The verdict is out. We are simply not getting enough Vitamin D.

Vitamin D is crucial in every disease from inhibiting cancer and heart diseases to mental disease, recurrent infections, tooth loss, osteoporosis, narcolepsy and auto-immune disease.

Unfortunately the reference range of Quest and Lab Corp is commonly 30 to 75 nanomols per liter (nmol/l).

Scientists who are experts in vitamin D chemistry are now finding that the actual need for vitamin D is greater than 75 nanomols per liter (nmol/l).

What is the problem?

The problem is millions of people who are around 30-75 are told by their physicians that they have a normal level of D, when in fact it is too low.

Now here is another more serious problem.

When you do have a good therapeutic level, doctors using the “normals” (30 to 75) on conventional labs will erroneously tell you that you’re too high and you should cut back.

Researchers have shown we could cut the cancer and heart attack rates in half in this country if people just had enough vitamin D.

Sadly, it will take many years before medicine catches up.

As a consequence, we will see even more of an explosion of our current epidemics of diabetes and depression, cancer and heart disease. In addition, more people will develop auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, and lupus, not to mention Alzheimer’s.

Basically the take away message from today’s article is people who have too little vitamin D are told they have just enough. And people who think they are taking enough will be told they have too much and should cut back.

Functional medicine practitioners also understand that cheap and synthetic forms in foods and nutrients lower the good level of D3.

So make sure you use a quality Vitamin D3 supplement and don’t forget the value of 30 minutes of natural sunshine.

Adams JS, et al., Update in vitamin D, J Clin Endocrinol Metab 95:471-8, 2010

Souberbielle JC, et al, Vitamin D and musculoskeletal health, cardiovascular disease, autoimmunity and cancer: recommendations for clinical practice, Autoimmun Rev 9:709-15, 2010

Pierrot-Deseilligny C, et al, Is hypovitaminosis D one of the environmental risk factors for multiple sclerosis? Brain 133:1869-88, 2010

Carl Lindner B., et al., Low vitamin D and narcolepsy and cataplexy, Sleep Diagn Ther 6; 5:47-50, 2011