Optimize Your Vitamin D Levels
An Integral Study Guide
Greetings, dear reader, and welcome to the Integral Fitness guide to optimizing Vitamin D! This article, like my others, is written as a “Cliff Notes” or “SparkNotes” style study guide. It is a distillation of those elements which current research and praxis have determined to be most integral to optimizing Vitamin D levels. Enjoy!
“There is a growing epidemic of vitamin D deficiency in the United States. In a study on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels obtained from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data, it was found that vitamin D3 levels fell sharply in the interval from 2001 to 2004 compared to the interval from 1988 through 1994. While this problem is in part due to overaggressive sun avoidance practices, glyphosate’s interference with CYP proteins may play a role in disrupting vitamin D3 activation in the liver.”
Like exercising and improving gut health, Vitamin D optimization is one of the the most beneficial health strategies that one can partake in especially given the major rewards gained versus the minimal expense and effort put in to it.
When it comes to vitamin D, you don't want to be in the "average" or "normal" range, you want to be in the OPTIMAL range. The reason for this is that as Vitamin D’s myriad roles in the body have been discovered, researchers have progressively moved that range upward. At present, based on the evaluation of healthy populations that get plenty of natural sun exposure, the optimal range for general health appears to be somewhere between 50 and 70 with other experts even suggesting levels between 60 ng/mL and 90 ng/mL (150 nmol/L and 200 nmol/L).
Source: Image Copyright © 2020 Dr. Alex Vasquez
It is currently estimated that 42% of U.S. adults are deficient as defined by a serum 25(OH)D level of less than 20 ng/mL and only 23% of the population have a level of 30 ng/mL or higher.
A large meta-analysis of 32 studies suggests that having vitamin D levels below 30 ng/mL, which currently characterizes 77% of the US population, is associated with a higher risk of death from all causes!
Future, it is projected that raising the minimum year-around serum 25(OH)D level to only 40-60 ng/mL would prevent approximately 58,000 new cases of breast cancer and 49,000 new cases of colorectal cancer each year!
Optimal levels have been linked to:
Increased bone density
Healthy functioning of endocrine glands
Improved cardiovascular system
Increased lean mass
Increased muscle strength
Reduction in severity and mortality from viral infection
Improved mood
Improved memory and other cognitive abilities
Weight loss
In addition, optimal Vitamin D levels offer many benefits during pregnancy which have largely been ignored:
Lower risk of maternal preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, preterm birth, preterm labor, gingivitis, and periodontal disease and other infections in the mother
Improved fetal growth, improved dentition, and decreased risk of respiratory syncytial virus infection (RSV) in the infant
Sub-optimal levels have been linked to the vast majority of common chronic diseases including:
Overweight
Heart disease
Colorectal, breast, prostate, ovaries cancer
Autoimmunity (type 1 diabetes, MS)
Chronic pain
ARDS
Arthritis
Anxiety
Depression
Other mental disorders
Impaired immunity
Bone loss
For more on Vitamin D’s links to chronic diseases see: Vitamin D: A review of systematic reviews
Although it would be difficult to get enough Vitamin D through food (sun exposure is your best source), it is found naturally in the following foods:
Fatty fish – salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines, herring, halibut
Beef liver
Cod liver oil
Cheese
Eggs
Mushrooms (vitamin D2)
Lifestyle factors that inhibit vitamin D production:
Time spent outdoors in the right conditions (see below)
Glass windows (which block UVB)
Sunscreen use (which also blocks UVB)
Skin tone (darker skin versus lighter will require longer sun exposure)
Age (older versus younger will require longer sun exposure)
Body fat (body fat absorbs Vitamin D so having higher levels of fat is essentially diluting it’s availability to be used)
Where you live (see below)
Smoking
High fructose corn syrup consumption
Environmental factors that negatively affect Vitamin D metabolism:
Roundup (glyphosate) contamination (see my post glyphosate: Guilty as Charged)
Air pollution
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) -
Phthalates - commonly found in many personal care products, as well as soft plastics and vinyl known as PVCs
PCBs - commonly found in plastics, adhesives and tapes, oil-based paint, caulking, carbonless copy paper, floor finish
BPA - commonly found in plastic food and water containers, canned foods, receipts/tickets/boarding passes made from thermal paper
Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) - commonly found in cleaning products, cosmetics, non-stick pans, adhesives, paint, water proof clothing
Heavy metal exposure (aluminum, lead, cadmium)
Some prescription medications
(Carbamazepine, Beclomethasone, Budesonide, Dexamethasone, Fluticasone, Hydrocortisone, Methylprednisolone, Mometasone Furoate, Prednisone, Triamcinolone, and others)
All of the above contaminants can be found in drinking water. You should unquestionably purify your drinking and cooking water with a quality filtration system such as a multi stage reverse osmosis system
Factors that assist Vitamin D absorption/availability:
Adequate Vitamin K2 (which helps remove calcium from areas where it shouldn't be, such as in your arteries and soft tissues. Vitamin K2 deficiency is actually what produces the consequences similar to vitamin D toxicity)
Adequate calcium and magnesium (see below)
Healthy gut bacteria (see my post Optimize Your Gut Health)
Glutathione precursors (I’ll be publishing on this topic in the near future)
Maintaining a healthy level of body fat
Special note on location and getting adequate Vitamin D naturally from sunlight
If you’re north of 37th parallel (basically the entire northern half of the US) adequate Vitamin D from sunlight is only possible given the above as well as these other specific conditions: during the months of May-Sept, during the hours of 10:30 a.m. and approximately 2 p.m., having 50 to 75 percent of your skin being exposed (more time in th sun is required if less skin exposure) and not using sun screen. During the rest of the year forget it. You will need supplementation.
Special note on magnesium
Recent studies suggested that if a person is magnesium deficient, no amount of Vitamin D3 supplement will allow a one to realize health benefits of adequate Vitam D. Magnesium is a critical factor in making Vitamin D bioavailable. Without magnesium, Vitamin D is only stored & not used.
Magnesium is involved in over 300 enzyme reactions and over 600 cellular reactions. Magnesium is one of essential macrominerals, minerals which humans need to consume in relatively large amounts—100 mg or more—to maintain optimal health.
It is estimated that over 68% of Americans are magnesium-deficient. Magnesium deficiency have increased risk of a range of conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, Type II diabetes, migraine headaches, & cardiovascular disease.
Magnesium also helps to regulate melatonin production. Melatonin is recently receiving much deserved attention due to its powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and immune properties.
If you are not consuming magnesium rich foods on a daily basis and/or not supplementing magnesium then, odds are, you are deficient in both magnesium and Vitamin D as well as underproducing melatonin.
Have your Vitamin D levels checked routinely and take appropriate steps to optimize if necessary. You should especially check your vitamin D level if you:
Do not get daily sun exposure
Live in a northern latitude
Live in an area with poor air quality (pollution)
Do not eat an adequate amount of vitamin D-containing foods
Follow a strict vegan diet
Have dark-pigmented skin
Have known or suspected poor gut health
Have issues with small intestine absorption or kidney function
Have heavy metal toxicity
Do shift work
Are an athlete
Are overweight or obese
Are elderly
You can request your Vitamin D level when you have your other blood labs measured or purchase your own test kit from my Thorne affiliate link: Thorne Vitamin D Test
Most people in the northern part of the country will need nutritional supplements of vitamin D to reach adequate levels. Indeed, the majority of Americans will need at least small amounts of vitamin D supplements to keep their levels in the disease prevention range. The elderly, dark-skinned, and obese people will need higher amounts, as will those who spend little time outdoors. Although it is possible to become toxic on vitamin D since it is a fat soluble vitamin, it is extremely difficult to do so, requiring very high doses for long periods of time. Studies have shown that levels up to 10,000 IU daily are safe, and no major toxicities have been seen until daily doses are greater than 40,000 IU daily.
Vitamin D and other nutritional supplements can be purchased through my Thorne affiliate account. Discount available for my Substack readers upon request. Simply contact me through my coaching site linked at very bottom.
I hope you find this “cheat sheet” useful and, with further exploration, are able to integrate these ideas into your personal, integrated wellness routine.
Thank you for reading and I welcome your comments below!
This information is not meant to be comprehensive but rather to be used as a foundation and study guide to support your own further research and experimentation. See link below if you’d like to consider personalized fitness & nutrition guidance.
Finally, always consult with a qualified medical and/or nutritional professional well versed in this subject. Maintain regular checkups. Never attempt to self-diagnose.
INTEGRAL FITNESS – UPLIFT YOURSELF AND UPLIFT OTHERS
TO BE HEALTHY, HAPPY AND HELPFUL!
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Great Info! Thanks
A few important additions:
~Darkest-skinned need 2hours of great Summer UVB while palest only need 20minutes.
~Fat cells store D, so if losing a lot of weight AND already replete, significantly lowering dose with perhaps monthly tests help titer decreasing dosage needs.
~Other anti-seizure meds than carbamazepine also deplete D
~Dark skin only affects skin absorption. Darker people are often more deficient, so may need more pre-loading, but once at repletion, should need around the same as a lighter skinned person. Most of the diseases African Americans suffer at higher rates are Low D diseases. But Traditional Maasai at the equator, naturally maintain ~50ng/ml year round and very few diseases or conditions!
~Our physiology makes it so we have no risk of overdosing from UVB, only food and supplements.
~Most overdosing is from the too high calcium that D allows us to absorb from same diet! Taking Vitamin K2 (especially in MK7 form) helps that extra Calcium get into bones and teeth and stay out of kidneys,arteries and joints!