View Full Version : DD has severe Vitamin D deficiency
Its funny, but I knew I had a low D level and that my son (who has psoriasis) has a low level, but I really didn't expect it in DD. She has so much energy. But she is VEGAN. But she's a pretty educated VEGAN......meaning she's very conscientious about getting all her nutrients.
A couple weeks ago, she got so dizzy she couldn't get out of bed for almost 2 days. Since then, she's felt "woozy" off and on. When she was home last weekend, we drew labs for her, because I was pretty sure she had a low iron level.
Well, her iron level was okay, but her D level was almost nonexistent! (9.3) MUCH lower than DS's and mine.
I don't know if this dizziness problem is even connected to the low D level, but D is so important to so many biochemical processes in the body, it seems like common sense to get that level up before getting her inner ears all checked out.
What concerns me is that I fear alot of docs don't consider a low vitamin D level as a problem. Maybe they're more up-to-date these days, but its amazing how many docs don't think vitamins/minerals are that important........unless you have scurvy or whatnot.
I know several of you have low D's. Just looking for a little feedback. I take about 5,000 units of a good D3 every day. I'm not sure that's enough for me. But........do you think she can get her's up in a reasonable amount of time with just oral supplements?
I just don't want her to find a doc and spend lots of money and then have him say "Oh, vitamin D isn't that important."
So..........opinions/comments/suggestions?
Oh.........and what's really unfortunate is that supposedly D2 is VEGAN, but not as effective as D3, which isn't VEGAN. I told DD its time to forget about VEGANism until she gets her D up.
I can tell you how my vitamin D level changed. It was tested to be around 14, and Dr told me to take 2000 IU/day. I took 1000 IU with breakfast and dinner most days for 8 weeks before it was retested. I say most days because I forgot sometimes, but I was fairly regular about it. This was also the time of year when we start to get some sunlight, and when I am outside a lot - from about early May to early July between the two tests. When it was retested, it had risen to just over 30. Dr said 50 is the recommended level. So mine increased fairly quickly. Before the initial test, I was not regularly taking any vitamins.
Thanks Rosemary. May I ask what your main symptoms were?
I have a friend who was vegan for 20 years and when she hit 40 she started having energy problems. Found her D level was low. She had to stop being vegan.
She actually has her degree in nutrition from Columbia, so was also very educated about eating healthfully. She eats fish and eggs now, and not sure what else she's added.
Life_is_Simple
2-15-12, 10:54pm
Let's see, mine was 12 ng/mL (ref range 30-100) in August 2010. My doctor told me to take 2000 IU D3 a day. I was tested 6 months later and was at 41.
When I started taking it, within a few days I just felt better. Calmer or better mood - I can't describe it. That made me motivated to keep taking it. Then that fall/winter, I was surprised to not get S.A.D. What a relief!
I know this will create a lot of pushback, but maybe veganism isn't for everybody. I know there are people on this board who thrive on it. More power to them, I say.
But if veganism is implicated in a health condition, then I suggest that people should do what they need to for their health.
This is one such example: http://voraciouseats.com/2010/11/19/a-vegan-no-more/
Again, I am not bashing vegans or veganism but merely pointing out that different people thrive on different diets.
Sheesh, my whole post disappeared...here's a neatish overview of vitamin D:
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-929-VITAMIN%20D.aspx?activeIngredientId=929&activeIngredientName=VITAMIN%20D
Starting again: It seems that your family may have a genetic tendency to vitamin D some people simply are not able to absorb supplemental vitamins very well, especially if thyroid function is compromised - this last is the case with some vegans who rely heavily on soy products but don't balance them with sea vegetables and fish broth as Asians usually do. Then too, no vitamin works alone, and vitamin D, which is both a vitamin and a hormone, works in concert with other fat-soluble vitamins (A, E, K). If there is a deficiency in any co-factor, the whole process screeches to a half, just as it would if you had all the studs, siding, roof tiles, sheetrock, nailgun - but only half as many nails as needed. No house until the nail deficiency is resolved.
It isn't enough either simply to get sun exposure, or lie on a tanning bed. The basic building block of vitamin D is cholesterol; some vegan women have very dry skin, which is a sign that there isn't much cholesterol in it. Without the cholesterol, there will be very little to zero manufacturing going on. After the skin part of the process, vitamin D is stored in body fat; and again, some vegan women have very little body fat - to the point that they stop menstruating. The recommendations usually given for "hands and face 15 minutes a day" are fine if you live near the equator, but the further north you go, the more sun. Also, sunlight is not just sunlight! The wavelength is important too.
This page has a ton of information: http://www.mercola.com/article/vitamin-d-resources.htm
I wish your DD a speedy recovery and good health.
Bastelmutti
2-16-12, 12:08am
What a coincidence! I just found out today that my DD has low D as well. We were told to give her 2,000 (the adults in our house take that already - D3). Good luck with rebuilding your DDs health!
I had the same vitamin D problem when I had bloodwork done about 2 years ago. Levels came back up to "normal" after 6 months of 2000 units. Apparently all the vitamin D I had in my system when I moved up here wore off after about 12 years...
I felt much better after just a few weeks.
CathyA, at the time I did not think I had any symptoms. However, now that it's winter and I've not been outside much, and it's been very cloudy (and I live in MN where we don't get much vit-D-producing sunlight in winter), I am feeling that I should up my dose, back to 2000 from the 1000 I've been taking. It's a gut feeling that the listlessness and occasional fatigue I am feeling may be related.
Thanks everyone. Makes me wonder if alot of our health problems today are from living inside so much and the majority of us are deficient. We still have primitive bodies, but live in a modern world.
Its so hard taking care of DD from a distance. The dizziness specialist I went to a few years ago in a nearby city has recommended someone in DD's city, so I'll try to get her in there soon......just to be sure it isn't more than a D deficiency that's causing her intense intermittent dizziness.
Anne Lee.........I agree with you. Some people's bodies have a hard time giving up all those foods that give us so many vitamins and minerals so naturally. I have no doubt that her VEGANism has contributed to some of her problems, despite her trying to eat a very well-balanced diet. She also is struggling with recent depression. (which could be from the low D too). I just know she would feel better getting her D up. But she's insisting on finding a VEGAN D supplement and I'm not sure that will be enough.
She isn't as motivated to find answers and treat herself when she's feeling good, but then she's too incapacitated to help herself when she gets these intense dizziness spells. One thing that has occurred before each of her vertigo spells is that she has drank some alcohol a day or 2 before. (not alot, maybe 2 drinks). Makes me wonder if that causes a dip in the D levels too.
I hope we can get this worked out for her. She can't even get out of bed with these spells. (And if you remember, she has bedbugs and ends up with tons of bites). What a horrible predicament!
I would love to bring her home and have her see my doctors and get tests here, but she has 2 jobs that she can't miss. :(
My sympathies, CathyA; my daughter's in South Africa, and when she was going through a bad patch recently it bugged me enormously that I couldn't give her a hug, or do anything besides listen to her on Skype.
Supplemental Vitamin D in itself is vegan - made in a laboratory. Unfortunately I have definitely read studies showing that is is not well absorbed by some people, and I am one of them! I took 50,000 IU a week for 12 weeks, and my D levels were LOWER afterwards. So I'm still looking for answers. This is San Francisco, so there is usually little incentive to expose much skin. Alcohol will definitely contribute to lower vitamin D levels, especially if they were sketchy to start with - vitamin D is fat-soluble, and fats dissolve in alcohol! Here's a link to causes of vitamin D deficiency: http://vitamins.lovetoknow.com/What_Causes_Vitamin_D_Deficiency Also: http://www.ehow.com/about_5368043_vegan-sources-vitamin-d.html
Unfortunately there are no really good natural plant food sources high in vitamin D. And I think it very important to realise that vitamin D does NOT dissolve in liquid, whether water or orange juice. It must be taken with fat - not a whole lot of fat, but it should be a high-quality fat. Avoid super-refined vegetable oils at all costs. It seems possible that vitamin D dissolves best in saturated fats.
I am very sorry for your daughter because I've done a very similar thing: clung to my ovolacto vegetarian diet (not very much of either eggs or dairy) for nearly two years despite the mounting evidence that it was doing me serious harm; I allowed my ideology to override the cacophony of warning sirens. Given your family history of problematic vitamin D processing, I suspect that she simply may not be biologically capable of supporting a vegan diet, and that is bound to be extremely painful for her. There are ways of getting humanely and sustainably produced eggs and dairy produce. Above all, I would suggest that she cut out soy products, and have her thyroid function tested. The thyroid and vitamin D are intimately interlinked, and thyroid malfunction can decimate vitamin D stores, while low vitamin D levels can derail the thyroid!
Bastelmutti
2-16-12, 11:50am
Taking notes, Suzanne. My DD is pescatarian (with not that much fish). She does eat small quantities of cheese, no milk really (but soy milk), and the occasional egg. I think I will try to up her egg and fish intake along with the vit D supplement.
CathyA, bedbugs - how awful!! Hope your DD feels better soon.
Thanks so much Suzanne.
I have sent your reply to my DD.
We did check her thyroid levels and they are, fortunately, normal. I have been keeping my eye on her Thyroid levels for a few years, since her aunt and cousin both have Graves disease and DD always seems hyperactive to me.
Right now, she refuses to buy anything non VEGAN. I just talked with her and fortunately she's feeling better this morning (less dizziness). She was able to go buy some VEGAN D2. She insists on trying that first. There's no changing DD's mind, once she makes it up. It can be pretty frustrating! She got D2 2000 units (with various other herbal things in it) and will take it twice a day. She's sworn off alcohol until she works this D issue out. I'm impressed with how much research she's already done on it..........but sometimes she can be stubborn.
She says she's not willing to try anything non-VEGAN until she's tried the VEGAN stuff and it doesn't work. I don't think it will take too many spells of vertigo to get her to change her mind!
We were worried about her iron being low and it was okay. I'm glad we decided to test for D too, or we would never have known how low it was and how many of her problems could be being caused by it.
Anyhow.......thanks so much for your input!
"I have no doubt that her VEGANism has contributed to some of her problems, despite her trying to eat a very well-balanced diet. She also is struggling with recent depression."
Incidentally, low cholesterol levels have been associated with depression (also with cancer and suicide). There is at least one researcher (Henry Lorin) who believes insufficient cholesterol can be blamed for Alzheimer's disease. Maybe she could read Lierre Keith's The Vegetarian Myth for another viewpoint.
Hmmmm......very interesting Jane! Her cholesteral was very low! I was thinking that was a good thing, but you mentioning that reminded me that I did hear something in the past about the dangers of it being too low. I'm going to have to really get on her.
Life_is_Simple
2-16-12, 1:17pm
One thing that has occurred before each of her vertigo spells is that she has drank some alcohol a day or 2 before. (not alot, maybe 2 drinks).
Also, consider low blood sugar. Vegetarians have a hard time if they have low blood sugar, because the protein in things like beans is not as stabilizing as meat.
Sorry I missed your post Bastelmutti! I have never heard of a pescatarian. I'll have to look that one up! What makes me nervous is, how many VEGAN/vegetarians actually ever get their blood levels of things tested? They might be having all sorts of problems and just assume there's nothing to do about it. I suppose that holds true for alot of us meat eaters too.
DD lives with another VEGAN, who got dysfunctionally depressed last Fall. Then DD got really depressed. But then you read that some people have gotten less depressed by becoming Vegetarian/VEGAN. I guess it all depends on the person and their own particular system.
Thanks Life_is_Simple........thanks for that tip about the blood sugar. I didn't know that.
The body is so complex. Its amazing that any of us live beyond 20, with how bad we can be to our bodies!
At least with the Vitamin D levels, it seems like docs are more up on how important D is than some of the other vitamins/minerals. My niece recently found out she has celiac disease and her doc has her on D supplements. She has an assortment of problems and now I wonder if they are all D-deficiency problems.
Bastelmutti
2-16-12, 2:42pm
No problem, Cathy. All it means is that DD is lacto-ovo vegetarian, but occasionally eats fish. She actually calls it "vegaquarian" :-D I don't really like the labels so much because it means if I "AM" XYZ (insert vegetarian, vegan, low carb, paleo, etc.), then I can't be flexible. But that's the shorthand we use.
My DD's iron was fine, too, and that's what the doc was sure would be low! Interesting. I did not know about the low cholesterol.
My Vitamin D level was low at my last physical (prior to becoming Vegan). I take about 1500 IU a day. I know that my Silk Soy milk has Vit D added just like cow's milk.
I know for me SUNSHINE is a huge factor. I work indoors. When we go to Mexico in the winter (but not this year) I have always felt it was like "recharging my batteries". It isn't just the relaxation, but it is absorbing all that sunshine. A healthy person can make a lot of vit. D.
My doctor was all over Vit. D -- had me add supplements and had me tested again. I improved, but still on the low side so I am continuing to take my D3.
I had my blood work done after becoming a vegan and other than the Vit. D everything was in the normal/healthy range.
I "try" to be a healthy vegan! :+1:
chanterelle
2-16-12, 3:07pm
'I know for me SUNSHINE is a huge factor. I work indoors. When we go to Mexico in the winter (but not this year) I have always felt it was like "recharging my batteries". It isn't just the relaxation, but it is absorbing all that sunshine. A healthy person can make a lot of vit. D.'
A few things to note about sunshine and manking vit D. The body needs it natural oils present on the skin to properly make D from sunshine. Do not shower before you go out in the sun so that you have a good supply of natural oils present and do not shower directly after either. Your body needs time, at least several hours..more would be better, to absorb the oils and D.
One of the problems we presently have D besides diet and latitude, is the fact that we bath everyday with hot water and use alot of soap which strip natural oils from the skin as well as the fact that we wear lots and lots of clothing covering our skin.
Suzanne. I think of you as the doctor of the house! :) Always appreciate your posts sooo much. I learn so much reading them.
I take 2000 IU's/daily. Wishing your daughter well, Cathy.
"I have no doubt that her VEGANism has contributed to some of her problems, despite her trying to eat a very well-balanced diet. She also is struggling with recent depression."
Incidentally, low cholesterol levels have been associated with depression (also with cancer and suicide). There is at least one researcher (Henry Lorin) who believes insufficient cholesterol can be blamed for Alzheimer's disease. Maybe she could read Lierre Keith's The Vegetarian Myth for another viewpoint.
This is one reason why I am no longer vegan/vegetarian.
As a vegan, I was whole foods, very diverse, and mostly raw. It was 100% organic and about 60-70% local/seasonal. It was great, honestly. The food is delicious! For a time, I was also a raw foodist -- lasted about 6 months, but i was cold all the time.
Then, I started to get "hazy." My cholesterol is naturally low anyway, and at this point, it got VERY low. I also have very, very mild hypothyroidism (going soy-free helped a lot), but once I started eating eggs/dairy again, my cholesterol went up and my cycles adjusted again.
I'm currently paleo because I am -- actually -- dairy sensitive. I eat very little, usually just using a bit of butter to cook my eggs. Though, for the last month or so, I haven't had eggs in butter (i just hard boil them). I find that not having dairy is easier on me. I do eat meat, now, though. I typically eat muscle meat, though we are moving into organs. I do also have bacon about twice a week. I am probably eating about 6 oz of meat per day plus 1-2 eggs. Everything else is seasonal veggies and fruits, usually raw.
This has worked really well for my health overall.
My cholesterol levels are still low, but at least it's now above the 'normal' line.
and yes, sunshine (or a solarium) is part of our "daily diet." sun is intense here, and I tend to prefer to be covered (due to the wind) so the solarium is really helpful. You can get vitamin d from good beds.
And no, I don't have an orange-y tan. i look white, as usual.
I am probably the only person round who questions this sudden need for everyone to start popping Vit D pills. I don't question the fact that people are deficient, but I have to wonder if taking an isolate is the best fix. Somebody must be making a killing off the profits. When mainstream doctors and media promote something ad nauseum, I always have to wonder.
i don't supplement. we use the sun (or solarium). i believe in my body's ability, and our blood work demonstrates that we have more vit D now than before. And bio-available vit-D comes in raw milk and cod liver oil in good quantity as well. since I don't consume either of these (taste, comfort levels, reactions, etc), i use the sun.
technically, it would be free, if i could manage to strip down long enough. I get chilled. it's very mild here. in PA, a bikini over the summer would do it. Here, i rarely get out of sweaters and pants. lol
I wonder that too.....about every product out there, Pinkytoe! But I am really thinking that modern man might be having so many problems because of living indoors most of the time. And DD's level is soooooo low, and she has symptoms, so I'm encouraging her to take a supplement. As a VEGAN, in Ohio in the winter, working inside at 2 jobs (one of which is in a basement), and trying to finish her Masters, I really doubt she could raise her D up without supplements. But as I mentioned before, mankind for the most part is living a very strange life in these modern times, while still having a body that is primitive. Food has lost alot of is nutrition, the soils are depleted, we have a.c. in the summers, work inside throughout the year, etc., etc. Its not surprising that we need supplemental vitamins and minerals. And..........its not surprising that so many "entrepreneurs" take advantage of everything. It makes life very confusing.
Pinkytoe, after years of denial, the medical establishment has come to realize that vitamin D is about more than rickets...it's strongly implicated in MS, for example, and in some cancers, in thyroid function, and more things than I can remember. Vitamin D is really cheap presently, so it's not about money - also, most insurance companies won't pay for it yet. However, there are big rumblings in the health world, as some of the big drug companies want to tweak the molecule a tad so it can be patented. At the same time, they're lobbying Congress to outlaw the selling of vitamin D OTC.
CathyA, I'm concerned about your daughter taking vitamin D2. It is not effective; only D3 is effective, as it is regarded as bio-identical, and as it is manufactured in a laboratory, no animals are harmed in the process. Also, you said her cholesterol is low - this ties into poor ability to synthesize vitamin D through her skin; without the cholesterol on and just under the skin, no vitamin D can be made. The cholesterol is the basic building block for vitamin D. There's a lot of evidence to show that very low cholesterol levels are associated not only with severe depression but also with haemorrhagic stroke. The people who gleefully recite statistics about Japanese and their low rate of heart attack never seem to get to the next line in these reports, which typically say something like "Death from stroke is 5 times higher than that of the USA!"
Interesting. Off the top of my head I think I remember the Inuit--those eating their traditional diet--had a very low incidence of heart disease, but a high incidence of hemorrhagic stroke as well.
Thanks for your concern Suzanne. I will pass your comments on to my DD. D3 comes from sheep's lanolin. She has read that they shear sheep too often and the sheep get sick. (You see what I'm dealing with here).
I would really like her to see a doctor, but my fear is they'll poo-poo a vitamin D problem.
10 minutes in a solarium once a week, seriously. So long as the beds are properly calibrated, she should be fine. I use one that has pink lights for collagen production, and white lights for vit d production.
We don't wear sunscreen, so our hands and faces get a fair bit, but it's tougher in winter. And, we get more sun because it is NZ -- harsher sun.
But, i still use the solarium. It costs $8 per trip now. And I'm not even going every week.
Zoebird.....do you mean a tanning bed?
CathyA, it seems your daughter has reached the stage where she is determined to find animal abuse wherever she looks! It's not possible to argue somebody out of this with common sense or logic - wool is like hair. Does it hurt a human to have frequent haircuts? Then too, farmers are in business to make money. Even with a sheep specifically bred to yield wool, it takes 6-8 months for the fleece to be worth clipping. Think about it: there is no way to shear a sheep with a machine. It still takes people, even if they use electric shears, and it's not a case of any damnfool can do it either - it's a skilled job. And it's expensive to hire experts!! Sheep are not sheared for lanolin, but for wool; the lanolin is a by-product. Wool prices are low, so there's no way any sensible person would throw money down the drain for the sake of overharvesting wool that would be too short, and too low in lanolin, to sell.
I did this myself. The thing that opened a tiny peephole in my mind was my doctor's actual anger. He asked me, "So who's going to give you a (expletive) medal when you're dead? And what good would that medal do your children, animals, or the world?" It still took a few days before I could bring myself to admit that I was really seriously ill, and that my "perfect diet" was to blame.
I second the tanning bed. That's the only sure way for your daughter to be sure that she's not going against her principles. The problem will be her low cholesterol levels, which will definitely limit her ability to synthesize her own vitamin D. Also, she will have to be sure not to bathe or shower before going for her session, so she doesn't wash off her skin oils, and to use only just-warm water and no soap afterwards. There's a multi-step process from cholesterol on surface of skin to final conversion of penultimate molecule in kidney to actual D3, before it enters the bloodstream.
I was on my way to becoming an ex-vegetarian when I realized that I hadn't saved a single animal (except the strays I rescued) during my years eschewing meat. There are a million ways to do good for animals in the world without risking malnutrition or endocrine issues.
CathyA,
Essentially, yes. But not all tanning beds (or places where you can get tanned) are created equal. You want to go to a place that understands the use of the beds for therapeutic purposes.
The place that we go to does an evaluation at first -- a history of how your skin responds to the sun, for example (burns easily, etc). I do not burn easily, but I do not tan easily either. My skin mostly stays the same shade -- perhaps with a very slight change in coloration -- regardless of how much sun I get. If I burn, it heals back to the original shade of white. :) I also have skin cancer that runs in the family -- but it's all been in places that don't see the sun (which may be an indication of too little sun), and I don't wear sun screen (I don't like the chemicals).
avocados are very good for the skin. I eat them year-round (frozen ones in winter), and also put avocado oil on my skin in summer months. This helps with skin repair and functions as a sort-of natural sun screen. You put it on at night, and it "teaches" skin to protect itself.
Because of this, they opted to put me into the "collagen" beds. these (http://www.seecret.com/) are designed to 'boost collagen' production in the skin, and have pink/red bulbs. every third or 4th bulb is a full spectrum bulb that is placed in to increase vitamin D production.
It's much more expensive -- this treatment -- than the other tanning beds. Regular tanning beds cost about $3-5 per trip. But, they can be less calibrated, or lead to the orange tan or burn, or what have you. Depends upon your skin, really.
But anyway, this one is $25 drop in, and $20 per time at the 15-session card. If I'm remembering, you go twice a week at first -- and then after the first month, you drop back to 1 time a week or less. It's summer, so I'm going much less. In winter, once a week is good.
And, she can do blood work to back it up. Tanningguru.com does regular tanning beds in Denmark, and he has his vit D levels tested in winter before starting solarium, then after solarium, then before heading on his sunning holiday, and then when he gets back, and so on. Clearly demonstrates how both sun and solariums are effective in boosting vitamin D.
Yes, pills are cheaper -- but they don't always work, and honestly, I hate taking pills. Taking time once a week to lay in a warm tanning bed and have some peace and relaxation is a much nicer way to go.
ApatheticNoMore
2-18-12, 2:14pm
Don't you worry about skin damage from the tanning bed tanning?
I ate an entire container of guacamole after reading about avocadoes above btw, just plain by itself (it sounded so good). I can't believe I ate the whole thing :~).
My doctor advocates higher D levels than traditionally thought to be ok. Says it's important for everything.
P_ersonally my body wouldn't kast a month oin a vegan diet, that's just how it's built
No, I worry more about vitamin D deficiency damage than I do sun damage.
My doctor advocates higher D levels than traditionally thought to be ok. Says it's important for everything.
P_ersonally my body wouldn't kast a month oin a vegan diet, that's just how it's built
Mine lasted two.
Mine did 5-6 years, with most of it being whole foods and mostly raw (probably 75-80%).
Then another 5 or so years as vegetarian. And now paleo. The dairy was the undoing of the vegetarianism. now that I eat meat, eggs, and veggies and fruit (and no grains/beans) -- i'm much better. :) nice cholesterol levels!
I lasted a tad over 18 months ovo-lacto; 2 weeks as a vegan. It took me 2 years just to get basically well again, but many more years to get over my feelings of shame and failure. Seeking to understand why I, an intelligent, committed person, whose diet (on paper) was excellent, should have crashed so hard, has kept me busy ever since, and made me much nicer...
ApatheticNoMore
2-19-12, 3:46pm
I was a vegan for 6 months. Nothing terrible happened but my eyesight did detoriorate rapidly in that period of time (I just need glasses for certain things is all - no biggie, so do many people). It could have been coincidence as I was the age (early 20s) where eyesight tends to go down, but it doesn't entirely run in the family, and I secretly suspect it was due to not getting ANY FAT. I avoided all fat like the plauge pretty much. Almost certainly grossly deficient in Omega 3's (eyes need these) possibly fat soluble vitamins, heck I was crazy enough I could have developed an omega 6 deficiency probably even, unheard of, but I was on a no fat diet basically.
Then I became a vegetarian for 5-6 years. Nothing terrible happened but later on I was also restricting calories and I was getting more and more depressed. Many many reasons for this but when I started reading about the correlation between low omega3s and depression and even low cholesterol and depression .. it was like hmm. I can't continue this diet. I'm fatter (stopped restricing calories), happier, and omnivorous now. My bones also became weak during that period but I think that's because I was stricly restricing calories (and even then I never reached super low body fat percentages - I just don't think I'm capable of it).
Vitamin A, critical to vision health, is a fat-soluble vitamin. People restrict healthy, naturally-occurring fats at their own peril.
You're right, Jane. Plus, some of us, (me included) can't make the conversion from beta-carotenes to retinol, and need it ready-made.
A very timely article on the importance of vitamin D, and comparison D2 and D3.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/02/23/oral-vitamin-d-mistake.aspx
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