Features
Vitamin D plays a dual role as both a vitamin and a hormone that stimulates the body to absorb calcium. Vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus are needed to keep bones strong. Without vitamin D even a diet adequate in calcium will not help as the body needs vitamin D to absorb calcium. People with low vitamin D levels tend to have soft, thin bones, predisposing them to fractures, especially hip fractures. Soft bones can also cause the nagging and unremitting bone pain that many older persons suffer from.
Vitamin D supplementation is important because it's hard to get enough during long, dark, northern winters. The elderly have more difficulty synthesizing vitamin D from sunlight, some medications interfere with vitamin D absorption and absorbing calcium which will strengthen bones and prevent fractures.
Vitamin D may be useful in resisting some forms of cancer as well. Breast tissue has receptors for the vitamin D hormone. When cultured outside the body, breast cancer cells do not reproduce as readily and in fact become more normal (differentiate) in the presence of vitamin D. These studies are interpreted as evidence that higher vitamin D levels have an anti-cancer effect on breast cancer cells. There are similar reports concerning prostate cancer and cancer of the large intestine.
Vitamin D3 is the form found in fish oils and eggs, and is produced by sunlight on human skin. Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol from animal source) is the prefered form of vitamin D and our vitamin D3 is derived from sheep wool lanolin.
Benefits
- Aids in the absorption of calcium
- Strengthens bones and may prevent fractures
- Promotes cardiovascular health
- May decrease the risk of multiple sclerosis
Ingredients
Each softgel contains:
Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol)..................................1000 IU (25 mcg)
Organic flaxseed oil (Linum usitatissimum)...........200 mg
Dosage
1 softgel daily or as directed by a health care practitioner. Keep out of reach of children.
Contraindications
- The drugs cholestyramine (Questran), colestipol (Colestid), phenytoin (Dilantin), phenobarbital, orlistat (Xenical), and mineral oil all interfere with the absorption and/or metabolism of vitamin D and may require higher doses of vitamin D.
- Corticosteroids like prednisone increase the need for vitamin D.
- Vitamin D supplementation must be used with caution when using digoxin (Lanoxin) and thiazide diuretics.
- Consult a health care practitioner before using vitamin D if you are taking these drugs.
- People who have liver disease, kidney disease, primary hyperthyroidism, sarcoidosis, tuberculosis and lymphoma should consult a health care practitioner prior to use.
Additional Information
Children: The recommended dosage for infants less than 6 months is 300 IU daily. For children over the age of one year the dosage recommendation is 400 IU. It is preferable for children to get their vitamin D from a multiple vitamin unless directed by a health care practitioner.
Pregnancy and Nursing: Recent recommendations from the Canadian Pediatric Society suggest that pregnant and lactating women get 2,000 IU of vitamin D3 daily.
Seniors: No special precautions are known.