Downside of Vitamin D
With so many people supplementing blindly with vitamin D these days, I wanted to share this PSA.
Yes, vitamin D is amazing for immunity. BUT – please remember that Vitamin D is NOT a vitamin. It’s a prohormone that has hormone effects in the body, and therefore must be treated like a hormone.
As I briefly mentioned in my story, long-term high-dose vitamin D supplementation can:
1- Deplete vitamin A. What do we need vitamin A for?
✔️Epithelial integrity: skin, urinary tract, lungs, GI lining, blood-brain barrier
✔️Immunity & tissue repair: without it can get chronic infections like UTIs & slow healing
✔️Mucus formation in lungs, sinus cavities & mouth to prevent infections
✔️ Protects eye health
✔️ Sex hormone formation
✔️ Thyroid function. Think hair, nails, body temperature, motility, energy, fertility, reproduction, and metabolism!
2- Depletes magnesium. Now we’re talking headaches, constipation, spasms, muscle cramps, insomnia, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, and asthma.
3- Promotes hot flashes! It’s all about having the right balance of vitamin D. Both high and low levels can induce hot flashes.
4- Increases calcium absorption. And without enough vitamin K in your diet (or in the supplement), there’s a risk of vascular calcification – not good for the arteries!
Bottom line? If you’ve been supplementing with vitamin D long term, please make sure you test your levels every few months (2 to 4 months), especially with doses above 5,000IU per day.
While optimal ranges are debated, 50-70 ng/ml seems to be a good range in general. But please consult with your practitioner to determine what’s right for your unique needs.
Please let me know if you have any comments or questions below.
Responses