The answer to that depends on a few key factors, but mainly your age and current level vitamin D sufficiency. Fifty percent of Americans are vitamin D deficient, so there’s a good chance you’ll need to boost your intake. Recognizing the importance of adequate vitamin D intake, the United States Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently increased its Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) to: Infants -- 400 IU 1 to 69 years -- 600 IU Over70 years -- 800 IU As we age, our bodies absorb vitamin D less efficiently, so people over 70 years require more. In addition to age-related criteria, your optimum vitamin D intake may depend on your current level of vitamin D in your body. A simple blood test can determine your level of sufficiency: Greater than 32 ng/ml Sufficient/normal 20 to 31 Insufficient 10 to 19 Deficient Under 10 Severely deficient If your levels are just a bit low or hovering at normal, your physician may suggest an over-the-counter vitamin D3 supplement to boost it up.
However, if you are deficient or severely deficient, you may require a prescription strength version of vitamin D2, which would provide a much larger amount. Other considerations are your overall health and ability to get sufficient and effective sun exposure, allowing your body to make vitamin D without supplementation. You should discuss your personal needs with your physician.Tap one of the links below to download the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database PROFESSIONAL VERSIONiOS version for iPhone , iPad, or iPod TouchAndroid version You may also visit the regular site. website may not work on some mobile devices. Diet for type 1 diabetes Diet for type 2 diabetes Low carb high fat diet Meal replacement diet plans Very low calorie diet What can I drink? Alcohol and blood sugar Soft drinks and diabetes Diet soft drinks and diabetes Carbohydrate counting Chocolate and diabetes Food for a healthy diet Which slimming club is best?
Eggs, beans & pulses Eating out with diabetes Low carb lunch ideas Low carb dinner ideas Low carb flour alternatives Low carb snacks Low sugar sweets Simple carbs vs complex carbs Nutritive and non-nutritive sweeteners Role of sugar in our diet Which artificial sweetener should I choose? Vitamin D can be found in foods such as nuts, oily fish, eggs, powdered milk and some fortified cereals Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays a number of important roles in the body, including maintaining the health of your bones, teeth and joints, and assisting immune system function. This underrated vitamin is found in certain foods but is also produced by the body in response to exposure to the sun. When the sun’s ultraviolet-B (UVB) rays are exposed to bare skin, the body converts a cholesterol derivative into Vitamin D. In fact, it’s now known that every cell and tissue within the body has a Vitamin D protein receptor.
However, most of us in the UK and other Western countries are deficient in Vitamin D, including many patients with Type 2 diabetes, due to limited sunlight exposure caused by a number of factors, including more time spent at home, in the office or the car, shorter days in winter, sunscreen use in summer and fears of skin cancer. The signs of Vitamin D deficiency can range from bone pain and muscle weakness to depression and weakened immune system, while longer-term deficiency can result in obesity, high blood pressure, psoriasis, osteoporosis, chronic fatigue, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes. Exposing your skin to the sun for 15-20 minutes each day can help increase your body’s own production of vitamin D and thus reduce your risk of diabetes and other serious medical conditions. Alternatively, you can get your daily intake of vitamin D through dietary supplements and foods such as nuts, oily fish, eggs, powdered milk and some fortified cereals. Vitamin D is believed to help improve the body’s sensitivity to insulin – the hormone responsible for regulating blood sugar levels – and thus reduce the risk of insulin resistance, which is often a precursor to type 2 diabetes.
Some scientists also believe this vitamin may help regulate the production of insulin in the pancreas. Vitamin D levels should ideally be between 20-56 ng/ml (50-140 nmol/l)*, with anything below 20 ng/ml considered deficient. However, it is now known that raising the amount of vitamin D in your body to around 60-80 ng/ml can help keep blood glucose levels under control, which is vital for people with diabetes.the correct level of vitamin D varies from person to person. The only way to be sure that your vitamin D levels are where they should be is to request a 25-hydroxyvitamin D, or 25(OH)D, blood test from your GP. Ideally your blood level of 25 OH D should be 60ng/ml. As well as assisting glycemic control, increasing your levels of vitamin D can also: Now I need Vitamin D and Metformin to get pregnant?! Vitamin supplements with Type 1 Take Vitamin D - make sure your children take it There are two forms of this vitamin; vitamin D2 and vitamin D3.
Vitamin D2 is a synthetic version called ergocalciferol, which has a shorter shelf life, while vitamin D3 (also known as cholecalciferol) is the same as the vitamin D that is produced by the body following exposure to UVB rays. Studies have shown that vitamin D3 appears to be more than three times as effective as vitamin D2, but most products that include the words “good source of vitamin D” or “fortified with vitamin D” on their labels contain the hugely inferior vitamin D2. So when shopping for vitamin D-rich foods or supplements, make sure you check which ‘type’ of vitamin D each product contains. Single vitamin D supplements or vitamin drops containing vitamin D (for use by young children) are available at most UK pharmacies, supermarkets and health food retailers like Holland and Barrett. Most multivitamins provide a daily dosage of 400 International Units (IU), although some manufacturers have begun to offer products with 1,000, 2,000 and even 5,000 IU per day - considerably more than the UK recommendations of 400 units.