FAQ - Vitamin D
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What is the name of the blood test that I need to check my vitamin D levels? How fast will my vitamin D levels rise once I start taking supplements or getting more sun? Why doesn’t the more expensive tanning booth increase my vitamin D levels? Is it true that vitamin D is not really a vitamin, but actually a powerful hormone? Is living above the 25th parallel harmful to my health? Is it true that supplementing with vitamin D will save me thousands of dollars in healthcare costs? Where can I purchase a high quality vitamin D supplement? Where can I purchase a copy of Powerful Medicine: Vitamin D? Can I purchase the book Powerful Medicine: Vitamin D to resell to my clients, patients or customers?
What is the name of the blood test that I need to check my vitamin D levels? The test is often called 25-hydroxy-D or 25-OH Vitamin D. It is a test of your 25(OH)D levels and will give you and your physician a baseline of your vitamin D status and a starting place to form a plan for quickly and safely raising your vitamin D levels. 25(OH)D is the precursor to the active form of vitamin D and is the best indication of vitamin D health. Do not have your physician test 1,25(OH)2D; the active form, which fluctuates and can give you a false indication of vitamin D sufficiency. back to top How fast will my vitamin D levels rise once I start taking supplements or getting more sun?  Vitamin D levels do not rise fast or easily. In a world of meetings, appointments, school, work and family; taking time out at noon on a sunny day to expose your naked skin to sunlight isn’t typically a top priority. The truth is; it will take concerted effort on your part to achieve optimal, protective levels of vitamin D.
Take a look at this diagram. There are various avenues for building your vitamin D stores. And, as you can see, making 25(OH)D is a multi-step process. Even with conscious effort it will take time to raise those levels. And if you are deficient in vitamin D, overweight or both, then give yourself longer to achieve your goal. It will take most people months, and could even take up to a year to reach optimal vitamin D levels. Get a copy of Powerful Medicine: Vitamin D, and learn how to safely raise your vitamin D levels based on all the personal and environmental factors that directly affect you. back to top Why doesn’t the more expensive tanning booth increase my vitamin D levels?  That’s a great question. Most tanning salons today advertise their ability to raise your vitamin D levels, but what they aren’t telling you is the more costly tanning sessions, the ones that tan you faster, are mostly UVA rays. These tanning beds are promoted because they don’t burn you and you leave with a deeper, longer lasting tan.
But UVA rays don’t activate the cells in the top layer of skin which make pre-vitamin D. If you want to raise your vitamin D levels at the tanning salon pick the cheaper, conventional tanning beds. Those UVB ‘burning rays’ the salons want you to avoid, are the rays which produce pre-vitamin D. And burning rays will burn your skin, but only with over-exposure. And just like on a sunny day outside, if you burn your skin, any vitamin D you make will be lost. And if you want another reason to avoid those UVA rays, here’s a good one: If you look at the diagram you’ll see how UVA rays penetrate the layer of the skin that houses collagen. If you regularly expose yourself to UVA rays, you are prematurely aging your skin, and who wants that?! back to top Is it true that vitamin D is not really a vitamin, but actually a powerful hormone? The short version is YES. Vitamin D acts as a powerful hormone once it’s activated by your body. You can find the long version of how that happens and all the powerful and protective effects it has in the book, Powerful Medicine: Vitamin D. back to top Is living above the 25th parallel harmful to my health?  The problem with living above the 25th parallel is this pesky thing called a vitamin D winter. Basically it’s a period of time every year where the skin cannot synthesize vitamin D even on days the sun is out. This is due to the angle of the earth in relation to the sun, and is called a solar zenith angle (SZA). In the winter, the further North you live, the longer the sun rays must travel through the atmosphere. By the time the rays reach the ground and your skin, they have lots their potency and ability to synthesize vitamin D. And, if your skin cannot synthesize vitamin D, and you’re not getting an adequate daily dose from another source, then your vitamin D levels drop. Having low serum vitamin D levels puts you at risk for a number of potentially fatal diseases and conditions.
Check out the Vitamin D Winter diagram and find out how long your vitamin D winter lasts. back to top Is it true that supplementing with vitamin D will save me thousands of dollars in healthcare costs? Having optimal levels of vitamin D in your body will help provide protection from many debilitating and fatal diseases, all of which cost you money, time and energy. back to top Where can I purchase a high quality vitamin D supplement? In Appendix B of Powerful Medicine: Vitamin D, Dr. Messer has listed vitamin D sources she recommends and found most effective in her practice. You can purchase vitamin D, as well as many other high quality supplements, directly from Dr. Messer’s website. The Thorne and Biotics’ brands are also available through your physician. Purchase Vitamin D Products here back to top Where can I purchase a copy of Powerful Medicine: Vitamin D? You can buy a copy of Powerful Medicine: Vitamin D by clicking here You can also purchase a copy at all the usual online book retailers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Powerful Medicine: Vitamin D will also be sold at select ‘brick and mortar’ bookstores; those bookstores you can actually walk into, browse their selections, drink coffee and enjoy the occasional book signing event. And to see where Dr. Messer will be signing copies next, check out our calendar on the Powerful Medicine blog page back to top Can I purchase the book Powerful Medicine: Vitamin D to resell to my clients, patients or customers? YES! Powerful Medicine: Vitamin D is available directly from Dr. Messer in bulk for a discounted price. Please call 1-888-827-9770 for information on bulk orders and distribution. For more great images and information on Vitamin D, and how to make yourself powerfully healthy, pick up a copy of Powerful Medicine: Vitamin D. back to top
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