Do you really need Vitamin D?
You've just been to the doctor and he or she has told you that your vitamin D is low and you should start taking a supplement. In fact, they may have made the off-hand remark that it's "just something everyone needs to take". So why do you need it? To help absorb calcium? Probably not. Mainstream medicine is on their soapbox about the importance of vitamin D to fight osteoporosis. It's important to note that osteoporosis has been on the rise ever since they've been telling us that. Vitamin D is actually the perfect recipe FOR osteoporosis.
What does vitamin D do in relation to calcium?
Vitamin D helps calcium make the jump from your digestive track into your bloodstream where it can then be absorbed in the body. That's a good thing. Unfortunately, it can also have the ability to pull calcium from the tissues as well.
Why do we want calcium in the tissues?
Calcium in your tissues is like the alarm bell for invaders in the body. Without calcium, your body would never recognize it has a "bug" to fight and therefore never trigger your immune system to take care of the problem.
So, the more D the better, right?
Um, no. First off, most people will make enough vitamin D just by stepping out in the sun for about 10 minutes. In higher doses, it not only pulls the calcium out of the digestive tract and into the bloodstream, like it should, it also starts to pull calcium out of the tissues AND bones and then holds the calcium in the bloodstream. And now the calcium cannot leave the bloodstream and go back down to the tissues where it's needed because the blood has become calcium-retentive. Now's it's a problem for your kidneys to handle and if they are not able to excrete the higher calcium precipitated by the excess vitamin D, the body will allow the calcium to be deposited in the joints. Joint pain, anyone? Vitamin D has its benefits but when it's taken in higher amounts like it's being prescribed these days, it could cause more trouble than good.
Why did my blood test tell me I have low Vitamin D?
When a person's blood test comes back saying vitamin D levels are low, the medical world just looks at average numbers and says "you're low, you must need more D". A better question is WHY your body is not making higher levels of D. Wouldn't it make sense if a person already had a high level of calcium in the blood and lower levels at the tissue level, they the body would reduce the amount of vitamin D being produced so that it does not pull MORE calcium out of the tissues and dump it into the bloodstream?
The medical world is going to look at clinical trials (this is a topic for another day) and not at the circumstances surrounding the person. You are an individual. You are unique. Don't be average!