Vitamin D: What happens when your body does not have enough of it?

Food And Nutrition Board

Given below is the chart recommended by the Food and Nutrition Board for the minimum intake of vitamin D to keep the body healthy. The intake is given in Internation Units (IU).

When Deficient

The Endocrine Society recommends a daily consumption of 1,500–2,000 IU to adults whose vitamin D levels are below 30 ng/mL, to restore healthy levels. If a person goes for a treatment then instead of daily consumption, they are given a dosage of 50,000 IU weekly or monthly.

Good Sources Of Vitamin D

Here is a good news for cheese lovers- cheese is an organic source of vitamin D. Other natural sources are:

• tuna
• salmon
• beef liver
• egg yolk

Fortified Food

In the U.S, vitamins are artificially added in some food items which are called to be fortified. For example- milk, breakfast cereals, orange juice etc- can be often found to contain vitamin D and it is always mentioned on the nutrition label what foods contain what vitamins.

Other Sources

Breast milk does not contain enough vitamin D that is needed for an infant’s healthy growth, therefore breastfed babies require vitamin D  supplements. This can be easily done as vitamin D drops are accessible over-the-counter (OTC). Also, the formula that is used to feed babies also has enough vitamin D.

Excess Vitamin D

Excess of anything is bad and it holds true for vitamin D also. The body cannot prepare too much vitamin D from exposure to the sun; it is usually the result of supplements. It is rare though and is known to occur when someone takes very high doses for a long period of time (like over a year).