VitaminD recommended doses

VitaminD recommended doses If you have Osteopenia or Osteoporosis You might want to ask your health care provider to check your vitamin D levels since low levels are associate with lower bone mass. (You might want to get your calcium levels checked at the same time.)

Starting supplements of this vitamin without any knowledge of your current levels is not wise since an EXCESS of Vitamin D in can lead to a number of problems including even lower bone mass. Here is a situation where getting VitaminD recommended doses 'just right' is important.

One of the reasons why so many people need supplements of any vitamins and minerals is because their daily nutrition is so poor. This is especially true in nations where fast food has become a mainstay.

Do check out the NATURAL SOURCES for Vitamin D before you spend your money on supplements. Click here for Natural Sources for Vitamin D recommended doses

Also, knowing your current blood level of Vitamin D is important before you start self medicating with any Vitamin D supplements.  Why? Taking too much Vitamin D can prevent you from building bone. It can even increase your bone loss.                         I KNOW there are many web sites touting 5,000 -20,000 units of this vitamin to be taken each day. Please do not be misled by 'official sounding names' of these web sites. Check the credentials of the owners. Check the research they cite. It is your body and you want to be sure you will 'do no harm'. 

What experts say about VitaminD recommended doses

So what are the VitaminD recommended doses? Well, right now there is not a strong a consensus on the use of this  vitamin - certainly not as strong as there is for some other supplements. Here are some pub;ished guidelines.

The Harvard School of Public Health offers a guideline for VitaminD recommended doses 
"The current recommended intake of vitamin D is 5 micrograms up to age 50.   10 micrograms between the ages of 51 and 70, and 15 micrograms after age 70.   Very few foods naturally contain vitamin D. Some good food sources include dairy products and breakfast cereals (which are fortified with vitamin D), and fatty fish such as salmon and tuna.For most people, the best way to get the recommended daily intake is by taking a multivitamin."    NOTE: If your supplement uses IU instead of micrograms, 40IU = 1 microgram.  So the Harvard recommendation for those between 51 and 70 years of age   would be 10 X 40 or 400 IU Vitamin D recommended doses. 

 The Mayo Clinic states "Adults (over 18 years old) Vitamin D is included in most multivitamins, usually in strengths from 50 IU to 1,000 IU as softgels, capsules, tablets, and liquids. "                                                                        "Recommendations are: 5 micrograms (200 IU or International Units) daily for all individuals (males, female, pregnant/lactating women) under the age of 50 years-old. For all individuals from 50-70 years-old, 10 micrograms daily (400 IU) is recommended. For those who are over 70 years-old, 15 micrograms daily (600 IU) is suggested.                                                                                                         But then some authors have questioned whether these recommended adequate levels are sufficient to meet physiological needs, particularly for individuals deprived of regular sun exposure. Best advice? Ask your health care provider. Show your provider what supplement you plan to take and get some professional advice before you begin. It is your body. You want to do this VitaminD recommended dose correctly.

                                                                                                                          There is an upper limit (UL) for vitamin D recommended doses. Too much can be toxic. The upper limit for vitamin D recommended doses has been set at 2,000 IU daily.  "Not all doses have been found effective for conditions that have been studied. However, ergocalciferol has been used in an oral dose of 400 to 800 IU per day(sometimes higher doses are used in conjunction with calcium) for osteoporosis prevention and treatment."                                                                                  "Calcitriol has been used in an initial oral dose of 0.25 micrograms per day;dosing may be increased by 0.25 micrograms per day at four to eight week intervals in patients with hypocalcemia from chronic dialysis."                                                                   "Dihydrotachysterol has been used in an oral initial dose of 750 micrograms (0.75 milligrams) to 2.5 milligrams per day for several days for the treatment of hypoparathroidism."                                                                                                 A maintenance VitaminD recommended dose "is typically 200 micrograms (0.2 milligrams) to 1 milligram per day. Ergocalciferol has also been used in an oral dose of 50,000 to 200,000 IU units daily concomitantly with calcium lactate 4 grams, six times per day." Source: the Mayo Clinic web site.                                                           

 Best Practices Res. Clinical Rehumatology Journal. VitaminD recommended doses.  In 2009 H. Bischoff-Ferrari from Centre on Aging and Mobility, University of Zurich, Department of Rheumatology and Institute of Physical Medicine, Zurich, Switzerland. published: "Vitamin D: what is an adequate vitamin D level and how much supplementation is necessary?".  Here is the abstract of that paper with VitaminD recommended doses:'"Strong evidence indicates that many or most adults in the United States and Europe would benefit from vitamin D supplements with respect to fracture and fall prevention, and possibly other public health targets, such as cardiovascular health, diabetes and cancer.                                                                                                                                                                                               Two recent meta-analyses of double-blind randomized controlled trials came to the conclusion that vitamin D also reduces: the risk of falls by 19%, the risk of hip fracture by 18% and the risk of any non-vertebral fracture by 20%; however, the benefits are dose dependent.                                                                               Fall prevention was only observed in a trial of at least 700 IU vitamin D per day, and fracture prevention required a received dose (treatment dose -adherence) of more than 400 IU vitamin D per day. Anti-fall efficacy started with achieved 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of at least 60 nmol l(-1) (24 ng ml(-1)) and anti-fracture efficacy started with achieved 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of at least 75 nmol l(-1) (30 ng ml(-1)) and both endpoints improved further with higher achieved 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.                                                                                    They said that founded on these evidence-based data derived from the general older population, vitamin D supplementation should be at least 700-1000 IU per day and taken with good adherence to cover the needs for both fall and fracture prevention. Ideally, the target range for 25-hydroxyvitamin D should be at least 75 nmol l(-1), which may need more than 700-1000 IU vitamin D in individuals with severe vitamin D deficiency or those overweight."

In May 2010 the International Osteoporosis Foundation issued new guidelines. These have been reported in Science Daily. Click here for IOF complete coverage of Vitamin D recommended doses

Have you any experience with VitaminD recommended doses?

Many readers appreciate knowing the experience of others.  If you have used VitaminD recommended doses ...or at higher or lower levels, please consider sharing your experience with others. (Just be sure to put the url of this page at the beginning of your remarks so I know where to post your comments. ) Thanks

End of Vitamin D recommended doses.