[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/bone-nutrition\/how-much-vitamin-d-should-you-take\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/bone-nutrition\/how-much-vitamin-d-should-you-take\/","headline":"How much vitamin D should you take? That depends on you","name":"How much vitamin D should you take? That depends on you","description":"Print PDF eBook Facebook Twitter Gmail LinkedIn Pinterest As we head into cooler weather, it\u2019s the ideal time to get your vitamin D tested \u2013 whether you live in the north like I do or a warmer climate too. You may not realize that even people who get adequate sunlight may become vitamin D deficient […]","datePublished":"2016-08-15","dateModified":"2026-04-22","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/author\/brownbetterbonesgmail-com\/#Person","name":"Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/author\/brownbetterbonesgmail-com\/","identifier":72,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e08d87bd45250c6616e1752933a6576aba077f335d97ee337a0cde5e435cbd3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8e08d87bd45250c6616e1752933a6576aba077f335d97ee337a0cde5e435cbd3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Center for Better Bones","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Better-Bones-AMP.png","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Better-Bones-AMP.png","width":150,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/2.jpg","url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/2.jpg","height":1109,"width":2120},"url":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/bone-nutrition\/how-much-vitamin-d-should-you-take\/","video":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=97ZrZs6Ks9k#VideoObject","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=97ZrZs6Ks9k","name":"How much vitamin D do you need for bone health?","description":"Dr. Susan Brown of the Center for Better Bones shares about the value of vitamin D for strengthening bone.\n\n\u2192 Want to learn everything you need to manage & reverse your osteoporosis\/osteopenia naturally in one inspiring weekend with Dr. Brown? Join our bone health retreat & workshop! Learn more here: https:\/\/shop.betterbones.com\/pages\/love-your-bones-love-your-life-virtual-retreat\n\n\u2192 If you are interested in working with Dr. Brown to develop a personalized natural bone health program, read more about consultations here: https:\/\/www.betterbones.com\/consultations\/help-osteoporosis-osteopenia-fracture-healing-bone-health-concerns\/\n\n\u2192 Would you like your questions answered by Dr. Brown?  Comment below and she may address them in a future video!\n\nCheck out our website! \u2192 http:\/\/ www.betterbones.com\n\nWant to connect with Better Bones on social media?\nLike on Facebook \u2192 http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/betterbonesbetterbody\n\u200bFollow on Twitter \u2192 http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/drsusanbrown\n\u200bFollow our Instagram \u2192 http:\/\/www.instagram.com\/betterbonesbetterbody\n\u200bCheck out our Pinterest \u2192 http:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/betterbonesbetterbody\n\n#osteoporosis #osteopenia #bonemass #bonehealth #weightandbonemass #womenshealth #drsusanbrown #betterbonesbetterbody #preventosteoporosis\nExercise for bone health: patreon.com\/betterbones\n\nTranscription:\nhi this is dr. Susan brown director of\nthe center for better bones a pleasure\nto be with you here today today I want\nto share with you some information some\nupdated information about a really\nimportant bone nutrient and that\nnutrient is vitamin D this time of year\nI think of vitamin D because here in New\nYork we're into mid May to early May and\nthat's just the time of the year when\nthe Sun starts coming out when we're\ngoing to have more exposure to vitamin D\nwhen we're coming from that winter\nvitamin D drought it's the perfect time\nto measure your vitamin D level because\nyour level is going to be quite low\nperhaps the lowest of all the year so I\nalways like to get an early spring late\nwinter vitamin D vitamin D is such an\nimportant nutrient for bone health in\nfact I've heard major bone researchers\nlike Robert Heaney\nwho spent his life studying calcium I've\nheard him say on a stage to thousands of\npeople I really am sorry that I spent so\nmuch time encouraging people to take\ncalcium and not studying vitamin D he\nsaid you can actually swim in an ocean\nof calcium and not absorb it unless you\nhave enough vitamin D we now know that\nvitamin D is essential for calcium\nabsorption and in fact I've done many\nstudies on vitamin D looking at many\nstudies written several reports and it's\nmy analysis here at the Center for\nbetter bones but you can reduce fracture\nby 50% if you have adequate vitamin D\nlevels and we'll get to talk about what\nthat ethical level is actually and\nthere's been several studies showing\nsimilar things like this data by\nvest Austin Hughes showing that they\njust gave simple vitamin D\nsupplementation in Boston and reduced\nfracture by 50% non vertebral fractures\non the better bones website we actually\nhave a document discussing all of these\nstudies nursing home studies showing\njust 800 units of vitamin D reduce\nfractures substantially even with\nosteopenia they've been able to if a\nwoman is deficient in vitamin D giver\nvitamin D in\nAccio Pina so that's why I'm saying it's\na great time to get tested and I want to\nremind you that vitamin D is not only\nimportant to bone but it's also\nimportant to every aspect of health\npractically they now find that 22 types\nof cancer are related to vitamin D and\nthat if you optimize your level of\nvitamin D you're less likely to be\ndeveloping that cancer less likely to\nhave remission and better likely to have\na better outcome if you have that\nvitamin D the vitamin D research on\ncancer is really fascinated because the\nwoman who began all that was Carol Carol\nbeggarly she was a woman that I've known\nfor many years when she retired as a\nsuccessful business person she developed\nbreast cancer and her son said to her\nyou know mom I've been reading research\non how vitamin D can affect breast\ncancer she went on to go to some of\nthese professional meetings this was a\nfew decades ago with all these leaders\nwhere they were reporting the early\nresearch on the link between vitamin D\nin cancer and at one point she said she\ngrabbed that very expensive microphone\nand said how come you never tell the\npublic this and their answer was well\nyou know we don't have enough\ndouble-blind studies but afterwards\nseveral key vitamin D researchers came\nup to her and said you know we have\nsympathy with you\nwe'll help you teach the public and they\ndeveloped an amazing project called\ngrassroots health and the website is\ngrass roots roots grassroots health net\nand they have wonderful data wonderful\nstudies many videos on vitamin D and\nthey have produced for example this\nreally very fascinating chart that you\nmight actually be thinking of this chart\nactually shows how much disease this is\nit plenty of","thumbnailUrl":["https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/97ZrZs6Ks9k\/default.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/97ZrZs6Ks9k\/mqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/97ZrZs6Ks9k\/hqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/97ZrZs6Ks9k\/sddefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/97ZrZs6Ks9k\/maxresdefault.jpg"],"uploadDate":"2017-07-26T12:41:02+00:00","duration":"PT16M58S","embedUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/97ZrZs6Ks9k","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCm6Zry9uGdrZpm05sQLIxMw#Organization","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCm6Zry9uGdrZpm05sQLIxMw","name":"Dr. Susan E. Brown","description":"Dr. Susan E. Brown, PhD, is a medical anthropologist, a New York State Certified Nutritionist, and the author of Better Bones, Better Body -- the first comprehensive look at natural bone health. Dr. Brown specializes in osteoporosis, osteopenia, bone health regeneration, and auto-immune disease. She is also famous for her natural approach to bone health; check out her Better Bones programs and products.","logo":{"url":"https:\/\/yt3.ggpht.com\/ytc\/AIdro_m0l08uY9k8RO1FbN8-VsYIOa8fiq9BtocNNM_k3xw7a7s=s800-c-k-c0x00ffffff-no-rj","width":800,"height":800,"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=97ZrZs6Ks9k#VideoObject_publisher_logo_ImageObject"}},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=97ZrZs6Ks9k#VideoObject_potentialAction","target":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=97ZrZs6Ks9k&t={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"},"interactionStatistic":[[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=97ZrZs6Ks9k#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_WatchAction","interactionType":{"@type":"WatchAction"},"userInteractionCount":44654}],{"@type":"InteractionCounter","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=97ZrZs6Ks9k#VideoObject_interactionStatistic_LikeAction","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1313}]},"about":["Bone Nutrition"],"wordCount":507,"keywords":["bone building nutrients","Vitamin D","vitamin D dosage"],"articleBody":" Print PDF eBook\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFacebook\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTwitter\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGmail\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLinkedIn\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPinterest\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAs we head into cooler weather, it\u2019s the ideal time to get your vitamin D tested \u2013 whether you live in the north like I do or a warmer climate too.You may not realize that even people who get adequate sunlight may become vitamin D deficient \u2014 with an impact on their bones.\u00a0 That\u2019s because vitamin D absorption and utilization differ, sometimes dramatically, from person to person.Vitamin D needs vary greatlyHere are just a few interesting examples I\u2019ve seen:One woman in Connecticut had a vitamin D of level of 33 ng\/mL in March \u2014 barely above the acceptable lower limit \u2014 despite taking 6600 IU of vitamin D during winter.\u00a0 She increased her intake to 8600 IU for several months to reach the ideal 50 ng\/mL level.Another northeastern woman tested in August \u2014 when you\u2019d expect her levels to be highest \u2014 was only 35 ng\/mL despite taking 2000 IU of vitamin D daily year-round. She needed to add 2000 IU more to reach an optimal level. Contrast this to another client living in Denver, who had 53 ng\/mL vitamin D in January when she was only taking 1000 IU daily.And then there\u2019s my own case \u2014 living in central New York, I was using 2800 units of vitamin D during the summer and getting lots of sunshine from my outdoor activities, but I still tested at 35 ng\/mL in October.\u00a0 If I had not raised my wintertime vitamin D intake substantially to 5,800 IU\/day, I would\u2019ve had a very inadequate level of vitamin D during the winter.On average, vitamin D levels are expected to increase 10 ng\/mL for every additional 1000 IU of vitamin D \u2014 but as you can see, the average doesn\u2019t mean much in real-world situations! That\u2019s why it\u2019s crucial to get vitamin D testing to identify where you are starting \u2014 and retest a few weeks later to see if the amount you use is having an impact.How much Vitamin D should I take?References:Boro\u0144, D., Kami\u0144ski, A., Kotrych, D. et al. Polymorphisms of vitamin D3 receptor and its relation to mineral bone density in perimenopausal women. Osteoporos Int (2015) 26: 1045. doi:10.1007\/s00198-014-2947-3Hollis, B. W., Wagner, C. L., Howard, C. R., Ebeling, M., Shary, J. R., Smith, P. G., … & Hulsey, T. C. (2015). Maternal versus infant vitamin D supplementation during lactation: a randomized controlled trial. Pediatrics,136(4), 625-634.Drincic, Andjela T., et al. “Volumetric dilution, rather than sequestration best explains the low vitamin D status of obesity.” Obesity 20.7 (2012): 1444-1448.Mayo Clinic. Vitamin D toxicity rare in people who take supplements, researchers report. ScienceDaily, 30 April 2015.* Information presented here is not intended to cure, diagnose, prevent or treat any health concerns or condition, nor is it to serve as a substitute professional medical care.For a complete breakdown of every nutrient your bones need, see our guide to bone health nutrition and the 20+ nutrients your bones need.Compare all the options in our comprehensive resource on which supplements actually help bone density."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Bone Nutrition","item":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/bone-nutrition\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How much vitamin D should you take? That depends on you","item":"https:\/\/betterbones.com\/bone-nutrition\/how-much-vitamin-d-should-you-take\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]