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Despite lots of milk with D, blood tests show low D
My latest blood test (7/29/14) shows my vitamin D level to be 25, with 31-100 being the normal range. My previous test (9/21/13) showed low D as well (20.2). The milk I drink claims to have 25% of the D I need per cup, which means that I should be getting 300% of the D I need from milk alone. (Average consumption is 3/4 gallon/day of 1% milk.)
My diet is terrible in many ways. I expect my high glucose and high cholesterol levels. (There's unfortunately not much I can do about those. My last doctor (I'm between doctors now) pushed for a no-carb diet, but the only non-carb item I'm capable of consuming with my overactive sensory issues and my body's resulting reactions to various food odors (reacting as if they're putrid) is water. Removing carbs from my diet would be equivalent to anorexia.) I do not expect this lack of Vitamin D though. It's one of the very few ways in which my diet is not lacking.
After my second to last blood test (9/21/13), I introduced 2/day 1,000 IU D supplements (the same that my wife takes) and resumed taking a Centrum multivitamin 1/day which has 400IU of D in it. I honestly don't remember to take them every day, but even taking them once per three days (which is what I think I averaged), I should've still had a higher level of D from them. The increase was only 4.8.
I'm more confused and curious than looking for an answer on how to fix it. Repairing my diet is a very long and slow process, and I don't expect to be able to do so before my body begins to malfunction from malnutrition. There's simply nothing I can do quickly enough. I've been able to make a few improvements here and there, but to convince my body to accept the changes to my diet, they need to be small changes over time. For example, over the past few years, I've had Omega-3 in my diet for the first time ever because I was able to switch to a pasta that has it (Barilla's Plus pasta). I eat a meal of that an average of once a day (either with tomato sauce, ricotta, and mozzarella or with Velveeta, mild cheddar, and 1% milk). Introducing things that are truly new takes a lot more, but every once in a while I'm able to, with my wife's help. (She's helped me add apples, for example. I'm able to eat the honeycrisp and pink lady varieties, but not everyday.)
So, basically, why could one of the very few things that I'm ingesting far more than enough of (vitamin D) be so incredibly low in my blood?
My diet is terrible in many ways. I expect my high glucose and high cholesterol levels. (There's unfortunately not much I can do about those. My last doctor (I'm between doctors now) pushed for a no-carb diet, but the only non-carb item I'm capable of consuming with my overactive sensory issues and my body's resulting reactions to various food odors (reacting as if they're putrid) is water. Removing carbs from my diet would be equivalent to anorexia.) I do not expect this lack of Vitamin D though. It's one of the very few ways in which my diet is not lacking.
After my second to last blood test (9/21/13), I introduced 2/day 1,000 IU D supplements (the same that my wife takes) and resumed taking a Centrum multivitamin 1/day which has 400IU of D in it. I honestly don't remember to take them every day, but even taking them once per three days (which is what I think I averaged), I should've still had a higher level of D from them. The increase was only 4.8.
I'm more confused and curious than looking for an answer on how to fix it. Repairing my diet is a very long and slow process, and I don't expect to be able to do so before my body begins to malfunction from malnutrition. There's simply nothing I can do quickly enough. I've been able to make a few improvements here and there, but to convince my body to accept the changes to my diet, they need to be small changes over time. For example, over the past few years, I've had Omega-3 in my diet for the first time ever because I was able to switch to a pasta that has it (Barilla's Plus pasta). I eat a meal of that an average of once a day (either with tomato sauce, ricotta, and mozzarella or with Velveeta, mild cheddar, and 1% milk). Introducing things that are truly new takes a lot more, but every once in a while I'm able to, with my wife's help. (She's helped me add apples, for example. I'm able to eat the honeycrisp and pink lady varieties, but not everyday.)
So, basically, why could one of the very few things that I'm ingesting far more than enough of (vitamin D) be so incredibly low in my blood?
I burn so easily (being half Irish), so I tend to wear sunblock whenever I'n the sun for very long. I do get much more sunlight now than I used to. We moved shortly after my last blood test (August-September of this year), which is why I'm currently between doctors. The new place is near the beach and much nicer (Seaside). Our previous apartment (San Jose) was shaded, whereas our new house gets plenty of sunlight coming in through the windows during the day. We had one "sunlight" bulb in one of our lamps that we used sometimes during the day in San Jose to help my wife ward off depression (she's bipolar), but we didn't use it every day.
It's too bad I can't find an older blood test from before I moved to San Jose (when we lived in Austin). My sun exposure in Seaside is more like it was in Austin. Everything to do near San Jose was either indoors or forested. Even the nudist resort we went to occasionally near San Jose had so many trees that you barely get any sun when there. We intend to return to Austin someday, but we've been liking Seaside much better than we liked San Jose and the sun here is one of the many reasons for that.
Based on what you've said, I would not be surprised if my next blood test shows a significant increase in vitamin D. If only sun exposure could fix my other dietary issues... I think I'd have to have green skin for that to be possible.
Thanks a lot for your reply.
It's too bad I can't find an older blood test from before I moved to San Jose (when we lived in Austin). My sun exposure in Seaside is more like it was in Austin. Everything to do near San Jose was either indoors or forested. Even the nudist resort we went to occasionally near San Jose had so many trees that you barely get any sun when there. We intend to return to Austin someday, but we've been liking Seaside much better than we liked San Jose and the sun here is one of the many reasons for that.
Based on what you've said, I would not be surprised if my next blood test shows a significant increase in vitamin D. If only sun exposure could fix my other dietary issues... I think I'd have to have green skin for that to be possible.
Thanks a lot for your reply.
The reason why your Vitamin D levels are low, is because 400 IU is literally 'nothing'.
A Caucasian skin is able to generate 10 000 IU of Vitamin D in the summer sun between 10 am and 3 pm in about 10 to 15 mins... and 20 000 IU in about 20 to 30 mins of same sun exposure (without sunscreen - and you also have to expose a large portion of your skin to the sun for this effect, such as your back).
Black skinned people would have to spend double (or more) the amount of time in the sun without sunscreen to get the same benefits because of the much darker skin tone.
If the body is able to generate 10 000 IU in 10 to 15 mins of sun exposure in the summer... can you realistically say that '400 IU' as recommended by the officials is going to be enough?
Personally, I wouldn't think so.
400 IU is a recommendation to avoid 'rickets' - but it will not be enough to correct Vitamin D deficiency or provide other health benefits.
Forget food as a primary source of Vitamin D.
The main source of Vitamin D is the sun.
Food contains very small sources of this Vitamin/hormone, and usually, milk is 'fortified' with a synthetic form of Vitamin D... namely D2 (whereas your skin will generate D3 - active form).
While D2 is going to be converted into D3, studies have demonstrated that the health benefits are not the same in the body as when you are supplementing with D3 directly.
In order to correct your deficiency problem, one of the suggestions you can look into is getting Vitamin D3 yourself in supplement form... with EACH gel capsule containing 10 000 IU, and take one daily.
Alternatively, if you live in a sunny climate, go get some sun in between 10 am and 3 pm by exposing your entire back to UVB rays without sunscreen for about 15 mins at a time - but if you don't live in a sunny climate, then, supplementation will be necessary.
Important: if you are supplementing with Vitamin D, it is advisable to take Vitamin K2 as MK-7.
K2 MK-7 stays in the body for about 3 days, so you can get away with taking one capsule every 2 or 3 days (with Vitamin D).
If you see any other forms of K2... avoid them... make sure K2 only contains MK-7.
Take Vitamin D and K2 with food as its a fat soluble vitamin/hormone.
Magnesium (citrate) could be a nice addition to this as well seeing how it can help metabolize D3... but K2 is a far more important factor.
If you have any questions... feel free to ask.
A Caucasian skin is able to generate 10 000 IU of Vitamin D in the summer sun between 10 am and 3 pm in about 10 to 15 mins... and 20 000 IU in about 20 to 30 mins of same sun exposure (without sunscreen - and you also have to expose a large portion of your skin to the sun for this effect, such as your back).
Black skinned people would have to spend double (or more) the amount of time in the sun without sunscreen to get the same benefits because of the much darker skin tone.
If the body is able to generate 10 000 IU in 10 to 15 mins of sun exposure in the summer... can you realistically say that '400 IU' as recommended by the officials is going to be enough?
Personally, I wouldn't think so.
400 IU is a recommendation to avoid 'rickets' - but it will not be enough to correct Vitamin D deficiency or provide other health benefits.
Forget food as a primary source of Vitamin D.
The main source of Vitamin D is the sun.
Food contains very small sources of this Vitamin/hormone, and usually, milk is 'fortified' with a synthetic form of Vitamin D... namely D2 (whereas your skin will generate D3 - active form).
While D2 is going to be converted into D3, studies have demonstrated that the health benefits are not the same in the body as when you are supplementing with D3 directly.
In order to correct your deficiency problem, one of the suggestions you can look into is getting Vitamin D3 yourself in supplement form... with EACH gel capsule containing 10 000 IU, and take one daily.
Alternatively, if you live in a sunny climate, go get some sun in between 10 am and 3 pm by exposing your entire back to UVB rays without sunscreen for about 15 mins at a time - but if you don't live in a sunny climate, then, supplementation will be necessary.
Important: if you are supplementing with Vitamin D, it is advisable to take Vitamin K2 as MK-7.
K2 MK-7 stays in the body for about 3 days, so you can get away with taking one capsule every 2 or 3 days (with Vitamin D).
If you see any other forms of K2... avoid them... make sure K2 only contains MK-7.
Take Vitamin D and K2 with food as its a fat soluble vitamin/hormone.
Magnesium (citrate) could be a nice addition to this as well seeing how it can help metabolize D3... but K2 is a far more important factor.
If you have any questions... feel free to ask.
Sorry, I realized after posting this that I went on a bit of a tangent about food and got somewhat ranty. I just hate food so much. 1% milk tastes like nothing to me and it's smooth, so it's so easy to drink. (Water has a taste to me it and the thinner texture can make it more difficult to drink sometimes.) The only reason that I eat at all is that I dislike the alternatives (stomach pain, dizziness, headache, eventual death). There are only four flavors I even like, only two of which are food, and I wouldn't miss them if a reasonable alternative to eating was discovered.
I apologize for the ranty parts. I'm really just trying to ask about the D.
I apologize for the ranty parts. I'm really just trying to ask about the D.
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