Just a reminder: Now that it’s winter, you really want to make sure you and your family are taking vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) daily, and perhaps you too would benefit from cod liver oil.
Unless you are exposed to the sun for at least 20 minutes every day during other seasons (exposing all surfaces of your skin – face, arms, legs) to the sun, you will also need to take a vitamin D supplement in the spring/summer/fall.
As Adrian Gombart PhD, Oregon State University, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, writes:
“Vitamin D prevents an overreaction of the “adaptive” immune response, reduces inflammation and appears to suppress the immune response. However, the function of the new genetic element that this research examined allows vitamin D to enhance the innate immune response by activating an antimicrobial protein. The overall effect can help prevent the immune system from overreacting.”
Why you need to take supplemental magnesium with vitamin D
Now, if you’ve been taking plenty of vitamin D but aren’t feeling the benefits or maybe even feel worse, it may be because your magnesium deficiency is masking all the benefits of vitamin D!
Vitamin D requires magnesium to be converted into its active form. The more vitamin D you take, the more magnesium you need. To make matters worse, over 40 percent of Americans are magnesium deficient. So it’s possible that you started vitamin D supplementation while already magnesium deficient.
If you don’t get enough magnesium, you may experience additional or worsening symptoms when taking vitamin D (since magnesium is also consumed). It can cause constipation, muscle cramps, heart problems, etc. (there is a list of about 110 ailments caused by magnesium deficiency).
You can see which magnesium brands I recommend here. And be sure to read my blog post specifically on magnesium to get all the details on the different forms and absorption rates to find out which one is best for you.
My good friend, Dr. Carolyn Dean MD ND, spends a lot of time educating people about why it’s so important to get enough magnesium, especially if you’re taking calcium or vitamin D:
“Everyone thinks there’s a vitamin D deficiency epidemic, but I’m not convinced. The big question is why are we suddenly so deficient? What might vitamin D be responding to and what do the low levels suggest?”
Here is a possible answer. Vitamin D is actually a hormone with a feedback loop to calcium. When the body has enough calcium, less vitamin D is needed and levels drop.
We are a calcified country, so high calcium levels can lead to lower vitamin D levels. And without understanding the complex chemistry, most people think we just need to eat more.
But MORE vitamin D absorbs more calcium and displaces magnesium, leading to more severe magnesium deficiency.
Taking a high dose of vitamin D (anything over 2,000 IU) also depletes your magnesium, as this mineral is needed to convert the supplement/storage form of vitamin D into active vitamin D.
Not everyone will suffer from too much vitamin D, and enough people seem to benefit from it (at least in the short term) that it won’t raise alarm bells for many years to come. After all, it took about three decades for us to realize that high-dose calcium supplementation could lead to heart disease and soft tissue calcification if not properly balanced with magnesium.
Do your research before taking high-dose vitamin D. Google the benefits AND dangers before making a decision. If you do a vitamin D blood test, remember that a medium value is better than a high value.”
Addition of cod liver oil
Cod liver oil contains the extended omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. EPA is the precursor of important prostaglandins – localized tissue hormones that help the body manage inflammation; and DHA is extremely important for the development and function of the brain and nervous system. Cod liver oil is also a good source of vitamin K, which is important for maintaining blood and bone health.
Since cod liver oil naturally contains vitamin D, I believe it is best to take vitamin D along with cod liver oil to improve absorption and utilization in the body – and of course both must be in the correct form and healthy extraction and filtration methods used.
Here is the brand of natural origin vitamin D3 that I recommend is oil-based (vitamin D must be taken with oil to be absorbed, and the natural form of D3 – also called cholecalciferol – is the only one you want to use for maximum effectiveness).
And here is the cod liver oil I recommend – from pristine waters off Norway, all pollutants have been filtered out using natural filtration (without heat or chemicals) and measures have been taken to prevent overfishing. These gel capsules have a delicious lemon flavor, so the kids and I just put them in our mouths along with the vitamin D gel capsules, chew everything together (it tastes really good!) and then spit out the empty gel capsules – except for my youngest, who thinks they’re gummy bears and just swallows them. We take them first thing in the morning for breakfast and then we are ready for the day.
There are different recommendations on how much vitamin D you should take, and some recommend having your vitamin D levels tested with the 25 (OH)D test – as dosage varies depending on weight, age and skin color – the darker your skin, the more vitamin D you need, children need less than adults, overweight people need more, and people with medical conditions (especially IBD) need more.
To give you a rough guide, here’s what my family eats:
Adult woman with medium brown skin (me): 4,000-6,000 IU vitamin D per day and 2 capsules of cod liver oil
White adult male: 4,000 IU vitamin D per day and 2 capsules of cod liver oil
My children (1/4 Indian, 3/4 white, ages 3-6): 2,000 IU per day and 1 capsule of cod liver oil
For my friends (mostly white women) who don’t have serious health problems, I usually recommend taking at least 3,000 IU per day for maintenance.
For people with IBD/IBS and white skin, I would recommend 4,000 – 6,000 IU of vitamin D per day and 4-6 capsules of cod liver oil.
And Please note that we live in the Pacific Northwest – a very rainy climate with very little sun in winter. If you are in a warmer place and can expose your skin to the sun for even 20 minutes a day, you will need less vitamin D in supplement form because you can get it from the sun.
If you want to find out exactly how much vitamin D you need, this article by David Rostollan BSc is very clear and simple but addresses all the points you need to consider.
Click here to see my complete winter immune system protocol.
rise higher,
blood
Original post November 2009. Last updated December 2020.
Jini Patel Thompson is an internationally recognized expert in natural healing for digestive diseases. She healed herself from widespread Crohn’s disease and has been medication and surgery free for over 25 years. Jini has appeared on numerous podcasts, TV and radio shows in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, giving people hope and vision on how to heal their colitis, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) using all-natural methods. Her books on natural healing of digestive diseases have been sold in over 80 countries worldwide. Jini is married and has three children, nine sheep, 11 horses, a cat and three dogs.
