Healthy Nature

Vitamin D deficiency has reached epidemic proportions in the United States.

.

No joke!

According to the Archive of Internal Medicine, more than 75% of the US population does not have enough of the vitamin in their body. Research shows that between 1988 and 1994, 45% of 18,883 people studied had 30 nanograms of vitamin D per milliliter.

Just a decade later, that number fell to 23%.

It’s pretty obvious why: American lives are happening increasingly indoors. You can do almost everything from home. And when you’re not at home, you’re indoors at work. And the greatest source of vitamin D is the sun.

If you Google vitamin D and research the benefits, you’re going to hear a lot about how it promotes healthy bone growth.

But new research at the Buck Institute has found vitamin D actually influences much more than that.

What Did Researchers Learn about Vitamin D?

Clinicians now believe vitamin D is crucial to have for total healthy functioning of your body, which includes your muscles and bones. The Buck Institute research published in Cell Reports helps to explain why vitamin D deficiency has been linked to:

• Breast, colon, and prostate cancer
• Obesity
• Heart disease
• Depression

Research has already shown vitamin D plays a strong role in:

• Preventing thinning bones in the elderly
• Strengthening bones in children

A co-author of the study, Adit Ginde, said this about vitamin D:

“We’re just starting to scratch the surface of what the health effects of vitamin D are.”

But You Can Have Too Much of a Good Thing

With some natural supplements, you seem to be able to take as much as you want without any fear of negative health consequences.

Vitamin D is not such a supplement.

You do have to be careful with the quantity you take. Currently, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommends:

• 600 international units daily for people 1-70 years old
• 800 international units for everyone older than 70

If you’re an adult, the upper limit is 4,000 international units per day. Excess vitamin D can cause your body to have too much calcium. That calcifies your vascular system, which can damage your heart, blood vessels, and kidneys.

Some researchers disagree with the IOM and recommend 800 to 2,000 international units daily. In addition, it’s also hard for labs to accurately measure vitamin D levels because of a lack of standardization among different labs.

So, you have to be very careful that you stay within the currently recommended limits.

You may like to learn more about our Vitamin D3 supplement.