Several weeks ago, the local paper printed a story by the Associated Press that was entitled “Vitamin D deficiency widely overestimated, experts warn patients.” This story was carried by most major news’ outlets at a time when supplementation for vitamin D is necessary in the northern latitudes. The article was based on a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) by four scientists that were on the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) food and nutrition board for vitamin D and calcium. The IOM reported in 2010 that you only needed 600 to 800 IU per day of vitamin D from all sources whether you were a ten-pound baby or a three-hundred-pound adult. What the NJEM paper and the news article fail to mention is that there was a statistical error found in the study and confirmed by several universities. The real value should have been reported at over 7,000 IU per day of vitamin D3. Follow link to read about the error.
One of the researchers, JoAnn Manson of Brigham and Women’s Hospital Boston, is doing a study given 26,000 patients 2,000 IU per day. She hopes to compare the study against statistics from the general population. The problem for Manson is that her study is extremely flawed because now most of the population knows that you need more than the 2,000 IU per day. She wants to slow down the supplementation of the general population to validate her study. The news article emphasizes “there’s an epidemic of needless testing and too many people taking too many pills for a deficiency that very few people truly have.” If that is truly the case, then why is she doing the study at a higher level of supplementation?
It is amazing that the medical industry has been trying to keep the general population deficient of the vital hormone, vitamin D3, for a very long time. The problem goes back to the 1940s when the US sued seventeen multinational corporations for conspiracy of price manipulation and not putting an adequate amount of vitamin D in over-the-counter supplements. Why? The original reason for this criminal act was about making money from discoveries that may not have been patentable. The withholding of the information has gone on so long now that the economy is at risk if everyone gets enough vitamin D to be healthy. Government action has now fallen in step with the medical industry because of the economy. Why has it been two years since the error was found and the public has not been notified? How would an adequate amount of vitamin D affect the economy? One medical practice gave their patients enough supplements to make the general population replete in critical nutrients. Office visits went from four per patient per year to one visit per patient per year. Think how the patients’ health most have improved—think of the dollar loss to the medical practice.
So, what to believe? People with light colored skin typically will make in twenty minutes, about 20,000 IU of vitamin D3, with mid-day sun exposure in the summertime with sixty percent of the skin exposed. People with dark skin may take 3 to 6 times longer. Who are you going to believe, nature or the medical industry? In the winter our immune systems become depressed because of reduction in the amount of vitamin D3 made from sun exposure. Colds and the flu increase and more people die from chronic disease. Let the researchers play their games while you protect your health with adequate vitamins and minerals. It is time to have empathy for the health of the population based on science.
This winter you should supplement per twenty-five pounds of body weight per day with approximately: 
- 1000 IU of vitamin D3
- 100 mg of magnesium (not magnesium oxide as you do not absorb it)
- 500 mg vitamin C
- 5 mg zinc
If you weigh 175 pounds, the amount of supplementation of these nutrients in which we are deficient would be 7,000 IU of vitamin D3, 700 mg of magnesium, 3,500 mg of vitamin C, and 35 mg of zinc. This of course is not the whole story of nutritional deficiency, but it would be a great start to get you through the winter. –Pandemic Survivor
Vitamin D Deficiency Survivor 
Thank you for your blog. This information is important for the health of all individuals and society as a whole. This is important work!
Hi Mark,
As you wrote at the end of your above article, your suggestions are a start for getting people through the winter. Adding vitamin K2 is a fine tuning, so-to-speak. Of course, ideally it’s best to get one’s nutrients from healthful food, organic if possible. Fortunately, consuming dark greens is a good way of getting magnesium and K2. For most of us, supplementing with pills is most likely also needed, especially in the winter. I am now taking magnesium glycinate capsules daily. Magnesium threonate may be somewhat better because it crosses the blood brain barrier and positively impacts brain function. However, it’s rather expensive compared to other forms of magnesium. Taking Epsom Salt baths is a less expensive way of getting absorbable magnesium, and without any stomach/bowel side effects.
Thanks you for having your very informative website!
Dianne
Thank you very much for all of your Vitamin D information.
Dr. Joseph Mercola and some other holistic type medical practitioners/researchers recommend taking Vitamin K2 when taking a high dose of the supplement Vitamin D3. For better absorption, I take the bioactive form of K2 from natto (fermented soybean). This is called MK-7, and each softgel I take has 90 mcg of Menaquinone-7.
Hi Dianne, It is also important that you take an absorbable form of magnesium. Mark