“I seem to pick up every bug or cold going around at the moment. I struggle to pull myself out of bed in the morning and I never feel energised.”

These are words I have heard a lot of lately.

There can be a million reasons for low immune function and low energy but there’s is a good chance if you live in the U.K. That these symptoms could be caused by a lack of vitamin D.

If you were to get your blood tested for your vitamin D levels they would actually test the level of “25 OHD”

As with most vitamins, hormones or minerals the level described as deficient would be that associated with the disease or ailment it cures; in the case of vitamin D that’s rickets.

Levels below 12 – 25-OHD are considered deficient although vitamin D researchers have shown levels between 100-150 are optimal.

Where would you expect to be on this scale?

One group found that a study on elite footballers (who by virtue are likely to be outside a lot and holiday in Marbs or Vegas) showed an average of 110 (25-OHD) in July but an average of 50 (25-OHD) in December.

What to do if you have low vitamin D?

The recommended daily supplemental dose of vitamin D is 2,000 international units (IU)  per day. If you have low vitamin D however you’ll benefit from a higher dose initially and most of us in the U.K. right now will be sub optimal.

We have used doses of between 2,000-5,000 IU’s per day with brilliant results this year but you need to be aware that there is an upper limit. At around 200(25-OHD) vitamin D becomes toxic so don’t just throw that D into yourself willy nilly.

If you’d like to get your blood tested and get a personal plan in please get in touch.