Are you vitamin D deficient?

Has a provider ever taken the time to just sit down with you to talk to you about how important vitamin D is for you? If your experience sounds like many patients, your provider either didn’t have time to talk about ‘this stuff’ or brushed it aside.

Vitamin D is essential for heart health, bone health, mental health and mood, immune system support and energy levels. One of the first things I think of when someone comes to DRIP with complaints of feeling tired, crabby or frequent infections is, ‘when was the last time your vitamin D level was checked?’ If the answer is never or ‘I dont know,’ its time and we can certainly help.

Naturally, the only way to get vitamin D is from sunshine. But you likely have to get 20 minutes of direct sunlight 365 days a year in hopes that maybe your vitamin D levels are normal. Certainly, in Illinois or southern Wisconsin, this is a pipe dream for most. There’s also some fortified foods and drinks like orange juice that may have some vitamin D in it. But, I would say the vast majority of blood tests we check at DRIP, are not only low, but majorly deficient. I often tell my patient’s if you are not taking a supplement daily, you are likely deficient.

And it’s not even just taking the vitamin D. But being properly educated about the co-factors you need in order to absorb the vitamin: fat, vitamin K2 and magnesium. Vitamin D is a FAT soluble vitamin. it MUST be taken with fat in order to be absorbed. Healthy fat like avocado, cottage cheese, peanut butter, etc). Unlike water soluble vitamins like vitamin B’s and C, taking it with a sip of water just isnt going to cut it. You have to take it with fat. You also need vitamin K2 in with the vitamin D. Alot of the over the counter Vitamin D doesn’t have this very important K2 in it. Ideally, you would also have some magnesium to go along with it. Magensium has been shown to help absorb the vitamin D further.

Technically, because Vitamin D is store in the body’s fat you can ‘overdose’ on vitamin D, unlike the water soluble vitamins where you just urinate out the excess. But generally speaking 2,000-5,000 IU of vitamin D daily tends to be a safe dose for many.

At DRIP we have the capacity to draw your blood, send the blood to the lab, based on the results, I can make recommendations for you and dispense you OrthoMolecular Products Vitamin D3/K2 supplements, the highest quality supplements on the market. And for those that can’t swallow pills, we also carry this supplement in drop / liquid form as well. All right here in our office, you can go home with it today!

You can schedule your ‘blood draw’ on our scheduling website day or night or stop in to grab your vitamin D and get going on prioritizing your health and vitamin D levels today.