Is Vitamin D a Genuine Lifesaver? By Simeon Margolis, M.D., Ph.D. - Posted Mon, Aug 18, 2008, 5:48 pm PDT

1. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Fri, Aug 22, 2008, 9:34 am PDT

I asked my doctor about vitamins and how much I should take. I had a B-12 deficiency, and had to be put on shots. He says all vitamins are important, but you should be able to get vitamins with adequate nutrition than from taking a pill. He did say that taking a 1 a day is good. I agree with the article that you have to have a doctor decide how much you need after testing.

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2. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Mon, Aug 25, 2008, 12:01 pm PDT

According to studies at University of Toronto conducted by Dr. Reinhold Vieth, a person can safely take 20,000 IU, although that level is not recommended. As long as your serum level does not exceed 150 ng/mL you are safe. Taking only 1200 IU would increase your serum level to around 20-25 ng/mL instead of the optimal value of 50 ng/mL. So your recommendation to limit D3 to 1200 IU daily does a disservice to readers who wish to attain optimal health through appropriate use of D3 and related life-extension strategies. I would hope any reader of this would investigate Dr. Vieth's research to validate my statement. Other than that, this is an excellent wake up call on the importance for everyone to get tested on 25(OH)D. (I got mine tested already.)

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3. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Wed, Jan 14, 2009, 12:49 pm PST

One thing this Blog doesn't comment about is the assistance Vitamin D has to the endocrine system... especially as it relates to diabetes and insulin resistance issues. Mine and my wife's were in the mid 20's and our doctor recommended that it should be higher. Our doctor suggested that a higher Vitamin D level will decrease the insulin resistance issues and regular our blood sugars better.

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4. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Tue, Jun 16, 2009, 10:59 am PDT

Vitamin D deficiency has recently been linked to asthma, as well. One major factor is that we do not get outside enough. We evolved outside in nature, not on the couch or in front of a computer. Go outside, get some sunshine and some exercise - it provides an inordinate number health benefits.

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