Dr. Tanya McEachern, Naturopathic Doctor

Probably the number one most important vitamin, if I had to choose only one. And really, it’s actually more a hormone than a vitamin. 

Why do I love this vitamin so much?

… Because its used by every single cell in the body! All 37 trillion! Only vitamin D and T3 have this in common, so its a factor in almost body system including:

-hormones (estrogen, progesterone, thyroid, insulin, etc)

-bone health

-fertility

-pain reduction

-mood/anxiety/depression

-sleep

-skin

-cancer prevention

-immune health

-weight loss

… basically the stuff I treat day in & day out

So testing & fixing vitamin D is an easy win for us

Here are the 4 most common misconceptions that I hear about Vitamin D:

1. “I take vitamin D daily so my levels are good”. Sadly, not true. One thing that I do with pretty much every patient is test their D levels. So, I see people all the time who are supplementing yet are still deficient
2. “I spend lots of time outdoors, so my levels are good”. Again, this is sadly not usually the case, because we live very far from the equator in Canada. Also the darker your skin tone, the less vitamin D you will absorb from the sun
3. “All vitamin D supplements are created equal, so I’ll get the cheapest one I can find and I should be good”. Truth: tablets are the most poorly absorbed form. liquids are better. And liposomal liquids are the best (like Solray-D). N0TE: the best vitamin D supplements will also contain vitamin K2 – this guards against vitamin D toxicity which can result in kidney & gall stone formation. A high quality liposome is usually even better at bringing levels up than weekly high dose injections 
4. “I found out I’m deficient, so I’ll bring my levels up by taking 1000iu daily. Truth: Not gonna cut it. When I treat someone who’s deficient, I typically give 10,000iu daily for 3 months, then re-test (very important to re-test). 1000iu daily wont even prevent further deficiency in many people

Lab work facts:

Conventional range is 75-250 in Ontario. In the naturopathic world, we consider optimal levels to be around 130. So even if someone comes back within the range, they might still need more, especially if dealing with any of the above issues. Cost to test vitamin D is $35

Symptoms of deficiency (long list, considering all the body systems, so here are the biggest ones):

• SAD
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Bone stuff
• High cholesterol
• Most cancers
• Diabetes
• Frequent /recurrent/neverending colds & infections
• Kidney stones and/or gallstones
• Muscle cramps/weakness
• Skin concerns (acne, boils, eczema…)

Also, not a symptom, but most people with auto-immune diseases are deficient in D at some point – psoriasis, hashimotos, IBD, Rheumatoid arthritis…

Drugs that lower vitamin D:

• cholesterol meds
• laxatives
• steroids
• weight loss drugs
• seizure meds

Being overweight also predisposes you to lower D levels automatically, because Vitamin D kind of gets trapped in the fat cells (biochem nerdy note – this is because its a “fat soluble” vitamin)

This is a lot of info so I’ll stop here! And please dont get me started on Vitamin B12 or magnesium!

If you would like to discuss your vitamin D levels, testing them, or anything else please let me know and/or book an appointment