My friends and family get annoyed with me. They even tease me. They are sick of hearing me say "vitamin D, vitamin D, vitamin D".
My kids say,
Do you know that you do not get vitamin D from your diet?
Vitamin D comes from your skin. Your skin makes vitamin D when it is exposed to the sun. Unfortunately for all of us living in the Northern countries, the sun shifts and is now shinning overhead in the South during our fall and winter months. This means that we are not being exposed to the sun in the same way as we are in the summer months and this is why we all get colds and flu during the cold months.
Immunity
Deficiency in vitamin D has been linked to many diseases, including many cancers, multiple sclerosis, heart diseases, influenza, asthma, bone disease and more.
Vitamin D is essential in maintaining calcium and keeping your bones strong, which we all know. But what many do not know is that vitamin D is also important for cell communication throughout your body, giving your cells the nutrient they need to communicate with each other. Research is showing that vitamin D is also important for bone health, cardiovascular health, cancer protection, the nervous system, mental health and most importantly -IMMUNITY!
Vitamin D Levels
The optimal vitamin D level is 50-70 ng/ml, and when treating cancer or heart disease, as high as 70-100 ng/ml. You should have your vitamin D level tested. The correct test your doctor needs to order is 25(OH)D, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which is the better marker of overall D status.
Supplement with Vitamin D3
Because the average person has a low vitamin D level, and because it is now fall/winter for many of us, AND because we are in the cold and flu season... it is extremely important to supplement with vitamin D.
When supplementing with vitamin D, you need to be sure to supplement with natural vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Do NOT use the synthetic and highly inferior vitamin D2. Doctors tend to give you this in a prescription most of the time unless you ask specifically for D3 because most doctors are not interested in these natural ways of living and are clueless about the benefits of D3.
Vitamin D3 Doses
As much as I LOVE Dr. Mercola, I do not necessarily agree with the doses in these two charts. My doctor, Dr. Eisenstein, recommends differently. If you are sick, about to get sick, OR around someone who is sick, he recommends you take vitamin D3 in this formula:
Dr. Eisenstein has a vitamin D3 combined with probiotics. Each capsule has 50,000 IU vitamin D3. This makes our high doses much easier. My teens, hubby and I only need to take 2-4 pills each day we are sick. For my little one's I just open up the capsule and put it in their food or milk. Most vitamin stores around here only sell the vitamin D3 in 5000 gel caps. That's tough to get the higher dose, you'd be swallowing a billion pills each day!
On a normal day in the fall and winter, we are only taking one pill (50,000 IU) of vitamin D3 about every other day. Other times during the year we take 5000 IU per day or every other day. During the summer months I tend to slack off on the vitamin D because we are outside a LOT playing in the water so I know we are all getting adequate amounts of vitamin D.
If you get a chance, watch Dr. Eisenstein's videos on his YouTube Channel - he is such an informative person - I LOVE him!
I beg you all to try vitamin D3 when you begin to feel sick and take it for a week. You will not be sorry! You will see that the duration of your cold or flu will be much shorter - or go away almost instantly!
About two weeks ago, one of my daycare boys came to my house with a fever. The next day my Baby Jack started running a high temperature around 6pm. He got up to 100.5F. I instantly gave him a high dose of vitamin D3 and his [unmedicated] fever was gone at 2am.(We do not medicate for fevers or other sicknesses, nor do we vaccinate.)
This week and last week both of my daycare kids have come over every single day blowing snot and coughing. I have nagged and nagged my older kids and hubby to pump up on that D - and none of us has gotten sick. There was a day when Mike and I felt like we were coming down with it. We felt the draining in the back of our throats... but it never hit.
You all need to give this a try!
You won't be sorry!
Also, be sure to read up on more information about natural alternatives to cold and flu and stay healthy this season!
Visit Dr. Mercola, Dr. Eisenstein, grassrootshealth.net, vitamindcouncil.org or http://www.vitamindday.net/ for more information on supplementing with vitamin D3.
My kids say,
"Mom, vitamin D is your answer to everything!" -Well, that's true. Vitamin D IS the answer to everything... especially during cold and flu season!
Vitamin D
Vitamin D comes from your skin. Your skin makes vitamin D when it is exposed to the sun. Unfortunately for all of us living in the Northern countries, the sun shifts and is now shinning overhead in the South during our fall and winter months. This means that we are not being exposed to the sun in the same way as we are in the summer months and this is why we all get colds and flu during the cold months.
Immunity
Deficiency in vitamin D has been linked to many diseases, including many cancers, multiple sclerosis, heart diseases, influenza, asthma, bone disease and more.
Vitamin D is essential in maintaining calcium and keeping your bones strong, which we all know. But what many do not know is that vitamin D is also important for cell communication throughout your body, giving your cells the nutrient they need to communicate with each other. Research is showing that vitamin D is also important for bone health, cardiovascular health, cancer protection, the nervous system, mental health and most importantly -IMMUNITY!
Vitamin D Levels
The optimal vitamin D level is 50-70 ng/ml, and when treating cancer or heart disease, as high as 70-100 ng/ml. You should have your vitamin D level tested. The correct test your doctor needs to order is 25(OH)D, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which is the better marker of overall D status.
Supplement with Vitamin D3
Because the average person has a low vitamin D level, and because it is now fall/winter for many of us, AND because we are in the cold and flu season... it is extremely important to supplement with vitamin D.
When supplementing with vitamin D, you need to be sure to supplement with natural vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Do NOT use the synthetic and highly inferior vitamin D2. Doctors tend to give you this in a prescription most of the time unless you ask specifically for D3 because most doctors are not interested in these natural ways of living and are clueless about the benefits of D3.
Vitamin D3 Doses
I have posted this chart (below) which is from Dr. Mercola. The first chart is doses for the typical healthy person and the second chart is the doses you should take if you are sick or about to get sick... OR around someone who is sick.
As much as I LOVE Dr. Mercola, I do not necessarily agree with the doses in these two charts. My doctor, Dr. Eisenstein, recommends differently. If you are sick, about to get sick, OR around someone who is sick, he recommends you take vitamin D3 in this formula:
1000 IU times your body weight (regardless of your age) for 7-10 Days during sickness.
- My Baby Jack is 4 months old. He weighs 14 lbs. 1000 IU times 14 lbs = 14,000 IU of vitamin D3. I give this to him for 7-10 days when my daycare kids come to my house blowing snot all over the place or when the daycare kids receive a flu shot (the flu shot is a live virus that sheds for over 20 days, meaning my family can get the flu).
- My Gracie is 3 years old and 34 lbs. 1000 IU times 34 lbs. = 34,000 IU of vitamin D3.
- My teens are around 100 lbs. They take 100,000 IU when they are sick.
- Mike is 220 lbs. He will take 200,00 IU or 250,000 IU when he is sick or around sick kids (his job is with the school dist.)
Dr. Eisenstein has a vitamin D3 combined with probiotics. Each capsule has 50,000 IU vitamin D3. This makes our high doses much easier. My teens, hubby and I only need to take 2-4 pills each day we are sick. For my little one's I just open up the capsule and put it in their food or milk. Most vitamin stores around here only sell the vitamin D3 in 5000 gel caps. That's tough to get the higher dose, you'd be swallowing a billion pills each day!
On a normal day in the fall and winter, we are only taking one pill (50,000 IU) of vitamin D3 about every other day. Other times during the year we take 5000 IU per day or every other day. During the summer months I tend to slack off on the vitamin D because we are outside a LOT playing in the water so I know we are all getting adequate amounts of vitamin D.
If you get a chance, watch Dr. Eisenstein's videos on his YouTube Channel - he is such an informative person - I LOVE him!
I beg you all to try vitamin D3 when you begin to feel sick and take it for a week. You will not be sorry! You will see that the duration of your cold or flu will be much shorter - or go away almost instantly!
About two weeks ago, one of my daycare boys came to my house with a fever. The next day my Baby Jack started running a high temperature around 6pm. He got up to 100.5F. I instantly gave him a high dose of vitamin D3 and his [unmedicated] fever was gone at 2am.(We do not medicate for fevers or other sicknesses, nor do we vaccinate.)
This week and last week both of my daycare kids have come over every single day blowing snot and coughing. I have nagged and nagged my older kids and hubby to pump up on that D - and none of us has gotten sick. There was a day when Mike and I felt like we were coming down with it. We felt the draining in the back of our throats... but it never hit.
You all need to give this a try!
You won't be sorry!
Also, be sure to read up on more information about natural alternatives to cold and flu and stay healthy this season!
Visit Dr. Mercola, Dr. Eisenstein, grassrootshealth.net, vitamindcouncil.org or http://www.vitamindday.net/ for more information on supplementing with vitamin D3.
I live and FL and my whole family is low on Vitamin D...why? Because we are fair skinned and skin cancer runs through our family - so everyone stays inside more. Needless to say I need to get a supliment I will try D3 this time! THANKS!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this important reminder to take care of our health and get proper intake of Vitamin D. So important for the winter months!
ReplyDeleteYOU KNOW WHAT. THANK YOU. YOU ALWAYS HEAR VITAMIN B THIS AND THAT AND THEY FORGET ABOUT THE OTHERS! THIS NEEDS TO BE A VITAL PART OF STAYING HEALTHY. I HAVE NEVER TRIED IT FOR ILLNESS...BUT I WILL NEXT TIME!
ReplyDeleteI never see the sun, so I am almost positive I have some sort of deficiency.
ReplyDeleteI was just wondering if Vitamin D would be a good substitute for tanning beds for my skin disease. I might have to try this!
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking this. I take Vitamin D because I was deficient in my last pregnancy!
ReplyDeleteOk, I had NO idea that we don't get Vitamin D in through our food. lol I always think of Vitamin D milk! Of course we don't drink that but still. And I agree, it's terrible up here in MN from about Nov-Apr I definitely need to add it to my daily intake, that or move to FL! =)
ReplyDeletei also read dr mercola, you should also check out natural news and i totally agree with the vit d! it solves a bunch of problems! Kuddos for spreading the word!
ReplyDeleteOh YES, I am a big fan of Natural News and even get their news letters! I should link their info in this post... thanks for the suggestion :)
DeleteVit d is truly essential to the diet, unfortunately everyone i s scared of getting it naturally from the sun because of the cancer scares, but if you cannot go out to the sun supplementing is the best!
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time remembering to take vitamins! Thanks for the great info :)
ReplyDelete