There is overwhelming evidence showing that the current recommended daily allowances (RDA) for vitamin D are far too low to provide any of its well documented health benefits. Current RDAs are only:
200 IU for adults up to age 50
400 IU for adults aged 51 to 70
600 IU for seniors over 70
Research from 2007 published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found about 55 per cent of healthy adolescents may be vitamin D deficient. A similar study from Britain in 2006 reported that over 70 per cent of seemingly healthy teenage girls were vitamin D deficient.
In regards to children, at the end of 2008, the American Academy of Pediatrics doubled its recommended dose of vitamin D for infants, children and adolescents, going from 200 to 400 units per day. Unfortunately this is still a woefully inadequate recommendation as recent research reveals children may need TEN times that amount, or around 2,000 units per day!
According to research, vitamin D at doses equivalent to 2,000 IUs is not only safe, but is actually necessary for achieving desirable vitamin D levels in children
Vitamin D expert Dr. Heaney, suggests that our bodies require about 4,000 IU’s daily just to maintain its current vitamin D level. So how do you find out if you are defficient and need to raise your levels? How much sun exposure do you have to increase or how much of vitamin oral supplement of vitamin D3 do you need to take? Here is a great video clipping from Dr Mercola to help you understand test values on this vitamin.
Vitamin D deficiency is epidemic among adults of all ages including those living in the sunbelt states in the United States and an alarming statistic shows that 60 percent of people with type 2 diabetes have vitamin D deficiency.