I am taking Vitamin D3 and zinc along with C to boost my immune system. It does seem to work. A bonus side effect is I don't seem to get the winter blahs, it seems to help me keep my energy up.

I noticed even Dr. Oz (of Oprah fame) takes vitamin D3.

I am immunocompromised so when my daughter gets a bug, I start taking D, C, and zinc. Knock-on-wood, I haven't been sick even if I start with a sore throat.

Anyone else try it? I wanted to post to pass the info along.

V

    

Yes, I take 1000IUS of D3 also. I started taking it because of its relationship to cancer and its immune boosting properties.

D3 (cholecalciferol) is actually the best type of Vitamin D to take. The other common form, D2 (or ergocalciferol) is not as potent. You can also get Vitamin D by going outside in the sun or by eating mushrooms.

I wrote an ehow article about Vitamin. You should check out my articles.

Veronica, I think 1000 ius might be too low. You may want to look at the recommendations of the Vitamin D Council (I can't link, don't have 50 posts). They suggest 5000 ius daily for adults.

Just something to consider...

V

I don't know if I would take 5000 ius per day. Have you tried looking at other sites, such as the American Dietetic Association or the Mayo Clinic, and see how much Vitamin D they recommend?

Veronica, I haven't seen links on those sites. If you have good ones, please point me in the right direction. I am actually really interested in learning more about Vitamin D.

V

Here's from the National Institute of Health: Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin D

The recommendation right now is 400 IUs, but the government is considering pushing up to 1000 ius.

Oh yeah. I've seen that. Most physicians think that 400 and even 1000 is too low. If you haven't checked out the Vitamin D Council site, I highly recommend it. I can't post links yet, but if you google, it will be there. Medscape also has a lot of studies in their database for free, you just have to register. I try to go to the original studies whenever possible.

In studies, people have taken up to 10,000 ius with no side effects and several respected physicians recommend daily supplementation in the 2000 to 5000 iu range.

V

Yes, I've checked out the Vitamin D Council website. I actually knew about it months before you told me about it. I wonder how unbiased and accurate of a source that it is because the upper level intake of Vitamin D is 2000 IUs.

Furthremore, when you combine that with the Vitamin D that you get from the sun and from foods, such as eggs, mushrooms, milk, and fish, you might be at a risk for Vitamin D toxicity.

Have you looked at other places besides the Vitamin D council? Try googling "Vitamin D" recommended intake and see what comes up. And also google "Vitamin D toxicity" or "hypervitamintosis D."

I wrote an article about Vitamin D: How to Increase your Vitamin D Levels | eHow.com

Best of luck,
Veronica

Oh, hey thanks for the google suggestions--I hadn't thought to search for those.

I don't keep track of exactly which studies I read because I have a baby at home and am sleep deprived, but I do look at the original research on Medscape whenever possible and it has been convincing, to me, for higher doses.

I know that side effects are rare for doses as high as 10000 iu, I've read that study. But I will google the search terms you mentioned.

If I ever get to 50 posts, maybe I can come back and post some links!
Cheers

V

I am taking 4000 units a day, and occasionally 6000. The official recommended amount that everyone quotes is really just the amount needed to prevent rickets. More is usually needed for optimum health. And from what I’ve been reading, although you might not have rickets, you can still be considered deficient in vitamin D.