I sent away for the test and did my own test today.  I will let you all know as soon as I get results.

I want to keep reminding you all, according to “Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine,” it has been discovered that many of the body’s tissues contain vitamin D receptors, rendering them capable of transforming the nutrient into its active form.

Consequently, many recently conducted studies maintain that significant increases in vitamin D supplementation should be considered, since vitamin D has been found to be an important factor in the prevention of cancers, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and infections.

Author of, “Is Vitamin D deficiency casting a cloud over your health?,” Dr. Marcelle Pick explains, “Many of today’s conventional clinicians … may not be in the habit for testing for vitamin D deficiency or … familiar with treatment.”

This is unfortunate, especially because 85 to 90 percent of people aren’t getting enough of the vitamin.

Getting enough D, said Pick, “isn’t as simple as drinking more fortified milk” or, I suspect, spending time in the Tempe sun between classes.

In fact, it would take gallons of fortified milk a day to reach optimum D levels, and the SPF 15 we are supposed to be wearing every day is enough to ward off the UVB rays required for D conversion.

Hopefully you  now know what you can do to increase your intake of vitamin D. Unfortunately,  discoveries are radically changing ideas about how much D is enough.

The daily recommended vitamin D intake is 5 mcg for most adults.

However, the consensus among experts is that this is far too low. (I am taking 4000 IU)

But don’t take my word for it.

Ask your doctor to have your vitamin D levels tested. Talk to him or her about how much D is safe, or advisable, to include in your diet. Allow yourself some limited sun exposure, take a multivitamin and eat nutrient-rich foods.