Other Considerations
If you have a concern about getting enough vitamin D, discuss it with your doctor. Here are a few considerations when you are thinking about addressing your vitamin D requirements:
- Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is the preferred form of vitamin D for therapeutic and nutritional uses, as it generates a 70 percent higher serum vitamin D level compared to the same amount of vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) in humans.
- Vitamin D toxicity can cause serious health problems, so it is important to discuss your vitamin D status and intake with your doctor.
- Although vitamin D toxicity from sun exposure has never been reported, excessive sun exposure causes skin cancer, so you should limit your sun exposure and wear protective clothing and sunscreen to avoid overexposure.
| Food Sources of Vitamin D
- Fish; fatty, cold-ocean
100-500 IU/serving - Milk
400 IU/quart - Orange Juice
400 IU/quart - Bread
In process of being determined -
Solar UVB
0 IU (winter in north) to 10,000 IU per day - Artificial UVB
10-minute tanning session yields 2,000-4,000 IU - Supplements
200-1,000 IU per pill Table adapted from Grant WB & Holick MF. Benefits and requirements of vitamin D for optimal health: a review. Altern Med Rev, 2005;10(2):94-111. |
Kelly Kwiatkowski has worked as a communications professional and project manager in the academic and corporate health care research sectors for the past seven years. She currently is a scientific writer for a whole-foods supplement company in Palmyra, Wis.
