<p>Do you take it?
I just bought a bottle of Kirkland brand at Costco. One cap is 2000 IU and on the back it says that it is 500% of your daily need.
Ha? I thought that the latest research said you can/should take much more?
So, if you are taking it - how much are you taking? I know that doctors opinions differ.</p>
<p>I take about 1000 IU a day but I just read that you can take a lot more. I tested low (didn’t believe it was an issue), did some research and decided to take the pills. One of my friends is taking 5000 IU a day.</p>
<p>It’s almost impossible to take too much, so taking 1000-2000 a day is probably fine, especially for middle-aged folks.</p>
<p>I tested low, took the prescription high dose as prescribed, took 1,000 per day for a few months, and still am a little low. Now I am taking 2,000-3,000 per day, especially in the winter.</p>
<p>My 6 yr old D is taking 800IU as prescribed by her dermatologist (she sees him for eczema). He told me he is taking 5000IU. I take 1000 but should be taking more.</p>
<p>The current recommended daily allowance is woefully out of date.</p>
<p>I have even heard 10,000 from some of the researchers.
Whys is it not advertised?
For those that are taking it - do you see a difference in your immune response?</p>
<p>I don’t see a difference in my immune response – hard to quantify – but I’m taking it for osteoporosis. Apparently your body needs Vit D to absorb the calcium that we’re also supposed to take. I’m taking about 1200 mg of Vit D per day.</p>
<p>^^ What she said.</p>
<p>A simple blood test will tell you if you need to take Vitamin D and how much. I think a doctor should supervise you as you can overdose and damage your liver.</p>
<p>1,000 IU, per instructions of my doc. And she was very clear it needed to be D3, not just D. I thought it was for my bones, not my immune system …</p>
<p>I think we are <em>all</em> being diagnosed with Vitamin D deficiency. My doc just prescribed the mega dose once a week for 8 weeks to be followed by a 1000mg daily supplement after I am done with the 8 weeks.</p>
<p>Maybe it’s the placebo effect, but I am feeling more energetic.</p>
<p>Speaking as a professional immunologist I can tell you that taking big doses of any vitamin is very unlikely to provide a noticeable boost in your immune system. It’s much more the other way around - you wiill notice your immune sytem will crash if you get severely vitamin deficient. But if you are not vitamin deficient it will not rev into some noticeable high gear if you take extra vitamins. </p>
<p>If I were to pick one dietary component to make sure you are getting enough of to ensure good immune function, I’d chose zinc much more than vitamin D. Being severely zinc deficient will cause all kinds of mischief in your immune system.</p>
<p>They’re still figuring out all of the effects vitamin D has on the body- many, many cells, not just bone, have receptors for it. It seems to have effects on cancer prevention, aging, preventing autoimmune states, etc. </p>
<p>It’s very, very hard to overdose, and most people are low, so you’d be doing fine to take 1000 units or more every day. Some people might need more than that even. It will depend on what the most recent literature recommends.</p>
<p>Viamin A is the one to watch out for liver damage and other nasty side effects.</p>
<p>My H was diagnosed with Vit D deficiency (surprise, surprise -we live in Western WA!) and was prescribed 1000 IU twice daily. Since hubby and I have pretty similar light exposure, I started taking it as well. We’ll see what my blood tests show in a few days.</p>
<p>Vitamins A,D,E and K are all fat-soluble vitamins. Surplus amounts–unused by the body at any given time–are stored in the liver and have potential negative side effects when taken in large doses. “If one or two are good for me, think how good 6 or 8 will be…”—not a valid concept…Proceed with caution.</p>
<p>^The theory is correct, but toxicity in vit D is at levels in the 100s, and most people have levels of less than 30, so again, really tough to do.</p>
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<p>Update: got my bloodwork results, my Vit D levels came back right in the middle of the normal range! My gyn says “stay the course” with the supplement. Now I need to give H’s a kick so he re-checks his Vit D levels.</p>
<p>thanks for starting this thread-- I was just about to start one! My doc is also on a vitamin D kick. I was sure my levels would be high enough because I swim outdoors in sunny So Cal for about an hour and a half 3 or 4 times a week. More worried about skin cancer than Vitamin D. But she tested me and my level was low (20). She wants me to take 4000 IU per day. She recommended Carlson Labs Solar D Gems (soft-gels) from iherb.com.
But the skeptic in me would still like to hear other opinions. Is Vitamin D just a fad?</p>
<p>There is an interesting article in the New York Times health section from Nov. 16:</p>
<p>[Vitamin</a> D Shows Heart Benefits in Study - Well Blog - NYTimes.com](<a href=“Vitamin D Shows Heart Benefits in Study - The New York Times”>Vitamin D Shows Heart Benefits in Study - The New York Times)</p>
<p>There is also a discussion following the article with readers comments about vit D with a lot of comments from doctors.</p>