But vitamin D is a 'fat-soluble' vitamin, so your body can store it for months and you don't need it every day. That means you could equally safely take a vitamin D supplement of 20 micrograms a day or 500 micrograms once a month. Don't worry - your doctor or pharmacist aren't trying to poison you!
Answer: It is not necessary to take vitamin D every day. If you need to take vitamin D because your blood levels are low, you can take it every few days, weekly, or even monthly, because, as you mention, it is fat-soluble and, therefore, stored for future use within the fat in your body.
Don't take very high doses of vitamin D, as if you do this over a long period of time, it can cause too much calcium to build up in the body, which can weaken the bones and damage the kidneys and heart.
If your blood levels are exceptionally low, you may need higher doses that should be used under the direction of a healthcare provider. In patients with vitamin D levels less than 20 ng/mL, start with 50,000 IUs of vitamin D3 once a week for 6 to 8 weeks.
If you've been prescribed high-dose vitamin D, work closely with your doctor to monitor your blood levels. It can take three months or more to bring them back up, but once they're good, you can stop the high doses and return to a lower vitamin D supplement for maintenance.
It is a fat-soluble vitamin that has long been known to help the body absorb and retain calcium and phosphorus; both are critical for building bone. Also, laboratory studies show that vitamin D can reduce cancer cell growth, help control infections and reduce inflammation.
Taking more vitamin D than recommended can lead to side effects, like nausea, constipation, loss of appetite, and muscle weakness. Is too much vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) harmful? Yes, having vitamin D levels that are too high in your body can lead to high blood levels of calcium.
There's no set time of day that's best to take vitamin D supplements. Some people say taking vitamin D supplements at night is an insomnia risk. There's no research to confirm this, but you might want to take your supplement earlier in the day if you think it's screwing with your sleep.
These calcium deposits in the kidneys can lead to a condition known as nephrocalcinosis, which can lead to permanent kidney damage or even kidney failure. Research has found that when people took more than 3,600,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D3, they were more likely to experience kidney damage.
Some side effects of taking too much vitamin D include weakness, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, and others. Taking vitamin D for long periods of time in doses higher than 4000 IU (100 mcg) daily is possibly unsafe and may cause very high levels of calcium in the blood.
Growing evidence has demonstrated that vitamin D has a role in sleep regulation [12]. Specifically, vitamin D deficiency (VDD) can increase risk of sleep disorders and is associated with sleep difficulties, shorter sleep duration, and nocturnal awakenings in children and adults [13,14,15].
"Adequate levels of magnesium in the body are essential for the absorption and metabolism not only of vitamin D but of calcium as well," Dean states. "Magnesium converts vitamin D into its active form so that it can help calcium absorption.
While it is possible to take enough vitamin D once a week to keep yourself balanced, the best results were found to be a lower dose (1,000-2,000 IUs or 25-50 mcg ) taken daily. Taking vitamin D consistently with a meal containing healthy fats will ensure that your body absorbs it properly.
There are quite a few differences between vitamin D and vitamin D3, but the main difference between them is that vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that regulates calcium and phosphorous levels in the body, whereas the vitamin D3 is the natural form of vitamin D produced by the body from sunlight.
Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency may include:
Fatigue. Not sleeping well. Bone pain or achiness. Depression or feelings of sadness.
Because vitamin D is fat soluble, its absorption depends on the gut's ability to absorb dietary fat [4]. Fat malabsorption is associated with medical conditions that include some forms of liver disease, cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis [1,63].
"The overwhelming majority are self-collected blood tests including at-home finger prick options like imaware." Everlywell, Drop, and myLAB Box are other brands that offer at-home vitamin D tests. Each relies on a finger prick blood sample.
Vitamin D deficiency can lead to a loss of bone density, which can contribute to osteoporosis and fractures (broken bones). Severe vitamin D deficiency can also lead to other diseases: In children, it can cause rickets. Rickets is a rare disease that causes the bones to become soft and bend.
Can you take vitamin D and magnesium together? Yes. In fact, it's probably best to take both together. Because so many people have low magnesium levels, vitamin D supplements on their own aren't very helpful for a large portion of the population.
Magnesium assists in the activation of vitamin D, which helps regulate calcium and phosphate homeostasis to influence the growth and maintenance of bones. All of the enzymes that metabolize vitamin D seem to require magnesium, which acts as a cofactor in the enzymatic reactions in the liver and kidneys.
The benefits of magnesium supplementation in healthy individuals aren't clear, but Dr. Nassar says that taking a magnesium supplement every day likely isn't unsafe for most people. Just be sure you're not taking too much magnesium. The maximum dietary allowance for most adults is around 400 mg or less.
Excess Vitamin D
You may also develop kidney stones or kidney damage. Other symptoms of vitamin D toxicity include weakness, fatigue or tiredness, vomiting, weight loss, itchy skin, constipation and muscle control issues.
Vitamin D and sleep: The surprising connection
Early research suggests it is inversely related to melatonin, your sleep hormone. Increasing vitamin D levels may suppress melatonin levels. So, it makes sense that taking it at night could disrupt your sleep.
Kunutsor et al suggested that supplementation with vitamin D significantly reduced diastolic blood pressure (DBP) by 1.31 mm Hg in participants with preexisting cardiometabolic conditions (16).