Pagdin's Pick Number One- Vitamin D3

We have just launched our campaign of Pagdin’s Picks: selected supplements available in selected outlets, with a new one each month through 2016. Find our display at the following retailers:

Abaco Health (Gordon at Cook Rd)
Lakeside Medicine Centre (Gordon at Guisachan)
Remedy’s Rx / Dyck’s (downtown on St Paul)
Prescription Health Studio (540 West Ave, just off Pandosy)
Thrive Naturals (97N and Brown Rd, West Kelowna)
Nolan’s Pharmasave (Vernon)
Summerland Pharmasave

At any one of our displays, you will have a chance to enter a draw for a 90-day supply of the Pick-Of-The-Month. At the end of the year, there will be a draw for $500 worth of Pagdin Health services.

First up is the one supplement with the least amount of controversy: Vitamin D3. It is an essential nutrient providing support for bone growth1, mood, immunity, and much more. It has been shown to reduce falls in the elderly2, as well as reduce cardiovascular disease risk3. It is synthesized in the skin when we are exposed to sunlight, so it is virtually impossible for us in the Okanagan to have enough during winter months.

The recommended daily allowance for Vitamin D is currently set at 400-800 IU per day, but this is only the amount required to prevent gross deficiency. The lowest effective dose to supplement is 1000-2000 IU daily, and the safe upper limit is 10,000 IU daily. Some studies have employed doses of 50,000 IU daily without observing toxicity. Doses based on body weight suggest a range of 20-80 IU per kilogram daily. I personally take 6-8000 IU daily in winter and 2-3000 IU daily in summer. The form to supplement is called D3 (cholecalciferol) because it is used more effectively by the body than D2 (ergocalciferol). Take Vitamin D daily, preferably with a meal or a source of fat such as Fish Oil (hint: next month’s pick!!)

Your partner in Living Longer Better,

Dr. Grant Pagdin, MD

Sources

Bischoff-Ferrari HA. Fall prevention with supplemental and active forms of vitamin D: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials BMJ 2009 Oct 1;339:b3692. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19797342

Dobnig H. Independent association of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin d and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin d levels with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Arch Intern Med. 2008 Jun 23;168(12):1340-9 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1857409

Bischoff-Ferrari HA. Prevention of nonvertebral fractures with oral vitamin D and dose dependency: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Arch Intern Med. 2009 Mar 23;169(6):551-61 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19307517