Low Vit. D-Calcium-okay

sharalou

Just had my vit.d level checked at it was at 18. Usually normal. Do have breast ca to the supraclavicular area.  Having issues with my tongue for some reason, numb, tingly, and a bit of a slight burning. They can't figure out what the heck is going on. Thought maybe the low vit. d (i thought), but they say no.

Shari 

lago

Shari I had very low vitamin D I think it was about 14 ( found out before my BC diagnosis). I had no symptoms. My GP just gets all his patients tested.

BTW now I'm 79! 

christine47

I also had low D, 10 very, very low.  No symptoms at all, from what I understand usually low D does not cause any symptoms.  I am up to 39, still taking 50,000 units per week.

Lago, how did you get to 79?  My personal goal is at least 50.

dlb823

sharalou ~ A vitamin D level of 18 is way too low!  Unfortunately, some doctors have little or no training or interest in nutrition, and some of the government guidelines haven't been updated for many years.  I believe the current thinking for a healthy person is that 50 is acceptable, but certainly not lower than 30.  And since we have had bc, many nutrition-minded health professionals suggest that we get ours up in the 70+ range.

Mine was 72 off the bat, but I live in sunny southern CA, and I'm outdoors a lot.  But I've also read that sunscreen cuts our Vitamin D absorption by 95%, as do sunglasses.  I've also learned from doctors that you cannot absorb more than 2500 IUs at a time, so larger doses need to be broken up.  

Even with a relative high reading, I still take 1,000 IUs of D3 a day, ever since reading up on how deficient most of us are, and how our levels can also fluctuate.     Deanna 

Ted_Hutchinson

Carole Baggerly (BC survivor) of Grassrootshealth has a useful video on BC and Vitamin D status.

www.grassrootshealth.net/dfacts

You will also find on the banner of the grassroothealth.net website a graph showing typical responses to different daily vitamin D3 intakes. You will see that to ensure a 25(OH)D around 60ng/ml generally requires over 5000iu/daily/D3, but the suggestion above from DLB823 to aim for above 70ng/ml is sensible as it ensures your body always has a stored reserve of vitamin d to fight cancer. However 50,000iu is commonly used by doctors to correct vitamin D deficiency and there is plenty of evidence your body can absorb that kind of amount. However the form usually prescribed by doctors ERGOCALCIFEROL vitamin D2 is not as effective or as long lasting or as safe as the form CHOLECALCIFEROL vitamin D3 that's readily available from the online discount supplement providers found through Amazon or Google. Although 50,000iu once a week is the standard treatment to correct deficiency I think getting into the habit of taking one capsule each day isn't a bad idea. If you want to match the 50,000iu each week doctors would prescribe then using 10 x 5000iu capsules each week by alternating 1 daily with 2 every other day so every 2 days you take 3 x 5000iu capsules is fine. If you make 1 for odd days and 2 for even days you should be able to remember where you are.

The graph at grassrootshealth shows the huge range of individual responses to vitamin D3 supplementation. For this reason a 25(OH)D test within 6 months of regular supplement use is a good idea to discover how your body responds. There are postal vitamin d tests (from the charity Grassrootshealth) or companies like Directlabs if you live near a collection centre but your doctor may also be happy to do the bloodwork.  

You have to bear in mind human DNA evolved living mainly outdoor lives with little if any clothing. We therefore are programmed to generate vitamin d from uvb exposure to skin from dawn to dusk and from dusk to dawn our body naturaly secrete another anti-inflammatory anti-oxidant, MELATONIN.

Melatonin and Vitamin D3 work not only individually to fight breast cancer but also combine to work synergistically together (the sum of their actions is greater than each individually) 

While it is true that 30 minutes full-body non-burning midday (when uvb concentration is highest) will generate over 10,000iu of vitamin D3 it often isn't practicable to do this.

The NON BURNING is important because burning causes damage that increases skin cancer risk. We also have to bear in mind  UVA exposure degrades vitamin d3, so further UVA exposure (if you don't cover your skin) results in the newly made vitamin d near the surface of the skin being processed on to suprasterols the body doesn't use (it's useful because it prevents toxicity) however if you've only exposed face and hands and the vitamin D3 is degraded by UVA (through the car windscreen or from sitting by the office window (UVB doesn't penetrate glass/plastic) you end up with lower levels than you started. Ideally skin that is usually covered not only makes more vitamin d (because it is less tanned) but also (because you cover it up normally after sunning yourself) the vitamin d is then protected from further UVA exposure.

Getting outside into the bright light at midday (ideally for up to 4hrs but just 30mins helps) is important because it resets your body's circadian rhythm and thus enhances the secretion of melatonin at dusk. You may also want to download the FREE FLUX software program that automatically reduces the brightness of your monitor screen at dusk and brightens it at dawn. thus helping to preserve your ability to secrete melatonin before you go to bed (so you sleep sooner) and if you keep your bedroom as dark as possible, longer. There is good evidence linking light at night not only to the increased incidence of BC but also of melanoma.

 We should also be aware that raising Vitamin D status QUADRUPLES the amount of calcium our body absorps, So people currently taking calcium supplements may find with Vitamin D supplementing at effectice levels (5000iu/daily or more) may require less calcium in supplement form (as you will be absorbing more from food/water) it may be sensible to reduce calcium supplement use to around 600mg/daily. Calcium requires magnesium to counterbalance it's actions. Magnesium is a natural calcium channel blocker. Calcium excites neurons magnesium calms them, calcium tenses nerves magnesium relaxes them.The problem is that although most people have adequate calcium sources in their diet/water our magnesium food/water sources are usually limited. Most adults only get about half the magnesium RDA so supplementing with magnesium while taking  effective amounts of vitamin D (while reducing supplemental calcium intake) is often a sensible option.