Vitamin D Deficiency

When I had my yearly check up a few weeks ago, I was informed that my Vitamin D level is too low. My doctor, who is also my friend, mentioned not to worry and that 4 in 5 person in Seattle (or Washington?) were deficient because of the lack of Sun. The remedy is to take a supplement of 2000 IU of Vitamin D a day.

If you know me, you’d know that I have a level skepticism when it comes to medicine. I absolutely abhor taking any sort of medicine, be it subscription or over-the-counter supplement. The only medication, if you call it that, that I take regularly is Lactose, to prevent the transformation of my home into a gas chamber.

Hence, I decided to ask my doctor for my specific level of Vitamin D, which was 21 ng/ml, with 32 being the min for normal according to the hospital. I took the number and did some research, and the first web site  I encountered gave me this table:

The author of the web site accounted for the difference between these levels and the common used numbers my doctor gave me with this:

There is disagreement about whether the lower limit of the optimal vitamin D levels should be 20 or 30 ng/ml, but none of the experts in the field still think that levels lower than 20 ng/ml are desirable. This is really different from ten years ago, when levels above 15 ng/dl were considered sufficient.

In addition, the upper range of optimal as given by the hospitals seem to be unattainable by natural means, according to the same article:

…many laboratories currently have listed their normal range as 32-150 ng/ml, even though the only way to acheive a value above 60 is to take a drug!

Using the chart from this web site, I’m on the low end, but still within the optimal range.

This brings up the question, should I take vitamin D supplement? My answer to that is No. The reason is that I took this test at the tail end of winter, and I expect to get a dosage of sun once the blazing rays of summer showers upon the northwest. The other reason has more to do with the distrust of medicine. What do you really get in a vitamin? Apparently there are other risks associated with vitamins, such as lead, according to this article in MSNBC:

Two of three men’s multivitamins failed to pass testing. One contained too much folic acid, which may increase the risk of prostate cancer, while another was contaminated with lead.

Not sure if those vitamins are from China. The way I see it, God did not design us to take vitamins as soon as we’re born, and He knows what He’s doing.  I will try to go the natural route until my levels dips below 20, and then I’ll consider artificial remedies. In the mean time, I’ll just be sure I get a prescription of plenty of milk and Alki Beach!