What if I told you there’s a 50% chance you’re wasting your money on vitamin D supplements?
Take Mary, for example. She’s one of the 50% of people who aren’t getting everything out of the vitamin D they’re taking. She really didn’t want to get the flu this past winter, so she started taking 5,000 IU of vitamin D. She asked me if that was all she needed.
I told her about EpiCor, elderberry, and a few other nutrients. But as I looked at the results of her blood labs, I told her she might be wasting her money on the vitamin D. She looked at me in shock. “But I thought you said vitamin D can prevent the flu?” she asked. I told her it does. But your body has to be able to use it. And in order for it to use the vitamin D, your body must have enough magnesium.
Immediately, she realized her magnesium must be low, so she asked, “How low are my magnesium levels?” They were way too low. This is a big concern for a number of reasons. Low levels can affect your heart, your brain, your bones, and your immune system. So I asked her if she was taking any magnesium supplements. She wasn’t, so I encouraged her to take up to 1,000 mg daily.
Mary doesn’t take anything just because someone says it can help. She always wants the evidence. So I showed her a new study that came out recently. In this study, researchers found that the body can’t metabolize vitamin D without sufficient magnesium levels.
What’s more, this study found that taking vitamin D supplements without sufficient magnesium can be dangerous. The researchers said vitamin D supplements can increase your calcium and phosphate levels even if they remain vitamin D deficient. The problem is, people may suffer from vascular calcification if their magnesium levels aren’t high enough to prevent the complication.
These are “what ifs” and possibilities, but I’ve never seen any data suggesting vitamin D supplements can cause these problems. These problems typically happen when you take too much calcium. Regardless, we definitely want the supplements to work the way they’re supposed to. So it’s vital you take plenty of magnesium every day. It will protect your vascular system and the rest of your body – and you’ll get all the benefits of the vitamin D you’re taking.
Magnesium is one of the biggest deficiencies we face today. Almost everyone is deficient. Many are severely deficient. That means most people need to be taking magnesium – usually 1,000 mg daily.
Reference:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180226122548.htm