That December, I started keeping track of everything I ate for about three months, with the help of a Web site that listed my daily intake of vitamins and minerals. I was only getting about 50% of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of vitamin D in my diet, even with occasional supplementation. I started taking 1,000 units about three times per week; when I had my vitamin D level checked again in April 2010, it was one point lower (31 ng/mL). Finally, in May 2010, I started taking 5,000 units daily under the care of a doctor. By November 2010, my level was at 53 ng/mL.
The most important point, though, is that I used to get sick about five to six times per year and needed antibiotics once or twice per year. With the exception of a single occasion in June 2010 (when my daughter was ill), I have not been sick since I started increasing my vitamin D intake. I tried taking 5,000 units just three times per week, but found that I felt mildly ill, but I never actually got sick or had any discharge. After that, I increased my intake back to 5,000 units daily.
My husband and daughter have both been sick several times since last June, so I finally started them on a vitamin D regimen. Time will tell—they are a bit of an experiment for me. I had a patient remark to me (unprompted) that since he started taking vitamin D about a year ago, he has not been sick. And I think back to a coworker who never got sick in the nine years I worked with her. She used to drink a lot of milk every day, and she ate a lot of fish. I suspect this may explain why she was never more than “a little under the weather.”
I try to advise as many people as I can to have their vitamin D level checked and to try to get it to 50 ng/mL, especially if they are getting ill frequently. Three people that I work with have been sick recently, and I suggested that they have their vitamin D level checked. They have come back to tell me that it was low or extremely low. One even had to be treated with a 50,000-unit bolus to start with after the results came back extremely low.
I am not saying that vitamin D is the answer to all upper respiratory infections, but it is something extremely easy to test for and treat. One theory about the increase in illness in winter was due to dry air and people staying together in close quarters, but perhaps there is another, more treatable factor: low levels of vitamin D. Increasing the RDA to 600 units may not be enough for everyone. If someone is having frequent upper respiratory infections, it seems reasonable to check the vitamin D level. For me, I need the 5,000 units daily. I love not getting sick! I wish I had been more aware of vitamin D’s impact years ago.
Anita T. Blenke, PA-C, MS, CCRC, Miami, FL