Vitamin D deficiency is the most common medical condition in the world.

Depending on the amount of direct sunlight you receive daily, chances may be good to excellent that you, too, are vitamin D deficient.

In America alone, over 200 million people lack sufficient levels of vitamin D and may consequently suffer from chronic health conditions, ranging from daily annoyances like fatigue and pain to life-threatening illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

But few people know why vitamin D is so important and what they can do to avoid the myriad ailments associated with deficiency: 

• Osteoporosis is commonly caused by a lack of vitamin D, which greatly impairs calcium absorption.
• Sufficient vitamin D prevents prostate cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, depression , colon cancer and schizophrenia .
• "Rickets" is the name of a bone-wasting disease caused by vitamin D deficiency.
• Vitamin D deficiency may exacerbate type 2 diabetes and impair insulin production in the pancreas.
• Obesity impairs vitamin D utilization in the body, meaning obese people need twice as much vitamin D.
• Vitamin D is used around the world to treat Psoriasis.
• Vitamin D deficiency causes schizophrenia.
• Seasonal Affective Disorder is caused by a melatonin imbalance initiated by lack of exposure to sunlight.
• Chronic vitamin D deficiency is often misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia because its symptoms are so similar: muscle weakness, aches and pains.
• Your risk of developing serious diseases like diabetes and cancer is reduced 50% - 80% through simple, sensible exposure to natural sunlight 2-3 times each week.
• Infants who receive vitamin D supplementation (2000 units daily) have an 80% reduced risk of developing type 1 diabetes over the next twenty years.

How much vitamin D do I need?

Dr. Michael Holick -- a world expert on vitamin D -- states you should get your 25(OH)D level above 50 ng/mL. For most teenegers and adults, that means a daily regimen of about 2,000 IU.  Children require about 400 IU daily.

What's the best way to get an adequate amount of vitamin D?

It's nearly impossible to get adequate amounts of vitamin D from your diet. Sunlight exposure is the only reliable way to generate adequate amounts of vitamin D in your own body.

If you're fair skinned, experts say going outside for 10 minutes in the midday sun—in shorts and a tank top with no sunscreen—will give you enough radiation to produce about 10,000 international units of the vitamin. If you're already tan or of Hispanic origin, you need maybe 15 to 20 minutes. Black skin may require six times the sun exposure to make the same vitamin D levels as a very fair-skinned person. 

Don't worry about getting too much vitamin D via sunlight.  Your body will self-regulate and only generate what it needs.

Note: The healing rays of natural sunlight (that generate vitamin D in your skin) cannot penetrate glass. So you don't generate vitamin D when sitting in your car or home.

Can I take vitamin D supplements?

Absolutely.  Adults can safely take 5,000 IU of vitamin D daily without incurring any toxicity.  Scientists have found that you can take up to 10,000 IU of vitamin D a day for almost a half a year and not experience vitamin D intoxication.  In fact, teenagers and adults can easily tolerate 10,000 IU of vitamin D a day without concern for toxicity (remember, your body is happy to receive 10,000 IU of vitamin D due to direct sunlight).

Act today!

Review the information above, then contact us using then information on this page to schedule a 25(OH) D serum blood test, which will tell you if you're vitamin D deficient or not. 

If you're a new patient, click here to review our New Patient intake process.

We look forward to hearing from you -- and meeting you -- soon!