New! Vitamin D Supreme 5,000 IU per capsules. This dose of vitamin D is ideal for those who are deficient since you must take high doses over several months to correct a deficiency. Groundbreaking research on Vitamin D has been performed by Michael Holick, PhD, MD over the last 20 years and has shown that deficiency is at epidemic proportions the United States, and causing a number of our most common diseases!

Are you getting 2-3 hours of direct sunlight per week with no sunscreen? Although you can obtain vitamin D from the sun, we tend not to these days since we work indoors and are scared of sun exposure. The result is that 90% of the country is vitamin D deficient.

Consequences of vitamin D deficiency include:

• Generalized bone pain or isolated bone pain (Osteomalacia)
• Muscle aches
• Osteoporosis
• Breast, ovarian, prostate, and colon cancer
• Leukemia in children
• Kidney disease or kidney stones
• High blood pressure
• Cardiovascular disease
• Autoimmune disease prevention (type I diabetes, MS)
• Weakened liver function

Research shows that activated Vitamin D inhibits cancer cell growth, so get your 2-3 hours of sun per week, or take your vitamin D!

This clinically useful dose of vitamin D3 and vitamin K (in both K1 and the MK-7 form of K2), is highly bioavailable. Both of these forms of Vitamin K are important to our health: Vitamin K1 (the naturally occurring form of vitamin K in vegetables) and Vitamin K2 as MK-7, which is a product of soy fermentation (free of soy allergens) and has the special property of metabolizing slowly throughout the day. This formula contains higher therapeutic doses than Vitamin D Synergy for situations where more aggressive repletion is required. Most holistically oriented health care practitioners are aiming for vitamin D blood levels of between 50 - 100 ng/mL as optimal. Many patients will require a higher dose of vitamin D as found in Vitamin D Supreme to achieve this.

Serving Size: 1 capsule
Contains:

After an impressive two hour presentation by Dr. Michael Holick, PhD, MD from a Harvard and a teacher at Boston University Medical Center, I finally understood the that Vitamin D deficiency is an epidemic in our country. It is a huge contributor and cause to osteoporosis, bone pain (osteomalacia), and hormone related cancers. According to his nationwide research, it is impossible to get enough vitamin D from our diets. And 90% of people in the US are deficient! (even those who think they get enough sun every week). If you live in a cold climate any part of the year, you need to take your vitamin D.

Vitamin D is a serious deficiency and rarely diagnosed by doctors in routine screening. He recommends we all get a blood test (25(OH)D Assay, not the 1,25(OH)₂). Also, we ALL need to take a minimum of 1,000 IU of vitamin D per day for maintenence (or min 30 minutes of direct sunshine with no sunscreen 3-4x week- and four times more for those with dark or black skin). If deficient, you'll need to take 5,000 or more IUs per day. Vit D levels are considered deficient unless they are over 30ng/ml, and ideal levels are about 70. Dr. Holick's research showed that by increasing vitamin D levels he was able to increase bone density by 23% in 2 years! No medication does anything close to this. I recommend you read Dr. Michael Holick’s book The UV Advantage.

Click here to download the pdf, The Healing Power of Sunlight and Vitamin D: an exclusive interview with Dr. Michael Holick.

Read Customer questions and answers about Nutrition Basics in our FAQ.

Vitamin D Synergy, our 2000 IU lower dose product, should be considered for maintaining optimal blood levels of vitamin D for long-term supplementation in patients that are exposed to adequate sunlight. Vitamins D and K are essential for optimal bone and arterial health and for maintaining the immune system in proper balance. The amount of vitamin D and K in this formula may correct the deficiencies of a majority of patients that do not get adequate sun exposure and/or dietary sources of these vitamins.

We now know how important Vitamin K is for directing the transport of calcium into bone and teeth for optimal strength. Increasing the amount of vitamin D, via supplementation, in the presence of inadequate levels of vitamin K, can increase the risk of calcium deposition in arteries and soft tissue and have a very negative effect on artery elasticity. This is due to their interaction in the use of MGP, Matrix Gla Protein, which is a strong inhibitor of arterial calcification. The expression of MGP is vitamin D dependent and the gamma-carboxylation step, making it active, is vitamin K dependent. Together, D and K make a great team. CAUTION: Vitamin K may adversely interact with anticoagulation drugs known as blood thinners. Patients taking these medications should be medically supervised while taking Vitamin D Supreme.

How does vitamin K help the bones? The most famous Gla protein is “osteocalcin.” Osteocalcin requires vitamin K to work. Vitamin K performs a feat on the proteins called “carboxylation.” Undercarboxylated osteocalcin can’t regulate calcium causing it to float around and dump into the wrong places like the arteries. Osteocalcin is now getting attention for its importance to bone density.

Caution: Vitamin K may adversely interact with anticoagulation drugs known as blood thinners. Patients taking these medications should be medically supervised while taking Vitamin D Supreme. People consuming more than 2,000 IU per day should have their vitamin D blood levels monitored by a qualified health care provider.