Those That Are Vitamin D Deficient

[eight_gregorys]

I was diagnosed a couple of months ago with severely low vitamin d levels. I started with 50,000 IU for 10 weeks, and I'm just started taking 1,000 IU everyday. My doctor told me to take magnesium and calcium when I started daily therapy, but for the life of me I can't remember how much. I called my doctor, but she is on vacation until the end of next week. So what did your doctor recommend?

[Euromom]

Take NORVEGIAN COD LIVER OIL (google it) , very good for vit D

[Jean in Newcastle]

I take 1800 mg Calcium and 300 mg Magnesium a day. But I take 10,000 iu of Vitamin D a day. Sometimes I get leg cramps and then I eat a banana (for the potassium) and take an epsom salt bath (for the magnesium).

 

All of these minerals need to balance (but it's not a 1:1 ratio). Maybe if you googled "calcium magnesium vitamin D ratio" you might get something more definite.

[houseofrabbits]

The rule of thumb is to take twice the amount of calcium as magnesium - so for every 1,000 mg calcium take 500 mg magnesium. Vitamins and minerals are such that you generally need to good spectrum of all of them so that they are absorbed properly - each seems to need the others for best utilization.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Liz

[sbgrace]

Is the form of vitamin D you are using D3?

You need D3 and sometimes the prescription forms aren't that. I corrected a severe deficiency in a matter of months with 10,000 IU per day for 6 days, one day off of vitamin D3. You'll be getting essentially the same amount but spread out--which helps the calcium absorption. Always take the vitamin D with some fat as it's a fat soluble vitamin. I got capsules that were 5,000 IU each. I've seen people go on and on forever trying to correct with vitamin D2 forms.

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/ This site has excellent vitamin D information and sources and will explain why D2 and some other forms and sources aren't good choices. You need to retest and make sure whatever you are doing is working--then you know whether to adjust doses up or down.

 

As far as the calcium and magnesium. They won't raise your levels but maybe your doctor was thinking of bone health in general.

Take your RDA of calcium. Extra isn't necessary and in fact isn't good for our bodies. The vitamin D is what matters. Magnesium is often given in a 2:1 ratio. So if you take 1000 mg. of calcium you do 500 mg. of magnesium. You can only absorb 500 mg. of calcium at a time so split doses. Focus on the D3 though as that level is vital to your health. Vitamin K and boron also help bones. But the D is your big focus.