Do you know how important vitamin D is to your overall health? The fact is, vitamin D is essential for promoting calcium absorption in your gut and is needed for bone growth. If you have a vitamin D deficiency your bones can become misshapen and brittle, resulting in osteoporosis or osteomalacia. Recent research has shown that a deficiency in this essential vitamin can also lead to muscular weakness, hypertension, cancer and several autoimmune diseases. Vitamin D is also thought to play an important part in reducing inflammation. If you have a vitamin D deficiency or believe you may have this vitamin deficiency, it’s critical that you know about vitamin D deficiency treatment options.
Treating Vitamin D Deficiency With Sunshine
One of the interesting things about vitamin D is that it is the only vitamin that does not need to be consumed in food or via supplements. Our bodies produce vitamin D when exposed to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. People living the U.S.’s southern states can get an adequate amount of vitamin D simply by getting 10-15 minutes of sun on their faces and arms a few times a week.
If you do not live in a southern state or you prefer to not spend time in the sun or you have darker skin, you will need to treat your vitamin D deficiency one of two ways. You can either eat more foods that are rich in vitamin D or you can take a top-quality vitamin D supplement or multi-vitamin.
Treating Vitamin D Deficiency With Food
There are a number of foods that are rich in vitamin D. The number one ranking foods are fish oil and cod liver oil. Other fish that are rich in vitamin D include herring, wild channel catfish, sockeye salmon, canned steelhead trout, halibut, sardines, shrimp and mackerel.
SILK soymilk is also very high in vitamin D as are many cereals such as Kellogg’s All-Bran with Extra Fiber, Kellogg’s Fruit Harvest, Cheerios and Quaker Instant Oatmeal. As you might guess, milk is very high in vitamin D as is orange juice and, surprise, so are mushrooms.
Vitamin D Supplements
If you have a serious vitamin D deficiency, you can use these foods to treat it. However, you will have to eat a lot of them and do some very careful menu planning.
An easier and more convenient way to treat that deficiency is with a vitamin D supplement. If you elect to use one of these supplements, most experts believe you should take 200 to 600 IU (units) daily. Excessive amounts of vitamin D can be toxic, so adults should not take more than 2,000 IU in vitamin D supplements.
Vitamin D cholecalciferol
Many doctors believe that the best way to treat a vitamin D deficiency is with cholecalciferol, which is an oral form of vitamin D. It is the compound your skin naturally makes when you go in the sun.
Vitamin D cholecalciferol is usually sold as Vitamin D3 and is available from companies such as Walgreens (High Potency Vitamin D3), and the Women’s Health Institute of Texas. It also available online as Biotech Vitamin D3, NSI Vitamin D3 and Solgar Vitamin D3 1000.
Take A Multi-Vitamin
Another alternative for treating a vitamin D deficiency is to take a good quality multi-vitamin daily. If you elect to do this, make sure the multi-vitamin has at least 200 to IUs of vitamin D.
Treating A Severe Vitamin D Deficiency
If your doctor administers a blood test and determines that you have a severe vitamin D deficiency, he or she will most likely recommend sunlight, artificial light, oral vitamin D – or a combination of all three. If you are reluctant to go in the sun, there are several artificial light sources available, including D-Lite, Renew and the Sun Splash UV Tanning System. The D-Lite system is unique in that it produces only UVB rays so you get the benefits of vitamin D without the tanning.
There are a lot of vitamin D deficiency treatment options. Sunlight, artificial sunlight, a good vitamin D supplement or a top-quality multi-vitamin can treat the problem. Vitamin D deficiency treatment is particularly important if you are a woman and are menopausal …
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