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Originally posted by Dr. Davis on 2016-11-01 on the Wheat Belly Blog, sourced from and currently found at: Infinite Health Blog. PCM forum Index of WB Blog articles.
Vitamin D Deficiency is a widespread phenomenon with significant implications for health.
Fact: In our modern society Vitamin D deficiency is the rule, rather than the exception! – Tweet this!
While we can blame more severe cases of deficiency on grains, it also commonly occurs independent of grain consumption. The restoration of Vitamin D levels is second only to grain elimination; one of the most powerful healthy lifestyle strategies.
How have modern lifestyles compromised our Vitamin D status?
Vitamin D deficiency allows several abnormal health phenomena. – Tweet this!
The association between lower levels of Vitamin D and disease is powerful (for many of these phenomena).
Vitamin D deficiency may result in as much as a 50% increased potential for diabetes. – Tweet this!
Note that achieving an ideal level of Vitamin D is key- not too low, but also not too high. – Tweet this!
The ideal level of Vitamin D, measured as 25-hydroxy remains open to debate. However, “applying epidemiological observations to the above diseases, combined with studies that demonstrate Vitamin D’s relationship to minimizing unhealthy levels of parathyroid hormone that can impair bone health, suggest that 60 to 70 ng/ml is the ideal range.”
Too much Vitamin D is also not a good idea. Besides provoking abnormal calcium deposition in tissues, Vitamin D levels that exceed 100 ng/ml are associated with increased potential for the abnormal heart rhythm called atrial fibrillation.
Most people require Vitamin D doses of 4,000 to 8,000 international units (IU) taken in an oil-based gel cap form to achieve the target value of 60 to 70 ng/ml.
Vitamin D should be taken as D3, or cholecalciferol. – Tweet this!
This is the form that naturally occurs in the human body and is widely available as a nutritional supplement. You should avoid taking the non-human form found in mushrooms (D2 or ergocalciferol), the form found in prescription Vitamin D. (The small quantity obtained by eating mushrooms is fine, however.) The nutritional supplement form is superior to the prescription form. Reassess your Vitamin D level every 6 to 12 months to maintain desired levels, as your needs may change over time.
Yours in grainless health,
Dr. William Davis