Many Vegans are Not Getting Enough Vitamin D!
It is the end of the winter and the time of year when people’s vitamin D levels will naturally be the lowest. I am hearing from a disconcerting number of vegans (4 to be exact) who have had their vitamin D levels tested in the last month or so and have been well below normal, and close to zero in some cases. Three of these people have lived in San Diego, Santa Monica, and San Jose, which means living in a sunny climate does not guarantee you are getting enough vitamin D, unfortunately.
Try to take your lunch break outside in the sun!
(Of course, don’t overdo it and get burned.)
May 3rd, 2010 at 7:08 am
I am a vegetarian who has just been diagnosed with Vitamin D deficiency (6.6). I thought I was getting enough sun and since I occasionally drank milk was OK. Not the case. My symptoms included severe depression plus a host of digestive problems. I was lucky to find a new doctor that did several blood tests before prescribing yet another psycho drug. Now I take supplements and finally starting to feel better
May 6th, 2010 at 2:18 am
I live in sunny Western Australia and am also Vit D deficient. Reason = unknown. Before going vegan my levels were OK so I’m assuming this deficiency is somehow connected to my diet – I’ve been vegan for almost 2.5 years now. I’m on supplements – which I am not very good at taking regularly. I don’t know if my levels are better now, I’ll get them checked again soon. Would be interested to know if there is a definite link with vegan diets and Vit D deficiency, and how we can overcome this without resorting to pill popping.
May 9th, 2010 at 9:42 am
I don’t think there is a link between being vegan and being vitamin D deficient. It seems to be a common problem these days among the general population.
April 27th, 2011 at 7:03 pm
I am not sure whether I mentioned that to you, but my husband and I were also deficient in vitamin D when we tested our blood last fall. His level was 19 and mine was 17. A year before that my blood test showed that it was 18. At that point, I didn’t pay attention and didn’t do anything about it. The following year, my doctor prescribed 50,000 IU for, I believe, three months. I didn’t get my blood tested yet, but I am sure my level is back to normal. Currently, my husband and I are taing 1000 IU of vitamin D2 every day. I guess we are going to keep doing this. We are obviously not getting enough from the sun or from our food.