Vitamin D is the mechanism of action and whether or not it is necessary to take additives.

Vitamin D is the Mechanism of Action and Whether or Not it is Necessary to Take Additives.

Vitamin D is often mentioned in modern literature about maintaining a healthy lifestyle and its prolongation. In some works it is recommended to check its level and to drink supporting doses regularly, and in other works it is asserted that it is not clear if there is a benefit from it.

In our article, we will look at what vitamin D does, how it works, what it does, and if you come to the conclusion that you want to take it to improve your health and prolong your life, how to do it right.

A bit of history and a general description

Vitamin D was discovered in 1922 and was originally regarded as a regular vitamin. However, it is now considered to be a pro-vitamin, i.e. it has to go through several stages of biochemical transformations for activation.

The uniqueness of vitamin D is that it comes into our body not only with food, but also produced by the body under the influence of sunlight. This makes it difficult to develop recommendations for its intake as an additive.
However, it is usually possible to throw away the sun factor to our gykes, which is what we have habits of life.

The general name for vitamin D (also known as calciferol) includes several sectosteroids, of which the most important forms are D2 and D3.

D2 is produced only with food, and D3 is produced by contact with the skin of ultraviolet light + with food. Their effects are the same as shown in the picture above. However, research is still ongoing, which is more useful in the long term. So far, there is no clear answer and we can accept that it is not important and buy the most appropriate form of D2 or D3.

Some countries, such as the USA, Canada, India, sell milk and other products enriched with vitamin D. In 2016, the FDA (the U.S. government agency for medicines) approved an increase in vitamin D levels in milk and its substitute drinks (soya milk, etc.) to 84 IU (or IU) per 100 grams of product. This may indirectly indicate that vitamin D deficiency is officially recognized.

For the measurement of soluble vitamins, doses are usually measured in IU (International Units) or IU (International Unit). Each vitamin has its own direct weight. One microgram (one millionth of a gram) of vitamin D = 40IU (400IU = 10 mkg or µg).

Why Vitamin D is Important for our Health

For the purpose of prolonging life and healthy brain, maintaining a normal level of vitamin D is very important and that's why we started a series of articles about vitamins with it.

Initially, the main role of this vitamin was to maintain the homeostasis of calcium and bones. In other words, in case of its deficiency, children may develop rickets in children or osteoporosis in adults. It was during the study of rickets that vitamin D was discovered.

For a more complete list of possible diseases from vitamin deficiency (for example, weakness, bone pain, muscle pain, etc.) and for a full study of the evidence base for it can look at Pubmed very complete system review with a recommendation to introduce screening in the U.S. + second review of the deficit of this vitamin in adults.

Although only bone and muscle problems are sufficient to begin to maintain normal levels of this vitamin, in addition to this, in recent decades it has been found that vitamin D is still involved in many important processes in the body:
(Below are links to the Telegram channel, which translates excerpts from Pabmed's research, the title of the article is a link to the original on Pubmed)

(picture from Nature magazine about participation in the immune system)

Here are only important points for us, if you search for vitamin D at https://scholar.google.ru, we will get 53,000 results in the last year alone. In general, it is clear that if we have a deficiency in this vitamin, it is desirable to take the supplement to keep it at a normal level.

Of course, all this information is not to the fact that a cure-all has been found and we will now live forever. But this vitamin, according to a lot of modern research, is quite important to maintain at a normal level for long-term health. Moreover, the cost of the question is not high at all.

More for Information.

Also in books and articles often write that vitamin D prevents cancer and cardiovascular diseases. However, there is a possibility that he does not prevent them, but accompanies them. In other words, by taking supplements and increasing its blood level, we cannot prevent these diseases. To clarify this issue, a huge placebo-controlled study in New Zealand was conducted.


It went on for 4 years and 5100 people took part in it, about half took a placebo, others took 100,000 IU of vitamin D monthly.

According to the results of this study, it was found that this did not reduce the likelihood of these diseases. BUT! Researchers themselves noted that in New Zealand most of those undergoing the study had a blood level of 32.8 ng / mL (placebo too), and about 75% of the US population has a level below 30 ng / mL, and about 30% below 20 ng / mL. (Lifext note - and in Russia, where there is even less sun than in the USA and where milk is not enriched with vitamin D - we can assume that it is even lower)

Therefore, as the authors note, additional research is required. (study 1, study 2)

What levels are normal and what doses to drink?
For vitamin D, we can determine our rate by passing a blood test for its content. Measured is 25 (OH) D (the major metabolite of vitamin D present in the blood) and it is considered that a level of 30-100ng / ml is normal (see the source)

In some books about the extension of the life and health of the brain, the following parameters are indicated to which the authors recommend to strive

“The rate is between 30 and 100 ng / ml, but this does not mean that you can stay at figure 31. The optimal level of vitamin D is about 80 ng / ml. This is the middle of the so-called normal zone. Ask your general practitioner to help you adjust the dosage to reach the optimal level. After that, it is usually enough to take 2,000 IU to maintain a healthy level. However, be sure to consult a doctor. ”(Christine Lohberg, David Perlmutter Food and the Brain.)
“Your level should be at least 50 ng / ml” (Ray Kurzweil, Terry Grossman Transcend: Nine Steps to Eternal Life)

The condition for choosing your dose:

1. level 25 (OH) D <20 ng / ml - take 5000 IU of vitamin D per day (see source)
2. 21 <level 25 (OH) D <30 - daily 2000 IU
3. 31 <level 25 (OH) D <80 - 1000 IU daily
4. (all recommendations are for adults only)

IMPORTANT: If you drink a dose of 2000ME or more per day, your vitamin level must be measured every three months.

It is quite safe to drink 1000ME dose every day, at the same time, measuring the level of vitamin 1 once a year, and if it is lower than 30 ng/ml, then increase it according to the scheme higher and make a new measurement after three months.

So, if you are lazy to measure the level and you do not work in the sun for an hour or more per day (which, by the way, is more harmful than useful), you can safely start drinking vitamin D in the dosage of 1000ME (IU) per day.

In a couple of months we will come to a full set of tests for a long life of a body and a brain of a geek and to where to go with them and we will try to get us discounts on it, but meanwhile you can wait or make it in any laboratory.

Buying recommendations

Below are some links to buying three vitamins, which are recommended for everyone to drink, especially in early spring.

At this point you have only read the full vitamin D study. We will also describe in detail each supplement in detail, all the information is constantly in our channel Telegram or Vkontakte, so that the information is below for those who can not wait or who have no strength after the winter (I write after a friend asked to send an urgent list, as exhausted and said that he was sluggish).

Drinking daily at breakfast or another meal will reduce the burden on your digestive system. We all take 1 piece each, except for fish oil - 2 pieces each.

All links partner, all on the development of the application.

1. Vitamin D3 1000 IU
2. If you've measured the level, one of the two options
3. Dose 5000 IU or 2000 IU
4. Fish oil - 2 capsules at breakfast
5. Vitamin C 1000mg)

In conclusion, I would like to remind you that the meaning is not only in additives and vitamins, but also in the attention to our way of life and the direction of the miserable part of the mental forces on how we will live, for example, at the age of 60, 80, 90 (if we live to be sure). If we do not improve our way of life and all sorts of nuances, the additives will not help much.