Hi,
Anyone have a good clean source for this?

The sun!

Our practitioner has "prescribed" a D3 (1000 IU) from http://www.protocolforlife.com for the Teachers in my life.  It has corn oil as an "other ingredient".  

Quoted from DenverFoodie

The sun!

I agree, but how do you know if you're getting enough?

Quoted from kauaian

I agree, but how do you know if you're getting enough?

Expose as much skin as you can for 10-15 minutes a day.  There are quite a few articles online about it.

http://health.usnews.com/healt.....d-for-vitamin-d.html

If you're already deficient, you should prob supplement for a while w/ your dr's guidance of course.
I avoid the sun alot because of skin cancer. And yes, my D3 is quite low......out of range. I'm supplementing. Using Nature Made I think, for now. I want to find something better.

The HomeFirst Medical Services (or is it Health Services) sell a D3 with a little probiotic in it. They claim it absorbs better..... You can order by mail. They are in the Chicago suburbs & a FB friend of several of us BTDers. Even if you have cancer, I would think a tiny amount of sun should not be bad, but consult your dr., not me!!!!!

Get a D3 source/pill in oil ( I get a version in Olive oil )
or eat with a fatty meal.

Sadly I live a place where only June and july provides enough sunlight... 10-15 min are NOT enough.fatty fish and butter from animals on pasture can be a ok source as well as real Codliver oil.

Quoted Text

About 70 percent of U.S. children have low levels of vitamin D, which puts them at higher risk for bone and heart disease.“We expected the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency would be high, but the magnitude of the problem nationwide was shocking,” said Dr. Juhi Kumar of Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Medical Center.

Vitamin D3 is a vitamin I take every day.. The NOW brand Vitamin D3.

In summer time I take 2000 IU per day and in winter I increase to 3 to 4000 IU per day.
Vitamin D is essential for fighting off viral infections like flu, colds.
Important for bone health and to prevent heartfailure.
Besides new research has shown that Vitamin D keeps your telomeres (endparts of DNA) long and healthy.  
Mrs. Elizabeth Blackburn is a Nobelprizewinner on this Telomere research. What can you do to keep your telomeres long? Her answer is: Exercise, meditation, right foods. In short a healthy lifestyle! Just what Peter advises us to do!!   And the results, once you adapt to this healthy lifestyle, are visible afther 3 months! Moreover: the more you exercise the longer your telomeres stay and the healthier you will be!!
I myself have intensified my exercise up to 3 times a week 1 hour intensive training, walking and biking! Afterwards I take a sauna..
And yes, I am losing weight and feel great, and yes the nervous pain in my S1 joint is weaning off and... I am better able to handle stress.  

Take care and take your Vit D3...

Cocky

Got a wicked cold right now....Endocrinologist told me to up the D3 to 10,000 IUs until I'm better and then stick with 5000 I was taking 2-3000 and couldn't get the levels above 39,000,

Right now I'm taking 5,000 iu's of D3 a day. I was deficient and developed the beginnings of osteoporosis..and by May of this year I was so sick from my immune system not working right.  I took 50,000 iu's a week all summer and my levels only went up a few points.  I'm getting re tested in December.  The 5,000 iu's are controversial.  My primary doctor said it's too much and can cause kidney stones. I hope she's wrong.  Once I get my levels up from 31 to around 50-60 then I'll switch to 1-2000 iu's a day.

Quoted from italybound

If you're already deficient, you should prob supplement for a while w/ your dr's guidance of course.
I avoid the sun alot because of skin cancer. And yes, my D3 is quite low......out of range. I'm supplementing. Using Nature Made I think, for now. I want to find something better.

I have no idea...was just wondering about it.  I do spend lots of time outdoors, I noticed nature made had a few avoids.

I've taken as much as 10,000 iu per day to get my levels up to 60...It saved me from having crushed
bones per my recent accident and was told I had super strong bones and no arthritis in my hips or
spine.  I take NOW brand...5,000 iu to 10,000 iu...about 60,000 iu per week. Been doing this for a year.
No ill effects.  D level slowly rose from mid 30s to 60.  Need to ask for a D3 blood test and keep monitoring progress.  I want to get my level to 75.....Even 80 isn't too far a reach.  Latest research
shows most people are seriously deficient.  Can't get D from sun most of year in Northeast...Have no option but to supplement.

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/

from this site....


Am I Vitamin D Deficient?


Good Question! There is no way to know for certain until you get a 25-hydroxyvitamin D test, also called a 25(OH)D. Levels should be above 50 ng/ml (125 nmol/L) year-round, in both children and adults. Thanks to Bruce Hollis, Robert Heaney, Neil Binkley, and others, we now know the minimal acceptable level. It is 50 ng/ml (125 nmol/L). In a recent study, Heaney, et al expanded on Bruce Hollis's seminal work by analyzing five studies in which both the parent compound (cholecalciferol) and 25(OH)D levels were measured. They found that the body does not reliably begin storing cholecalciferol in fat and muscle tissue until 25(OH)D levels get above 50 ng/ml (125 nmol/L). The average person starts to store cholecalciferol at 40 ng/ml (100 nmol/L), but at 50 ng/ml (125 nmol/L) virtually everyone begins to store it for future use. That is, at levels below 50 ng/ml (125 nmol/L), the body uses up vitamin D as fast as you can make it, or take it, indicating chronic substrate starvation—not a good thing. 25(OH)D levels should be between 50–80 ng/ml (125–200 nmol/L), year-round.

That's a thought, will need to get tested.

Quoted from Chloe

75.....Even 80 isn't too far a reach.  .

Normal range according to the doctor I went to is 32-150.    So you can go higher than 80 that's for sure. She also thought I was "normal" because I was 31 !   She kept telling me over and over that I was going to get kidney stones from taking 5,000 iu's a day. I should only be taking 1-2000 a day.  Even though I'm worried, I'm still taking 5,000 iu's a day. My sister takes 2,000 iu's a day.

Quoted from kauaian

That's a thought, will need to get tested.

Absolutely! You should be tested regularly or do you want to end up like me with osteoporosis?  

I had my D level tested recently, the 25-Hydroxy was 33.9 and the doctor told me to supplement.  The hormone part Calcitriol (1,25 di-Oh Vit D) was high outside of range which raised a concern that something is going on, and I'm going to be doing more blood tests to see what could be causing this.  Anyone else had this issue?

Quoted from Lin

I had my D level tested recently, the 25-Hydroxy was 33.9 and the doctor told me to supplement.  The hormone part Calcitriol (1,25 di-Oh Vit D) was high outside of range which raised a concern that something is going on, and I'm going to be doing more blood tests to see what could be causing this.  Anyone else had this issue?

Did the doc say what that could mean?  I don't know what that is..

I take the Nordic Naturals Vit. D3. Seems to be a great company.
My vit. D blood levels have come back as low as 16, and I am in the sun
quite a bit. Not sure about this, but I definitely need to supplement.

Quoted from Lin

I had my D level tested recently, the 25-Hydroxy was 33.9 and the doctor told me to supplement.  The hormone part Calcitriol (1,25 di-Oh Vit D) was high outside of range which raised a concern that something is going on, and I'm going to be doing more blood tests to see what could be causing this.  Anyone else had this issue?

It seems protective but I don't know much about it other than its description here:

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/vitaminDPhysiology.shtml

Quoted from nwiser

I take the Nordic Naturals Vit. D3. Seems to be a great company.
My vit. D blood levels have come back as low as 16, and I am in the sun
quite a bit. Not sure about this, but I definitely need to supplement.

I was on 50,000 iu's and mine was 26.  wow 16, is crazy low. sorry..have you been gettin sick a lot?
flu?   If you were in the sun a lot were you wearing sunscreen/sunblock? That would prevent you from making D.

Chloe, thanks for link.
The Doctor says that going over the range means something is going on, one theory she wants to explore is whether I have something like chronic lyme disease which may not be showing any obvious symptoms but could be causing allergies and various low or high lab tests.  So I will be seeing her next week and assume I will need to do more lab tests to try to identify what is going on.

Chloe is a great resource for us on the BTD forum!    She does a lot of research..

she s a resourceful useful and instructive link fisher alright!

Quoted from Lin

Chloe, thanks for link.
The Doctor says that going over the range means something is going on, one theory she wants to explore is whether I have something like chronic lyme disease which may not be showing any obvious symptoms but could be causing allergies and various low or high lab tests.  So I will be seeing her next week and assume I will need to do more lab tests to try to identify what is going on.

Welcome to the Lyme crowd.

I know some of you will have panic attacks over me saying this, but I sat for three hours in the sun today.  It's such, this time of year, that I'm not going to get burned by it--so stop your worryin'.  (I hate sunscreen and think it's probably contributed to skin cancer because of the known carcinogenic ingredients!!!)  Anyway, I dragged around all morning and felt my normal rotten self and then I went outside.  I sat in the sun and did some proofreading for three solid hours and when I came back in I felt amazing.  Amazing!!!  I've been full of energy, happy, funny and able to handle the noise that multiple children generate.  We ate dinner at a reasonable hour (hurray!) and then we went on a walk and I had the energy to play with the children and pull them around in a wagon.  That's SO not me.  Because normally I feel like....#*@&%!$^.

I've been wondering if Lyme disease depletes your body of D.  I asked DH about getting some full-spectrum light bulbs for the kitchen and perhaps another room or two.  Because I really do feel good, y'all, and it's because I spent so long in the sun.