“ The article provides an excellent background for the regulatory agencies, such as the FDA, to reexamine the dietary requirement vitamin D and reset the recommendations at a realistic value.”

The dietary requirement for vitamin D in most of the population has been wrong since the day it was made. This article was written in a systematic fashion to demonstrate how the actual requirement for vitamin D should be established and how absurd and potentially harmful the current recommendations are. This is especially true in people of color whose skin at northern latitudes largely prevents the photo-conversion of vitamin D in the epidermis.

The article provides an excellent background for the regulatory agencies, such as the FDA, to reexamine the dietary requirement vitamin D and reset the recommendations at a realistic value.

Vitamin D deficiency is a very serious health problem. Most people tend to think of it only in terms of skeletal problems; however, it is much more than that. Vitamin D deficiency has now been linked with a multitude of neoplasms, autoimmune dysfunction, compromised innate immunity and neurodevelopment in utero. Vitamin D is made in huge amounts when we go into intense sun. A fair-skinned individual can produce approximately 20,000 IU in 10 minutes’ time with a total body exposure. A person with significant pigmentation will require up to 10 times the exposure to make an equivalent amount. In the winter at the latitude of Chicago, even a fair person cannot photo-produce vitamin D from mid-October through March. Thus, it is VERY important to have a realistic vitamin D recommendation as the current 200 IU/day recommendation is a joke.

It is maddening to me to hear physicians say "drink some milk and you will obtain all the vitamin D you need." It is wrong and harmful to the patient. No one should have a circulating 25(OH) D level—this is the metabolite that defines nutritional vitamin D status—less than 80 nmol. I try to keep my own level at 125 nmol minimum and consume between 2,000-8,000 IU/day depending on the season.

I have been involved in vitamin D metabolism and nutrition for the past 30 years and have published more than 150 papers on the topic. Our current funding from the NIH is to study the vitamin D requirements during pregnancy and lactation. These studies include dosing vitamin D to pregnant and lactating women at up to 6,000 IU/day. When these grants went to the study section, we got a great score and were ready to start the project. When we were reviewed by our IRB they referred us to the FDA who requested we get a full blown IND number. After six months of writing and talking with the FDA we were awarded the IND. We started the project and have not looked back.