Vitamin D supplements are currently recommended at a dose of 600 international units (IU) per day by the National Institutes of Health, alongside a warning about the potentially toxic effects of taking more.
But for some people, supplementing with what would be seen as a very high dose of vitamin D every day may reap health benefits rather than toxicities, experts suggest.
One patient started supplementing with vitamin D3 eight years before the publication of the report and saw his asthma attacks decline from five or six severe exacerbations per year to only one serious exacerbation from 2011 to 2019.
He started at 10,000 IUs per day, and by the time of publication, he had stopped most of his asthma medication and was taking 30,000 IUs daily.
Another patient’s ulcerated hand lesion, which was presumed to be a form of skin cancer, shrank after taking high doses.
One patient had extensive psoriasis across his scalp, forehead, and ears, and some on his chest, abdomen, elbows, and thighs. He was given 50,000 IUs of vitamin D2 and soon saw a dramatic improvement in his psoriasis. His skin cleared after a few months of treatment and he was able to stop using steroid creams and medicated shampoos.
Adequate Versus Optimal Dose
The current recommendations stem from a 2010 dietary reference by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) (pdf).The reference suggests a daily intake of 600 IUs to reach a serum level of 20 nanograms/milliliter (ng/ml) of vitamin D in the blood—an adequate amount. It set an upper tolerable limit of 4,000 IUs per day; any dosage higher than that would be considered a high dose.
Yet some experts believe that the current recommendations aren’t sufficient for optimal health.
McCullough said that “the current doses recommended by the IOM are sub-physiologic,” meaning that they are below the natural needs of the body. McCullough proposed that 10,000 IUs a day is the adequate physiologic dose.
His claims have been echoed by other health care professionals.
The disparities in the dosage limits are caused by the different considerations in the potential health benefits of vitamin D.
Vitamin D Is More Than a Vitamin
Multiple studies show that vitamin D has a host of roles across multiple processes and organs. Most cells have a specific receptor for vitamin D, and when the vitamin D molecule binds to its receptor, it can activate about 2,000 genes in the body.Vitamin D, however, acts on many genetic pathways as a direct contributor rather than an assistant, regulating calcium levels and parathyroid hormones and interacting with immune cells, neurons, pancreatic cells, and many other cells.
600 IUs May Not Be Enough for Overall Health
Board-certified internist and integrative physician Dr. Ana Mihalcea said that most of her patients need 10,000 IUs a day to reach optimal function with their cognition and energy levels.Many of her patients came to her with fatigue, muscle weakness, and poor cognitive abilities, all of which may be linked to vitamin D deficiencies despite these patients’ “adequate” levels of 20 ng/ml.
Optimal Dose Differs Among Patients
A surgeon and physician for more than 20 years, Dr. Joseph Bosiljevac likewise reports great variability in optimal vitamin D serum levels among different patients.He told The Epoch Times that some patients see great improvements once their levels hit 60 ng/ml, and he would deem them sufficient, but other patients may need 120 ng/ml or more.
High-Dose Vitamin D as Medicine
Doctors say people with certain pathologies may need more vitamin D than healthy people. Some people with incurable diseases have made a great recovery after being prescribed high-dose vitamin D.The extra vitamin D can be used “as a medicine, not just a preventative vitamin,” Mihalcea said.
Autoimmune Disease
Autoimmune diseases occur when the body’s immune system starts attacking healthy tissues. It’s associated with inflammation.Autoimmune specialist Dr. Cicero Coimbra, who authored the famous Coimbra Protocol, has found many of his patients with multiple sclerosis reach remission after taking massive doses of vitamin D, along with other supplements.
In an interview with The Epoch Times, Coimbra said that his clinic has treated more than 15,000 patients with autoimmune diseases; among multiple sclerosis patients, about 85 percent reach remission. His protocol has also been used in rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, and Crohn’s disease around the world, with the majority of patients following these protocols reporting significant improvements.
Cancer
Higher doses of vitamin D are associated with lower risks of cancer progression and mortality.Since vitamin D acts by blocking pathways that promote further cancer growth and metastasis, it’s better at preventing cancer mortalities than cancer incidence, Grant said.
It’s worth noting that cancer can be triggered by a multitude of factors, including environmental toxins, smoking, radiation, genetics, and inflammation, many of which can’t be controlled by vitamin D intake alone.
Furthermore, it’s still uncertain whether vitamin D is effective for all cancers, and the reason for cancer patients’ ailments vary from one to another.
Anesthesiologist Dr. Judson Sommerville said his patient’s wife was told by the highly renowned cancer center MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston that she only had six months to live because of advanced ovarian cancer. She figured she had nothing to lose, so she started taking magnesium and high doses of vitamin D3.
Brain Health
Low vitamin D levels have been associated with higher risks of anxiety, depression, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and autism.Mihalcea said that the brain fog her patients experience as part of their deficiency would ease once she raised their vitamin D levels.
How Much Vitamin D Is Necessary?
Board-certified internist Dr. Syed Haider recommends a certain amount of sun exposure as the best option to get vitamin D, as the body has a mechanism to prevent excessive production that would cause toxicity.Yet with most people living in urban areas and being indoors for most of the daytime, taking supplements is probably the most convenient option.
It’s advisable to take vitamin D with K2 and magnesium when supplementing, as this will prevent vitamin D toxicity.
K2 and magnesium both help deposit calcium in the bones rather than the arteries, and therefore prevent hypercalcemia, which can occur as a result of vitamin D toxicity.
- Inflammation
- Stress
- Obesity
- Poor gut health
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