A new study of serum levels of vitamin D shows that 4000 to 8000 IU per day are required to keep your serum level in a range that will reduce the incidence of disease. This includes cancer, type 1 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. Dr. Cedric Garland says that the incidence of many diseases could be reduced by half.
Here is the news article in Business Week: “Higher Vitamin D Level Could Cut Cancer Risk”
As I have described in many post, the amount of vitamin D required is different for each individual. The only way to know that you are getting enough is to have your serum 25(OH)D level tested. Serum levels should be maintained above 40 ng/ml, and for best results the level should be maintained between 60 to 80 ng/ml year round. You should only supplement with Vitamin D3.
For a better understanding of the science, here is the journal article that was published in Anticancer Research, International Journal of Cancer Research and Treatment, made available in its entirety by Grass Roots Health.
CEDRIC F. GARLAND, CHRISTINE B. FRENCH, , LEO L. BAGGERLY, and ROBERT P. HEANEY (here is the url in case you cannot go there from the above link http://www.grassrootshealth.net/garland02-11)
“This paper provides a long awaited insight into a dose-response relationship between orally administered vitamin D3 and the resulting levels of serum 25(OH)D in over 3600 citizens. The results will allow new definition of high vitamin D dose safety and reduce concerns about toxicity. This is a landmark contribution in the vitamin D nutrition field!”
– Pandemic Survivor
Vitamin D Deficiency Survivor 
I am so glad I found this out I have just started taking 5000iu a day, will report back is it safe to give a 5 year old vit D3? She gets colds all the time and of course so will my family get it!
Yes, for children it works out to about 40IU per pound. From the National Institute of Health Fact Sheet for vitamin D3, 5 year old should get 400 IU per day with a tolerable upper limit of 3000 IU per day. This should allow you to give the child the 40 IU per lb. For example, if the child weighs 50 lbs then about 2000IU would be an adequate amount from all sources including the sun.
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A bit of anecdotal evidence. I am 57 years old and, for 50 of those years have suffered from recurring colds and the flu for much of the time. This became a nuisance by the age of 20, when constant sickness was making life increasingly difficult. From about about the age of 20 to 50, I experimented with high doses of vitamin C. That strategy was in vogue for cold-treatment and prevention. No effect. Then at age 50 I decided out of desperation to try large doses of vitamin d3. By “large” I mean 400 IU X 5 (as that was the standard pill-size back then). My crude reasoning was that since my colds diminished in frequency during the summer (I live in Canada), perhaps more vitamin D would do something. I was, I suppose, more or less stunned when the frequency of my colds and flu plummeted. Now I take 4000 IUs per day and I get no colds or flus. None. Zero. This after years and years of suffering. My daughter, now 17 began taking D3 about 6 years ago, on my insistence, because unlike my wife, but like me, she seemed prone to colds and flus. Same result. The colds and flus evaporated. I am on a mission to spread the word, because my own experience has been nothing short of revelatory. Medical practitioners aren’t on to this yet. But it is only a matter of time, I think; because the evidence is profound. (Even if the precise mechanisms at work are not completely understood.) Forget “Cold FX” etc. Just start taking as much D3 as you need (in my case 4000 IUs seems to do the trick.)
Cheers,
John Grant (M.A., Ph.D, LL.B.)
John,
Thanks for your comment. I think that the medical profession will eventually get there, but it will be slow. There is too much concern about what would happen with a quick downturn of the medical economy.
Like you I started taking ‘large amounts’ of vitamin D3 in 2004. I have not had a cold or flu since that time. I had to convince my daughter, a physicians assistant student at UK that taking vitamin D would get rid of her cold. After a couple of years, you could not separate her from the vitamin D.
Keep spreading the word.