these great benefits, make sure you are getting enough during the winter months and all year round:

1. Increase Vitamin D intake – eat more vitamin D rich foods like canned salmon, tuna, D-enriched juices, or nonfat milk
2. Take a Supplement:  take 2000 IUs a day with a meal to help absorption.  Try  some of our Vitamin D3 today – available in liquid drops or capsules.
3. Get tested:  Ask your practitioner to test your vitamin D3 blood level – its the only way to truly know how you’re doing.  If it’s low you may want to increase your supplementation to 5000 IUs per day and re-check in 3 months.