By Michelle Kruse
Soon, the beautiful fall color will give way to winter and sometimes, the winter blues. Just as the lack of direct sunlight in fall and winter causes the leaves to stop producing chlorophyll, change color and fall from the trees, the sun’s absence has a direct effect on you. In autumn and winter, when the sun’s rays are weak and days are short, our bodies can’t synthesize enough vitamin D. In fact, if you live north of 37 degrees latitude (around Atlanta, GA), it is impossible for you to get enough vitamin D from the sun. Nearly half of all Americans are Vitamin D deficient, and not surprisingly, those numbers increase significantly during the fall and winter. Those with darker skin and those who are obese are even more likely to be Vitamin D deficient. Inadequate vitamin D levels can severely impact not only your mood (giving you the winter blahs), but also increase your risk for a variety of serious health conditions.
The latest studies show that most Americans need at least 1,000 IU per day of Vitamin D to get their blood levels of this crucially important nutrient into the adequate range, and the cardiologists at CardioTabs recommend 2,000 IU per day. According to Dr. James O’Keefe, Preventive Cardiologist and unpaid Medical Director of CardioTabs, “Restoring Vitamin D levels to normal will improve blood pressure and glucose levels, and may reduce risks for heart failure and heart attacks.”
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I’m currently taking two 600 mg calcium tablets daily and each tablet has 400 IU’s of Vitamin D. My current Cardio Daily multivitamin has 400 IU of Vitamin D also.
How much Vitamin D is too much? If I take the new Cardio Daily with increased Vitamin D, what do I do about the necessary calcium? I have not been able to find a calcium tablet without the Vitamin D.
Thanks.
Hi Janice.
Thank you for your comment. This would make a great blog post – I think many people are confused about how much Vitamin D they need and how much is too much. Our physicians have formulated CardioDaily to contain 2,000 IU of Vitamin D because they believe the research indicates that is the optimal amount to keep your Vitamin D levels at a safe, healthy range all year long. Extra Vitamin D in your calcium is fine. As a matter of fact, it is wise to take Calcium and Vitamin D together. Vitamin D toxicity may occur in ranges above 10-12,000 IU per day, much more than you’d be getting with CardioDaily and your calcium supplements. In fact, for persons with severe Vitamin D deficiencies, 10,000 IU daily or 50,000 IU shots are often prescribed. I hope this helps!
Michelle