mazakaal Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 I was diagnosed as being deficient in vitamin D about a month ago and put on supplements. I'm just wondering if using one of those lights that's used to treat SAD would help increase my vitamin D levels. I will ask my doctor when I see him next, but I was hoping to hear some personal experiences here if anyone has any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mazakaal Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share Posted January 7, 2012 Also, it's not meant to increase your D levels. It just mimics the sun, thus, tricking your body into thinking it's summer and relieves the winter blues. Ah, okay. This was what I was trying to figure out, if it actually helps your vitamin D level. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Everson Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 One of the best ways to get your vitamin D3 levels up is by tanning, either with natural sun or a tanning light, because the body has a regulatory mechanism that prevents accumulating too much D3 in that manner. That regulatory mechanism is missing when you just supplement with pills or drops. However, you have to make sure that the tanning light contains UVB rays (Ultraviolet B) and since that part of the light spectrum is considered harmful by dermatologists (for long exposures), a lot of SAD lights filter out ultraviolet light (both UVA and UVB). So, you won't get D3 from most of those lights, but the right tanning light is an excellent way to maintain healthy levels of D3. As to whether a modest time under a tanning lamp will cause other issues, I'll stay out of that. Rod Everson OnTrack Reading-Vitamin D3 Questions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan in SC Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 One thing to note is that if your body can't PROCESS the VitaminD, then it doesn't matter how much you get. That was my problem--I couldn't process the very adequate amounts of VitaminD I was getting. It took awhile to turn that around, but it made the difference. I had to go to a nutritionist to make that happen. What did you do to help this? I have taken 50,000 units twice a week for several months and my numbers did not improve. I was tested for celiac, which causes poor absorption, but it was negative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Everson Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 According to Dr. Cannell at the vitamindcouncil.org, the most important cofactor is magnesium. Others are Vitamin K, zinc, and boron. If you're not meeting normal dietary recommendations for these, especially magnesium, that's where I'd start. This is probably why Patty Joanna had good results with a nutritionist, though I'd be curious if more cofactors were involved. Also, be wary of getting too much Vitamin A in retinol form. Dr. Cannell claims that cod liver oil (which contains both D3 and retinol A) is a poor way to get D3 because the vitamin A prevents absorption of the D3 by using the same receptor sites. There's quite an argument between him and the cod liver oil advocates for that reason, but it's something to be aware of if you're trying to get D3 levels up. Otherwise, a tanning lamp that outputs Ultraviolet B (must be UVB) might be an option, though I'm not certain that would get around the cofactor issue. Rod Everson OnTrack Reading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted January 26, 2012 Share Posted January 26, 2012 One can have poor absorption problems without having celiac. :iagree:Oh yes, I had heart problems related to poor absorption of potassium and neuropathy due to poor absorption of b-vitamins, among other absorption problems, but no celiac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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