Is it safer and better to get vit d from supplements or from the sun? If supplements are the better choice, should I take vit k2 Mk4 or mk7 along with it and is 10k IUs vit d a day safe?
Okay, this is kind of complicated but here goes. It depends on a lot of variables. Where you live in relation to the equator. Are you overweight or skinny? This is pertinent as Vitamin D is fat soluble. What is your skin pigmentation like? The more melanin you have the less the UVB rays can penetrate. UVB rays are absorbed by a prohormone found naturally in the skin which then gets converted to the vitamin D3 provitamin, cholecalciferol. All this being said, it’s been said in studies that anywhere within 37 degrees north or south of the equator is good for year round natural vitamin d intake. Using this tool, let’s say you’re fair skinned, burn easily and live in NY City. On July 4th it would only take you 4 minutes to produce 1000iu of vitamin d. On New Year’s Day that time turns into 40 minutes. Those same conditions for someone with darker pigmentation would be 16 minutes on that sunny July 4th day and roughly 4.5 hours on New Year’s Day. If the conditions above are met(relation to equator, wavelengths of UVB light and UV index above 3). I’ve seen some estimates that between 5-30 minutes of sun exposure to the unprotected face, arms, legs or back between the hours of 10am and 3pm two to three times per week is enough for your body to produce all the D3 it needs.
I prefer supplementation myself. If you’re anywhere north of the southern US, you’re not even going to be able to produce much vitamin D for most months of the year, people underestimate how much sun it actually takes in those months. And then, of course, you run the risk of easily burning or damaging your skin if you get just a little too much. To me, all of that just isn’t a game worth trying to play when we have supplements that work just as well.
As far as the amount, 10k a day would definitely likely be overkill unless you get lab results from your doctor saying that you’re very deficient. I personally supplement 2k IUs every other day or so (not on purpose, I just don’t usually remember daily), and don’t get much sun, and when I got my levels checked they were 54 ng/mL (my hospital lists normal range as 30-80).
Here’s the hard and fast truth: If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, you should most certainly supplement in the cold months (when you’re inside more). Vitamin D is one of the most critical vitamins.
I supplement during late fall through the end of winter. And I acquire natural Vitamin D during the warm months via being outside.
Lastly, you’ll see many people argue over whether 10,000 IUs is too much or not. Truth is you can raise your serum levels on less, like 4,000-6,000. (Source: I have my levels checked regularly and can assure you that range raises serum D levels. Also evidenced in the literature.)
It’s best to get it from food and the sun… but the whole reason why many of us are deficient is because there is no sun. And even if there is no one naked sun bathes for 30 minutes a day when it’s 5 degrees outside.
Supplementation in the winter is a necessity for many people.
IF you can get it from the sun, do so. Moderate sun exposure (without burning!) has many benefits beyond vitamin D production. When you can’t get adequate sun exposure (winter months in northern hemisphere), take a daily supplement.
I believe vitamin D supplements are the best route because you should be using sunscreen to prevent skin cancer & premature skin aging and sunscreen blocks vitamin D absorption. It’s really hard to get enough vitamin D from food unless you eat a lot of fish and many people like me can’t stand the taste. I wouldn’t go over 2000 iu of d3 without a blood test because super high blood levels can be toxic.
I would also ask your doctor about those k2 supplements because I’ve heard many horror stories of people getting very sick from them because they caused them to have super low blood calcium.
I don’t see anything wrong with someone taking supplements as long as they’re clean and in deficiency cases. The pro elements of vitamin D are vitamin A, C, essential fatty acids, vit. F, calcium and phosphorus. Depending on the season, you might not have the chance to expose yourself to the sun between 8 a.m to 3 p.m so you might consider supplementation. The maximum tolerable intakes from supplements are 2000 IU.Sun is cheaper and safe if you expose yourself to sun for 15- to 30 min. You must expose yourself to the sun at least at least 2-3 times a week, face and arms uncovered.
You should definitely take some form of K2 with your vit D to prevent issues like bone spurs from forming due to the increase in calcium absorption vit D causes. It is my current understanding that K2 Mk4 has higher bioavailability to more of the body’s tissues that Mk7. I take 10,000IU a day of Thorne D3+K2 Mk4 drops. To my knowledge, 10,000 IU daily doses have never been linked to adverse effects.
Hard to spend enough time in the sun, to get the necessary levels of Vitamin D. Even harder if you’re dark skinned. I supplement 25IU / lb of bodyweight. So if you are a 200lb person, that equals 5000IU. The bare minimum is 2000IU / day and the max is somewhere around 6000-7000IU. Always safe/better to test Vitamin D levels 1x every 4 months to stay on track with optimal levels. And I go by the optimal levels set by the Vitamin D council (which is 40-70 ng/mL).
Dont care much about Vitamin K supplementation as I take a daily basic multivitamin that contains Vitamin K. Also eat green veggies at a decent amount (not everyday; but possibly 3-4 days a week).
I never took any vitamin d and have zero deficiencies or health issues at the moment. My doctor prescribed me it and I posted about it Facebook only to find out pretty much everyone in my family and friends supposively needs vitamin d supplements, according to their own doctors.
The daily requirements are set at an unrealistic level. Good for companies selling the supplement I guess. Good for doctors making you think they’ve done something useful for you. Go for a walk , there you go.