I read an article today about vitamin D3 and RA (rheumatoid arthritis). RA is an autoimmune disease. There are over one hundred diseases classified as autoimmune. This means that your body’s immune system produces antibodies to fight its own cells. Antibodies are supposed to fight foreign cells entering our bodies.
70% of people in the US are deficient in vitamin D3 (VD3). The main reason is that they live too far north. VD3 is the sunshine vitamin. If you are not getting enough sunshine daily, your body must rely on foods and supplements to get VD3. Mushrooms, oily fish and egg yolks contain VD3.
We have been conditioned to avoid the sun – use sunblock when we are outside. This is to reduce the risk of skin cancer. It is a double-edged sword – to little sunshine and you are VD3 deficient; and, too much exposure to the sun increases the risk of skin cancer. If you are very pale (almost white), then wearing a thong and laying in the sun might garner you about a thousand IUs of VD3/minute. If your skin has a darker hue, then you get considerably less per minute.
The various drugs we take impacts the absorbability of VD3. What you think you were getting is greatly reduced. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D blood test can tell you how much VD3 is in your blood. The old standard stated that we needed 30 ng/ml. Current studies suggest that 50 ng/ml should be the absolute minimum. 80 ng/ml is required if you are fighting a disease, such as cancer.
VD3 is needed to fight diseases/ailments – depression, pain, neuropathy, migraines, inflammation, and many more. Additionally, it is needed to assist getting calcium into your bloodstream to make your bones stronger.
I take 10,000 IUs/daily. It is a cheap supplement. In the winter months, I increase it to 15,000 IUs/daily on a periodic basis. My last vitamin D3 test result exceeded 50 ng/ml. If you haven’t had a VD3 blood test, I suggest you talk to your physician about getting one. If you are on prescription medicines, talk to your doctor about the impact of that/those drug(s) on the absorption of VD3.