Only 45 percent of 18,883 people (who were examined as part of the federal government’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) had 30 nanograms per milliliter or more of vitamin D, the blood level a growing number of doctors consider sufficient for overall health. Scientists are now linking Vitamin D deficiency to a host of chronic diseases including osteoporosis, cancer and multiple sclerosis.  One of the leading sources of Vitamin D is sunlight, and many people in the U.S. are now avoiding exposure to the sun to reduce the chance of skin cancer, or are sunlight deficient in the winter months. Many people believe that since milk is fortified with Vitamin D, they receive the minimum government recommended daily allowance, but you would have to drink around a quart of milk a day to get that amount of Vitamin D from milk.  The U.S. government’s recommended daily allowance for Vitamin D for adults is only 400 IU,  and more and more scientists are recommending 1000 IU.  The only realistic method of obtaining this amount is through a dietary supplement.  My personal physician recommends this amount, and my informal survey of Vitamin D toxicity on the internet did not reveal any concerns about toxicity at this higher level.  I was not previously aware of how common deficiency is in this Vitamin, and the health concerns that result. My daily multi-vitamin provided 400 IU, but I am going to increase this to 1000 IU tomorrow.

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