Upping D: Bolus or Taper on?

[cs_carver]

Persuaded by Zulikaa's posts; decided to try more vitamin D. Current dose is 400 mg "cheap" in my multi- and 500 mg D3 that comes with my calcium supplement. Saw one post that suggested tapering on, 1000 mg at a time, and I'm not sure I followed the logic--

--take a little more to see how much you need to get improvement?

--take a little more because you need to adjust your system, like C where it's a laxative when you take too much?

OR

--bolus up (I'm thinking 2000 or 3000 mg, D3) to load the system and then taper back to find my maintenance dose?

In Central NC with plenty of outdoor time and pretty good sunshine.

thx

[Dodger]

I can't specifically answers your questions (they are very good questions), but I went from only the 400IUs in a multi to 2000 - 2500 IUs without any problems.

It's not necessarily how much outdoor time you get that matters, but how much skin gets exposed to the sun. During the winter months, the sun is low enough that the additional atmosphere that the sunlight has to travel through tends to filter out the UV needed to make the vitamin D. From what I have read, I won't count on any significant vitamin D getting made by sunlight from November through February.

[foxgluvs]

Bumping this thread because I wanted to know this too!

[Zuleikaa]

Persuaded by Zulikaa's posts; decided to try more vitamin D. Current dose is 400 mg "cheap" in my multi- and 500 mg D3 that comes with my calcium supplement. Saw one post that suggested tapering on, 1000 mg at a time, and I'm not sure I followed the logic--

--take a little more to see how much you need to get improvement?

--take a little more because you need to adjust your system, like C where it's a laxative when you take too much?

OR

--bolus up (I'm thinking 2000 or 3000 mg, D3) to load the system and then taper back to find my maintenance dose?

In Central NC with plenty of outdoor time and pretty good sunshine.

thxI would start at 2000 IU day of vitamin D.

The dose of D required is so wide a span because individual D dose depends of a host of factors pertaining to the individual

1. Resident latitude.
2. Season.
3. Time spent in 10-2 sun.
4. Percent of skin exposed to #3.
5. Skin tone.
6. Weight.
7. Age.
8. D deficiency status or markers/diseases.

D levels come from food, sun exposure and supplements.

D needed by the body has been suggested at 4,000 IU per day.
Proven D needed by the body, white men in Wisconsin(?) during the winter 7,000 IU per day.