Transcription
Millions of people are taking vitamin D supplementation on a daily basis, but most of them are doing it completely wrong. In the next 10 minutes, I'm going to show you the exact mistakes that are making your vitamin D supplementation completely useless, and I'm going to share with you my doctor's protocol that will actually make your vitamin D work for your body.
So, here's what we are going to cover in today's video. First, I'm going to talk about the form of vitamin D supplement that most people are buying, which is completely useless, and which is the right form of vitamin D to buy. And then we are going to talk about two cofactors, one a different vitamin and one a mineral, which you need to take along with vitamin D. Then only your vitamin D gets activated and your body can utilize it. And third, very important information, you have to take vitamin D with this particular food, otherwise your body cannot absorb it. And what is the right dosage and right timing of taking vitamin D supplement so it actually works for your body.
Hi, I'm Dr. Anshul Gupta, a former Cleveland Clinic Functional Medicine Physician from the US. I help people improve their chronic diseases by making personalized functional medicine plans.
Now, vitamin D is the most important vitamin in our body. Some of the scientists are actually calling vitamin D as a prohormone because it has so many health benefits for your body. It not only supports your brain health, your bone health, your heart health, your thyroid health, as well as reduces inflammation in your body. So, literally each and every organ of your body needs vitamin D. And unfortunately, because of the modern-day lifestyle, every second person has sub-optimal vitamin D levels. And unfortunately for most people, sun exposure does not raise their vitamin D. And that's the reason you have to rely on supplementation. But if you're not taking the vitamin D supplement in the right way, then it becomes completely useless for your body.
So, let's first talk about the basic problem of the vitamin D supplement. There are two forms of vitamin D sold in supplementation form. One of the forms is vitamin D2, also called as ergocalciferol, and the other one is vitamin D3 called cholecalciferol. Well, here's the problem. A huge number of pharmacy supplements sell vitamin D2 as a major form. And we have several research studies which show that vitamin D2 is ineffective in raising your vitamin D levels in the proper fashion.
Vitamin D3 is the form your skin makes when it gets exposed to the sunlight. And this vitamin D3 actually goes to your liver and kidneys. They convert it to the active hormone which your body can utilize and work on. Vitamin D2 is completely inactive that requires extra steps by your body to convert it to vitamin D3. And in some people, this conversion doesn't happen, and that's the reason it doesn't work for them. So, the very first thing I would like you to do right now is that go look at your vitamin D supplement and whether it says vitamin D2 or ergocalciferol. And if that is the case, then that supplement is completely useless. And you need to switch over to a vitamin D3 supplement.
Now, let's talk about the second problem with vitamin D. Now, whenever you consume even vitamin D3, it requires two cofactors. One is magnesium and the second one is vitamin K2 for your body to utilize them properly. And without them, this vitamin D3 supplement also is not able to reach inside your body cells.
Now, as I shared with you before, the vitamin D3 goes to your liver and kidneys and they convert it to the active hormone which your body utilizes. Now, the enzymes involved in this conversion of your vitamin D3 to the active hormone requires magnesium. And what research studies are showing is that the majority of the people are sub-optimal in magnesium levels. So, that means they do not have enough magnesium in their body, and that ultimately affects the conversion of your vitamin D3 to the active hormone. So, it's very important to take a magnesium supplementation along with your vitamin D3 supplement, so it can help in the conversion of vitamin D3. The best form of magnesium over here is magnesium glycinate or bisglycinate because that is the most absorbable form of magnesium. I have created this special magnesium supplement. If you want to buy, the link will be in the description.
The second problem over here is vitamin K2. Now, one of the roles of vitamin D is the deposit of calcium in your bones. But, vitamin D without vitamin K2 actually deposits this calcium in your arteries also. And this calcification of your arteries, as you age, can cause heart issues. So, that's the reason if you want all of your calcium and all of your vitamin D3 to go into your bones, then you need to add vitamin K2 along with it. So, that's the reason buy a vitamin D3 supplement with K2 into it, so that both of those can directly help in getting your calcium to your bones and not to your arteries. And this is where I've created this special vitamin D supplement which has vitamin K2 into it. The link will be in the description for you.
Now, let's talk about the dosage, the timing, and the food you need to eat your vitamin D for it to make it effective. Now, let's first talk about the test that people get for their vitamin D levels. The range of those tests is very wide because the range is anyway from 30 to 100. And most of the people are either lower than 30 or just close to this 30 mark. What science shows is that for the optimal vitamin D levels in your body, the range should be between 40 to 60. So, go back and look at your results again. And your vitamin D levels, if they're still in the 30s, then you need to increase your dose of vitamin D or need to start taking vitamin D so that your levels go up to at least 40 to 60 on your blood work. So, in that matter, for most of the people, 5,000 international units on a daily basis works good for most of my patients. But, let's say if your levels are greater than 60, then you can reduce that dose to 2,000 units of vitamin D on a regular basis.
Now, as you know, vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, so there is a risk for toxicity. Some people are taking very high doses of 10,000 or 20,000 international units on a daily basis. Well, for short term, that is fine, but for long term basis, your vitamin D levels can go really very high and your body can become toxic onto it.
All right, now let's talk about the timing of taking this vitamin D supplement. Most of the people are taking vitamin D supplement on an empty stomach first thing in the morning. Wrong thing to do. Your vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, so you need to combine it with a fat-containing food for it to maximally get absorbed from your gut. That typically could be your breakfast or your lunch. Never take it on an empty stomach, but take it with a fat. That fat can easily be olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, or nuts and seeds. But, make sure you're taking your vitamin D with a fat-containing meal for maximum absorption.
The second timing rule to also remember is that don't take your vitamin D at night time because some of the research studies do suggest that vitamin D might interfere with melatonin, which is your sleep hormone. So, try to take your vitamin D during the daytime either with your lunch or with your breakfast or with a fat-containing meal.
So, now let me summarize everything that I discussed about vitamin D over here. First, look at the form of vitamin D supplement you are taking. If it is vitamin D2 or ergocalciferol, change your vitamin D supplement to a vitamin D3 supplement. Make sure you are buying a vitamin D3 plus vitamin K2 supplement because vitamin K2 is needed for the calcium not to get deposited in your arteries. Plus also make sure that you are taking a magnesium supplementation on the same day when you're taking your vitamin D supplement as magnesium is an important cofactor that is required to convert your vitamin D3 to the active hormone. And last of all, make sure when you are taking your vitamin D3 with K2 supplement, you take it with a fat-containing meal during the daytime and not during the night time.
So now you know the exact protocol that I follow with my patients to improve their vitamin D levels and so that this vitamin D actually improves their health. Make sure you do like and subscribe to my channel so you keep on getting these healthy information in the future also. Also share this video with others who might benefit from it. And share in the comment section if any of the mistakes that I mentioned above is the one that you were doing and your doctor never told you about it. This is it from my side. Until next time, take care. Bye-bye.