Why it’s critical to check your vitamin D levels every September

With Labor Day fast approaching, this is the ideal time of year to call your doctor to schedule a checkup and request one very important blood test.

Ask for a 25-hydroxy vitamin D test (also known as a 25(OH)D test), which measures your blood levels of vitamin D.

Why is September a perfect time to assess your D? There are two crucial reasons:

  1. If your level is adequate (that is, if it’s between 50 and 75 nmol/L), then you’re good to go — although it’s imperative you make a vitamin D supplementation plan for the months ahead. (More on that in a moment.)
  2. If your level is deficient (30 nmol/L or lower)… that’s a problem. After a summer of peak sunlight exposure, a low level signifies that you didn’t absorb enough sunlight needed to manufacture the amount of vitamin D your body needs. That means your supplementation plan for the months ahead is urgent.

How urgent? Let’s put it this way: It can easily mean the difference between a long, healthy life, and a life cut short by chronic disease.

Your one-stop shop for multiple health benefits

From an indispensable cancer-fighter — proven to help your body prevent a wide range of different cancers — to a key nutrient for bone health, vitamin D is associated with a wealth of major health benefits.

Beyond that, vitamin D plays an essential role in many other key health benefits you might not suspect.

In Dr. Marc Micozzi’s Insider’s Ultimate Guide to Outsmarting “Old Age,” he notes a handful of lesser-known ways that vitamin D keeps your body on a healthy track…

  1. Chronic infection. Vitamin D helps your body ward off infections and respiratory illnesses. That’s why even the prestigious Mayo Clinic specifically advises that you supplement with D.
  1. Chronic pain. Dr. Micozzi says, “Studies show low vitamin D levels increase the risk of suffering from chronic pain. In fact, general malaise or fatigue may also be associated with lack of vitamin D.”
  1. Heart health. Several studies have linked low D levels to high blood pressure. Vitamin D is also necessary for keeping your heart muscle strong, which helps prevent congestive heart failure.
  1. Kidney support. Vitamin D is essential for kidney support. In fact, your kidneys help make the active form of vitamin D in your body. Dr. Micozzi adds: “If you have kidney disease caused by cardiovascular disease or diabetes, low vitamin D contributes to this vicious cycle.”
  1. Muscle support. Dr. Micozzi says, “Muscles have vitamin D receptors and must have a constant supply to function.”
  1. Skin conditions. Vitamin D supplementation has been shown to improve aggravating skin problems like dermatitis, eczema, and psoriasis.
  1. Mood and mental health. Vitamin D is necessary for the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that prompts feelings of well-being. Years of evidence links low D levels with depression, anxiety, and generally poor moods. This includes the depressive condition known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD.

This is especially important to remember as the amount of direct sunlight exposure begins to dwindle in the fall and winter months. So if you’ve ever found yourself feeling blue for no particular reason during the winter, low vitamin D likely plays a role in that.

The many downsides of deficiency

With all of the ways we benefit from adequate vitamin D supplementation, it’s easy to see why it’s so important to take the few easy steps to make sure your D levels stay high.

And this takes on a new urgency once you’re past age 50.

Dr. Micozzi explains, “Simply getting older can make it harder for you to get enough vitamin D. The body just doesn’t activate as much of it as you age. Of course, most of the medical conditions I mentioned above also become more common with age. So while vitamin D is important throughout your life, it’s especially important as you get older.”

Dr. Micozzi cites an Archives of Internal Medicine study where researchers found that at least 75 percent of adults nationwide are vitamin D deficient. That means that 3 out of 4 seniors are missing all of the vital health benefits this nutrient offers, and shortening their longevity in the process.

So you can see why Dr. Micozzi calls vitamin D “the single most important nutrient for preventing premature death.”

Dietary D is a nonstarter

Of course, the best way to boost your D level is with about 20 minutes of daily sunlight exposure to as much of your skin surface as modesty allows.

But of course, unless you live in southern states or in a country close to the equator, you don’t have access to this ideal source of D for about eight months out of the year. That’s where supplements come in.

Unlike other vitamins, Vitamin D food sources aren’t as reliable as supplements. Dr. Micozzi puts it like this, “There’s essentially little or no active vitamin D available from regular dietary sources.”

Even fortified foods like milk and orange juice only contain about 100 IU of D per glass. He notes that 9 oz. of wild-caught Pacific salmon delivers just under 1,000 IU of D. So to get his recommended daily dose, you would have to eat more than 5 and a half pounds of salmon every day!

Obviously, that’s a pretty excessive amount, so instead, he recommends simply taking a quality supplement with 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 every day. For his specific supplement recommendations, refer to the Resource Directory in his Insider’s Ultimate Guide to Outsmarting “Old Age,” protocol.

Click here for a complete overview of this innovative online learning tool, or to get started right away.