If there are folks who can't seem to absorb D3 by ingesting it, does it help to topically apply the contents of a capsule to the skin?

Curious- so it sounds like you had a low reading in January (when it was summer for you) and then you stopped taking the supplements in the middle of winter?

It seems to me that you simply weren't taking enough vitamin D, and you weren't taking it long enough. I suggest that you keep taking the drops right now AND get as much sunshine as you can. The combination should increase your D levels fairly quickly.

You'll probably need to increase your D intake even more when it gets cold out again. When the bottle runs out, you need to buy another one (or another brand of vitamin D supplement) rather than stopping when you run out.

Quoted from ruthiegirl

Curious- so it sounds like you had a low reading in January (when it was summer for you) and then you stopped taking the supplements in the middle of winter?

It seems to me that you simply weren't taking enough vitamin D, and you weren't taking it long enough. I suggest that you keep taking the drops right now AND get as much sunshine as you can. The combination should increase your D levels fairly quickly.

You'll probably need to increase your D intake even more when it gets cold out again. When the bottle runs out, you need to buy another one (or another brand of vitamin D supplement) rather than stopping when you run out.

That is good advice, thanks ruthiegirl.

Here's a thought...can we make vitamin D from tanning beds?

Quoted from Mayflowers

Here's a thought...can we make vitamin D from tanning beds?

Pretty iffy, in my opinion. First the spectrum provided by the bulbs is not going to be the same as sunlight and secondly the spectrum is going to vary from one brand or type of bulb to another. I have seen tanning beds advertised as Vitamin D producers but that may only be the opinion of the providers.

In theory you could have a bulb designed to create radiation to produce the vitamin but it would have to be well researched which I don't think most commercial outlets are. It could be at least as productive as sunlight as long as the correct wavelenghts were sustained.

Quoted from Mayflowers

So, I'm like, Why doesn't Dr. D have it in his multi mineral formulas as well..??  Because it competes with calcium for absorption and calcium always wins!  So you have to NOT take the Phyto D with your calcium but far away from it.
Yep, he's been there...done that.

I wanted to get back to this because I have not heard this about Vit D and calcium competing for absorption.  Everything I can find seems to say the opposite;  

Do you have any info on this for us to read?  

Quoted from Victoria

I wanted to get back to this because I have not heard this about Vit D and calcium competing for absorption.  Everything I can find seems to say the opposite;  

Do you have any info on this for us to read?  

I am finding the same thing...take D with calcium..
See #11

http://www.realsolutionsmag.com/ezine/31/issue31c.asp

And see #12
Calcium competes with magnesium

Maybe Mayflowers was confusing vit. D with magnesium, which does compete with calcium.

Quoted from Victoria

Maybe Mayflowers was confusing vit. D with magnesium, which does compete with calcium.

Victoria, I think you didn't read the whole post.   Strontium competes with calcium and magnesium for absorption.. I in no way said that calcium and magnesium competes with D.. lol

That's why Dr. D has it with the D formula instead of with the multi mineral formula..

Quoted from Mayflowers

Victoria, I think you didn't read the whole post.   Strontium competes with calcium and magnesium for absorption.. I in no way said that calcium and magnesium competes with D.. lol

That's why Dr. D has it with the D formula instead of with the multi mineral formula..

I am blushing!    Thank you for the edification, Diana!

" . . Strontium, that it is clearly more effective for building healthy bones than calcium and D combined...hmm.  It helps weak bones become stronger and less able to fracture!  So I thought. I wonder if Dr. D has this... And....behold...
it's in his Phyto D formula!    The man has been there done that..! Impressive...most impressive...

So, I'm like, Why doesn't Dr. D have it in his multi mineral formulas as well..??  Because it competes with calcium for absorption and calcium always wins!  So you have to NOT take the Phyto D with your calcium but far away from it."

My eyes got stuck on your last sentence and made me forget the rest of what you had written.  

Just how much vitamin D can my body make if I try to spend time in the sun? It's wintertime, which is a double-whammy: it's too cold to expose more of my skin than just my face, and the sun's rays aren't very strong this time of year. But I do have light skin and my ancestors came from northern climates as well.

If I took a 10 minute walk around noon, would I make any significant amount of D? What if I took a walk around 2 PM?

Quoted from ruthiegirl

Just how much vitamin D can my body make if I try to spend time in the sun? It's wintertime, which is a double-whammy: it's too cold to expose more of my skin than just my face, and the sun's rays aren't very strong this time of year. But I do have light skin and my ancestors came from northern climates as well.

If I took a 10 minute walk around noon, would I make any significant amount of D? What if I took a walk around 2 PM?

With the sun in the winter position being closer to the planet, you wouldn't get very much intensity..would  take longer than in the summer to make the same amount of D. That's why I was asking about the tanning beds..If they are safe enough to make D and do they even make D?

Quoted from Victoria

I am blushing!    Thank you for the edification, Diana!
My eyes got stuck on your last sentence and made me forget the rest of what you had written.  

Oh, that's ok.. I miss things as well..

So am I wasting my time trying to take walks outside during the wintertime? Is there any value at all to getting some sunshine vs exercising indoors?

I'm wondering if there's something about sunlight-induced Vitamin D production that might help me absorb the supplemental D3 even better.

I don't know Ruthie... Maybe Dr. D will answer...

I think that a large amount of skin has to be exposed to the sunlight in order for it to produce Vit. D.

Quoted from ruthiegirl

So am I wasting my time trying to take walks outside during the wintertime? Is there any value at all to getting some sunshine vs exercising indoors?

Well I am not Dr. D but I think that at your latitude, due to sunlight volume and temperature, there are only 4 months of the year that are worthwhile for Vitamin D production. I would think that Oct. - Mar. are a waste of time. In theory the body is supposed to make its own supply and store away enough to last the winter. Looks like some form of supplementation is in order.

In Canada more people die in March than any other month of the year. There may be a connection there.

Sunlight is good not only for the Vit D, but also to keep that hormonal thing behind the eyes active ... just by closing your eyes every day for a few minutes and facing the sun ... I think we have a discussion about this somewhere ...  

Well, I got my D levels checked again.  It takes 7 days to get results..   Been taking 5,000-10,000 ius a day. Will report back.

Tanning beds & vitamin D

http://www.all-tanning-beds.com/tanning-safety/do-tanning-beds-help-you-get-vitamin-d.html

Got my latest D level test results back today.. My level is now....drumroll...  34.4
wow.  That's 3 1/2 months on 5,000-10,000 ius a day or more including D in food and other vitamins.   So who was it that said Oh you could be getting too much?  

Did anyone look into the role of the parathyroid? Apparently it has something to do how we metabolise Vitamin D and calcium.

Quoted from Curious

Did anyone look into the role of the parathyroid? Apparently it has something to do how we metabolise Vitamin D and calcium.

I've had thyroid panels done yearly. My thyroid is totally normal.  

Quoted from Curious

Did anyone look into the role of the parathyroid? Apparently it has something to do how we metabolise Vitamin D and calcium.

http://parathyroid.com/parathyroid-function.htm

Took my Army son to the doctor last Saturday to make sure he was ok and I asked the doctor to check his vitamin D levels..so the doctor looks at me and laughs! He said why? He's a kid! He's fine! I said please just do it anyway. So he reluctantly agreed..   Oh, guess what? My son's level is 27 .... So what was that doctor laughing at?  He should know better than to question me...