[AnnRue]

Originally Posted by Quirky Chick

but not sure if I am getting enough vitamin D. How much worked well for you?

Well when I was 214 I would say -- 4000 IU of D3 worked for me. That got my level up to 40 ng per mil or more. But then I stopped taking that much and lost weight. I went down to 1000 IU but I was found to be insufficient recently when I got a blood test. I suspect I could have been insufficient for months because I got a KILLER head cold in early December and when my Vitamin D level is fine -- I don't get colds.

I am now taking 4000 IU D3 and I will get a blood test in June. I just got the blood tests in March so .. started to get a head cold in April so I am guessing I am not quite there yet.

It is very important to get the blood test as everyone handles Vitamin D differently.

I know there have been studies recently that showed up to 10000 IU of D3 was safe.

[Emma4545]

I have also noticed a clear change in my ability to lose weight once I started taking vitamin d. I was 8 on a blood test last spring and my doctor told me to get the over the counter D3. It took like 3 months but I would say things are just a hair easier. It is work but not the struggle it once was.

[strugglingover40]

I recently heard about vitamin D levels being low could slow weight loss thanks for all the informartion

[AnnRue]

http://health.usnews.com/health-news...gy-or-burns-it

Fat-Cell 'Switch' May Determine Whether Body Stores Energy or Burns It
Scientists say finding has potential to lead to new obesity treatments
August 1, 2013 RSS Feed Print

THURSDAY, Aug. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers say they've found a "toggle switch" that controls whether fat cells in the body burn up or store their energy.

The switch is the vitamin D receptor (VDR), a protein that binds with vitamin D. Along with many already identified functions, it also determines whether fat cells become the brown, energy-burning type or the white, energy-storing type, according to the researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

"When we first made this discovery, we were curious about whether the amount of vitamin D that people were taking might be decreasing how much brown fat they had," study senior author Dr. Brian Feldman, an assistant professor of pediatric endocrinology, said in a university news release.

"But so far our data show that this activity of the receptor is independent of vitamin D, so people's ingestion or reserves of vitamin D are unlikely to be affecting this process," he said.

The researchers said their discovery could lead to new ways to control obesity and related conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.

The study was published online Aug. 1 in the journal Molecular Endocrinology.

It's unclear if VDR actually causes white-fat cells to turn into brown-fat cells, or if the protein determines white or brown before a cell actually develops into a fat cell. The latter explanation is probably the right one, the study authors said. But whichever is correct, it doesn't affect the potential for developing new obesity treatments.

The researchers have already started working on developing a therapy targeting VDR. The goal is to prevent VDR from blocking development of brown fat without affecting the protein's other functions, Feldman said.

Even if the obesity treatment they're trying to develop proves effective, it would be years before it could be made available to patients.

[blog]

D2 is just as good. Its less easily absorbable. Who cares? Take a little more. Problem solved.

The benefit from D2 (beyond just not being made from sheep's fur) is that the body has to convert it into D3 after you eat it. This allows a bit of a safety margin. If you take too much, the body can stop converting it. There is such a thing as D toxicity. That's why your docs are favoring D2 for high dose therapy. Its less likely to become toxic.

[MauiKai]

My vitamin D has been super low for ages. I can't seem to get it up to normal levels either, no matter what I try. I should go in for another test again, soon.

[AnnRue]

Originally Posted by blog

There is such a thing as D toxicity. That's why your docs are favoring D2 for high dose therapy. Its less likely to become toxic.

The upper intake level of toxicity for Vitamin D3 is 10,000 IU.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17209171

[AnnRue]

I have been having issues with Vitamin D all year -- having trouble getting the blood levels up... / didn't seem to be working.

This week I saw this..http://www.naturalnews.com/028617_vitamin_A_D.html

Turns out Vitamin A as retinol can negate your vitamin D.

Though not as beta carotene. Though most supplements are beta carotene (it is a form that is only used if your body needs it) I have been playing around all year with various different supplements and I don't know for sure what was in those (though now I have a centrum vitamin that is 75% beta carotene).

Check your supplement. You could be shooting yourself in the foot.

[mainecyn]

Vitamin D 3 is a HORMONE. It was named vitamin incorrectly.
- Vitamin d 3 has been shown to reduce insulin resistance.
- Vitamin d 3 has been shown to be an Angiogenesis inhibitor. I bet you have heard of Angiogenesis with regard to cancer. It is how cancer cells get blood to thrive. But turns out fat cells grow exactly the same way. So Vitamin D has been shown to inhibit this process in FAT cells and also cancer.
- Many studies have now shown that it does have an effect on weight loss.
- Studies have shown that Vitamin D3 increases muscle mass.
- Vitamin D3 is hard to get from food. Very few foods have it. It is also hard to get from the sun. The oft heard 15 minutes in the sun doesn't work in certain areas of the US and in highly polluted places. You must supplement.

I had my daughter taken in for a check up a few months ago, long string of blood tests as well. She had gained a great deal of weight and we weeded out the eating and anything else.

Tested showed her VD was 3x less than it should be, she was also insulin resistant. Dr. put her own rx strength D. We tweeked a few things in her diet, less carbs, and between the two she started dropping a lot of weight. She takes take 5,000 D3 each day. She seems to be doing well.

I don't know if Vit D can take all the credit, but I will continue to keep her on it. I also take it, same dosage. I used to take it just in the winter months for the "blues", but now take it all the time. I also am dropping some weight, but I am trying to and really watching calories and carbs daily while my daughter isn't.

[gemi2]

I've been taking D3 for years under my Dr supervision. I live in AZ so plenty of sunshine. I'm also hypothyroid and when first dx with low D was put on 5000 iu a day for 6 months and rechecked. Levels weren't coming up very fast so was put on 10000 iu a day for 3 or 6 months (don't remember now.) That did bring my levels up and we have since found for MY use 5000 IU a day is a maintainance dose.
I get my d3 OTC at walmart in 5000 iu. They are such tiny pills. And one bottle lasts me months and it's cheap. We do so many things to try to feel better but few seem to realize how important this blood test is.
It hasn't done anything for my weight but has helped my energy levels considerably.
But this really is a test and checking that needs to be done by a Dr and monitored till you know how D3 affects you. Everyone is different.

[BettyBooty]

D3 has not done anything for my weight loss at all.

Was this a Dr. OZ recommendation? The more I hear from him, the more I think he is a quack.

[veggiedawg]

Originally Posted by BettyBooty

D3 has not done anything for my weight loss at all.

Was this a Dr. OZ recommendation? The more I hear from him, the more I think he is a quack.

LOL, I haven't heard Dr. Oz recommend D3... I'm not a big fan of him either.

However, as someone with PCOS, I've found that taking D3 has helped me lose weight. Not that the vitamin directly made me lose weight. The D3 has given me a more level playing field so that my weight loss efforts weren't in vain. I definitely still need to watch what I eat and to exercise.

And hey, nothing is going to work for every body. At least you tried!

[lotta]

Last I heard.....in order to get adequate Vitamin D from the sun....one must be in DIRECT sunlight completely naked for 15 minutes. I tried this a couple of times, but my neighbors kept calling the police.

[shanhat81]

Originally Posted by lotta

Last I heard.....in order to get adequate Vitamin D from the sun....one must be in DIRECT sunlight completely naked for 15 minutes. I tried this a couple of times, but my neighbors kept calling the police.

LOL.

I bought some D3 after reading this thread -- I have some major skin sensitivity issues and don't go out in the sun much at all.

[shcirerf]

While I don't believe that there is any vitamin, or mineral or hormone or whatever, that will magically make us skinny, Vitamin D3 has helped me with my eczama skin issues through the winter.

I made the connection, because in the summer, it goes away. In the winter, drives me nuts, with itching and scratching. This winter I've taken D3, no more itchy eczama!