Vitamin D Supplement

[vbactivist]

What fo you all recommend as a vit. d supplement, for adults and kids? Which is most bioavailable?

TIA

[Beppie]

We take Carlson's D Drops. One drop is 2000 IU. It's Vitamin D3, which I've read is the best kind to take.

I'm not sure about the best amount for kids, though. I don't give it to them every day. Only when I think they are getting sick do I give them a drop in some juice.

[phatchristy]

It's vitamin D3 you need to look for, from what I've read it's the most bioavailable.

I give the kids several 'gummy' vitamins a day, and that is one of them. It's 1000 IU a day. We live in FL too, and the ped still is VERY happy that we give them. They likely do get enough, but it's seems it's so important now for immunity especially (I'm thinking flu season!) that we're all taking it. I'm taking 4000 IU a day, and I'm also breastfeeding.

[kittyhead]

carlson's has D drops for babies, too. i just bought a bottle for my baby and three year old.

[vbactivist]

so - should the kids get 1000 a day? They are just 2, 6 and 10. And how much should adults be getting?

[Mrsboyko]

I have a bottle of baby D from calrsons that we all take (400 IU per drop). The kids get 1 drop a few times a week. I take 4 drops (so 1600 IU) and DH gets 6-7 drops (so 2400-2800 IU) daily. We all had our leves tested not long ago. My 3 y/o had a level of 30 (not sure of the units used?), I was 23, and DH was 15 thus why he gets the most and DD gets the least.

[mama1803]

Originally Posted by Mrsboyko

I have a bottle of baby D from calrsons that we all take (400 IU per drop). The kids get 1 drop a few times a week. I take 4 drops (so 1600 IU) and DH gets 6-7 drops (so 2400-2800 IU) daily. We all had our leves tested not long ago. My 3 y/o had a level of 30 (not sure of the units used?), I was 23, and DH was 15 thus why he gets the most and DD gets the least.

Did you doctor say what the ideal level was? I've read that it should be 50-80, in which case all of you are very deficient and your current level of supplementation is not enough.

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/healt...eficient.shtml

[Cutie Patootie]

Our doctor prescribed Carlson 1000mg for the kids, once a day.

[luminesce]

We use Carlson drops. DH and I take at least 4,000 IU per day. DS (2.5) gets on average somewhere between 1,000 - 2,000 IU per day.

[Hazelnut]

I was going to get these at Trader joe's but they have been out. Has anyone tried the sunny gummies from rainbow light?

[AJP]

We have the Sunny Gummies, they taste just like candy, literally. No static at all from my kids about taking them. The D3 drops are flavorless, and an easy and cheaper way to get larger doses (the gummy ones are only 400 IU each).

[mamamoon89]

Cod liver oil is a very good source of vitamin D.

[Starflower]

My ND's office is recommending 1000 IU of D for kids and 2000 IU for adults during the flu season, combined with 1500 mg vitamin C and eating well.

I am on 5000 IU of D right now and go down to 2000 in December to get my levels up. I had them tested this summer.

I found that DD will actually take the NOW vitamin D drops willingly. We also take cod liver oil.

[Hazelnut]

Originally Posted by mamamoon89

Cod liver oil is a very good source of vitamin D.

That's what I always thought, but all of a sudden I'm hearing that mamas who are pretty into TF and take CLO take D3 as well, due to recent studies about it's immune boosting effects. I haven't really done any reading on it yet. I do recall reading some stuff online a while ago about getting your D levels tested but I didn't really buy it at the time. MY old APish ped said we all probably get enough D outside, and infants didn't really need the drops in winter. But I think there has been more published about recent studies.

I just ordered some rainbow 1000 IUs sunny gummie things- it comes in 400 and 1000. Glad to hear it tastes yummy. Though sometimes I worry when my kids think it tastes like candy.

So I'm thinking I can take 1-2 and my kids (2, 4, and 6) can take 1. I always steered clear of additional supplements beyond our multi, but I feel like we take a lot lately. : multi, clo, periodic C and other thing or two with colds.

[AJP]

Modern cod liver oil processing removes most of the vit. D, some brands have some added back in but many are actually very low in vit. D. Check lables. The fermented stuff claims to be the only one now with the natural, native levels of vit. D from the cod livers.

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by mamamoon89

Cod liver oil is a very good source of vitamin D.

It isn't really. I mean, yes, it has more vitamin D than most foods, but the A & D work together, and that level of vitamin A consumption uses vitamin D (in a healthy way, they need each other and need to be balanced). Most people in the US seem to be more D deficient than A deficient, so just supplementing CLO won't improve vitamin D levels and may make them worse. Quite a bummer when I realized this, means I hadn't made a lick of progress with the kids' vitamin D levels.

While there could be situations with combinations of individual health, diet, location and lifestyle that could sustain reasonably good levels of vitamin D without supplementation, while taking CLO, I think most of us need extra D.

OP, I'd go to the vitamin D council for vitD dosing recommendations. And if you have reason to think you or your kids are more deficient than the typical person out there, testing would be helpful (we are supplementing first for a while, then we'll test). I'm taking higher levels than the vit D council recommends, but I know our health situation isn't typical, we've got deficiencies to address, and we supplement with CLO, so I think our bodies are using more D than someone else's.

[Sativarain1]

Does anyone have links providing benefits of supplementing with vitamin D?
I always thought if you walk outside for 15-20 minutes daily that was enough. Is this not enough? I'd appreciate any info.

We currently do not take any vitamin D supplements and am now wondering if we should.
Thanks!

[tanyalynn]

The vitamin D council has tons of studies on their website.

For me, from a commonsense perspective, people spent a lot more time, historically, outside than 15-20 minutes per day. I've read quite a few of the studies, but as a gut check, did humans, thousands of years ago, really get too much vitamin D (far more than they'd have any use for), or has our lifestyle shifted so dramatically that perhaps we are getting far too little?

If you're not sure where you're starting, you could get tested, either ask your doc or get a test on your own (vitD council website discusses this) and see where you're starting.

[umsami]

D3 is best. I had extremely low D, even though I live in FL. I was outside probably an hour each day... minimum. (I do wear hijab, though.) TO get my levels up to normal, it took 100,000 IU of D3 per week for about 8 weeks. (Two 50,000 IU pills spread out during the week.) Now, I maintain on 50,000 IU of D3 per week. I'm an exception, though. (Do not do levels like that unless you know you're deficient and are under the care of a physician, though.)

In general, 1000-2000 IU per day is fine for most people.

I guess the reason I'm posting is that if your health insurance covers it, you might want to find out where you're at. I never knew I was so deficient (<20)... and I have no idea how long I was that deficient. I was taking 1000 IU per day and thought I was fine.

[Elizabeth2008]

Originally Posted by AJP

We have the Sunny Gummies, they taste just like candy, literally. .

The Sunny Gummies are BETTER than candy. They are so good I have to fight with DS over how many he can have! I've even been known to pop a few in my mouth They do have sugar, but at least it's evaporated cane juice and not HFCS or something. I think they have 1g of sugar per gummy. I get the lemon kind that are 1000 IU