I Didn't Take My Vitamin D Levels Seriously & They Dropped 40%

Maintaining healthy vitamin D levels is absolutely vital for whole-body health. Seriously, this all-important essential nutrient is critical for immune function, gut health, reproductive well-being, mood support, skin health, hair growth, and so much more.*

And I should know—I've been writing about vitamin D and its crucial role in overall well-being for about a year and a half now. So, you can imagine my concern when I received my vitamin D test results last month and discovered my levels are just on the cusp of insufficiency (which, for the record, isn't truly "sufficient" for optimal health). 

After four sunlight-deprived years of college in Syracuse, New York (a region notorious for its overcast weather), I decided to move to Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2018. I spent three years getting plenty of sunshine while I was running or practicing yoga outside, swimming in the ocean, and socializing on the beach. 

Six months after I moved back to New Hampshire (my home state), I had my vitamin D levels tested. My 25(OH)D serum levels were 50 ng/ml, which is just entering the truly optimal range (i.e., at or above 50 ng/ml). Although I hadn't been regularly supplementing with vitamin D for a few years, I managed to sustain healthy D status thanks to my (safe) sun exposure and a relatively fish-heavy diet.

I thought I could put off supplementation just a little bit longer, but last month I had my levels tested again and discovered that 25(OH)D results had dropped to 30 ng/ml in just 16 months! While my test results were listed in a little green box and stated they were "normal," I know that 30 ng/ml—while the cutoff for clinical sufficiency—is not an ideal serum level. 

I'm on a mission to achieve (and sustain!) an optimally healthy vitamin D status.

To exceed 50 ng/ml, I'm taking mindbodygreen's vitamin D3 potency+, which delivers 5,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily.* Evidence suggests2 this dosage can help the average adult reach that goal level of 50 ng/ml in approximately three months (but I'll be continuing for the foreseeable future—no borderline insufficient levels for me, thank you!).*

Unless you live close to the equator and have the perfect balance of sunlight and vitamin-D-rich foods in your diet (hint: you still would need to eat a lot of them to reach 5,000 IU a day), chances are your habits and diet aren't enough to sustain a sufficient vitamin D status—yes, even if you lead a relatively healthy lifestyle.