Vitamin D Tests: Essential and Tricky
In order to fully enjoy the remarkably numerous and powerful health benefits of vitamin D you have to get the right amount. The right amount is 60 to 70 ng if you are healthy and 80 ng if you’re sick or have any chronic health problem. To know if you have the right amount you have to test. This is because there can be huge differences in the amount of vitamin D different people have to take in order to get the right blood level. This is because of two factors. First, there are large differences in the efficiency with which people absorb the vitamin D they swallow. For that matter, there are large differences in how efficiently people make vitamin D is in their skin during sun exposure. Second there are large differences in how efficiently the vitamin D receptors on cells function. One person may achieve an optimal blood level taking 4000 IU a day. Another may need to take twice that much to get the same blood level.
If by now you agree that blood testing is essential for optimum benefit from vitamin D you may be interested in knowing how to get the right test. There are three problems with this:
- Some labs do inaccurate tests.
- Some doctors order the wrong vitamin D test. The wrong test is the 1-25 dihydroxy vitamin D; the right test is the 25-hydroxy vitamin D.
- Some doctors misinterpret the right test by using outdated normal values, which give 30 ng as the optimum amount.
Fortunately, for all three problems there is one simple solution: Do a simple, economical at home test, the ZRT. You can order the kit for $65 by going to www.vitamindcouncil.org. The lab cost would be at least $200.
When you do the ZRT test, you know it accurate, it's the right test, and you already know the optimum blood levels as a result of reading this blog. Of course, if you are not sure I'm right about the optimum levels you can do your own research using the references on www.vitamindcouncil.org.
If the test shows you are below the optimal level, you can increase your dose by 1000 or 2000 IU per day and retest in a month. Do this as many times as necessary. If you exceed 100 ng reduce your dose.
On your first retest, you should also get a serum calcium, a simple, relatively inexpensive blood test. Very rarely there is a viamin D allergy that can cause an excessively high blood calcium. Some labs will do this test without a doctor's order. Ask around.
Do not take any vitamin A (retinol) because it may interfere with vitamin D receptors. If you are taking mixed carotenoids or eating orange and yellow vegetables your body will make all the vitamin A it needs from the carotenoids in the vegetables.
I think this finally covers the essential parts of understanding of vitamin D. Of all the biochemical things I know that people can do to improve their health and increase their independence from the disease treatment system, having the optimum amount of vitamin D is the probably most important. It is also the most economical. Because of this, I will be glad to respond to any questions or comments you would like to post.
And now, on to a blog about a protocol for possibly achieving "impossible" healing.
