Over months, I tracked my blood vitamin D levels as I took supplements, and now I know that the 2500IU dose is enough to keep me at nominal levels - the higher doses cause it to build up too much and would eventually cause liver issues.
I know it's anecdotal, but in the few years since I did this, those recurrent sicknesses have vanished. I'm also taking vitamin B, which is another one you get less efficient at absorbing as you age.
OOC what did you use to do this?
If that's not an option, non-prescription at-home tests are available in the US for as low as $49.
I don't know about monthly, I think a 60-day followup after treatment in order to titrate your supplementation might be best (it takes time for supplementation to work), but at-home tests are an option if your provider is for some inexplicable reason, reluctant.
As far as I can tell, the only harm from supplementation comes when the typical adult consistently consumes doses so high as to be absurd (50,000+ IU daily for months) so I don't know why any medical professional would be hesitant to investigate such a common health issue with such an easy, inexpensive, and effective treatment.
You need to expose large areas of your body like legs, arms, and torso for several minutes to an hour. If those areas are covered, sunlight won’t do much.
The Sigma Nutrition podcast has an excellent episode on that: https://sigmanutrition.com/episode438/
I've also tried to get my RDA of Vitamin D every day. Often I get it from fortified (coconut) milk and a multi-vitamin. But I prefer to include fish. I'm particularly fond of canned sardines [1] because they're a long-shelf-life pantry item, they're a relatively inexpensive protein, they have lots of omega-3s and fit my low-carb diet, and (unlike tuna) they're low enough on the food chain that you can eat them daily without excess heavy metal intake, and iiuc they're a more sustainable fish option. I think sardines have a bad reputation for taste because people lump them in with anchovies, which can be incredibly salty and fishy. I find sardines to be much more mild and versatile. I find they taste best alongside acids (lemon juice, vinegar, tomato) and maybe creamy fats (avocado/guac, cream cheese). You can add them to salad, toast, pasta, pizza, or even just inside a bell pepper.
Here's a good simple recipe for someone trying sardines for the first time: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/sherried-sar...
[1] the tiny, two-layer per can kind
Not sure I agree. It might help that I buy the smaller sardines (as mentioned above) and combine them with acid. I just did a search and both of those things were recommended as ways to reduce odor. I also generally eat them at room temp rather than cooking them, which I'm sure makes a big difference in their smell. I also haven't had any complaints about my smell, but they'd be mostly from my family as I'm a remote worker... /shruggie
> I wonder if there anything similar without the smell?
Maybe salmon and mackerel? I think they're in the middle of the food chain (where sardines and tuna are more at the extremes) and similarly between in fat content.
> Honestly for the reasons you listed though sardines are kind of a super food imo.
Yeah, I think if sardines aren't a superfood, the word doesn't mean anything at all...
I like canned salmon as well, much less smell for sure but I figured it wasn't as healthy because of pollutants. Never tried mackerel. Found a chart and looks like, mackerel, salmon, herring, and sardines are all about the same. I've had the herring and it was good and similar price to sardines.
There are also some fish meal combo tins (salad toppers, really) I like, such as these: https://freshemeals.com/ My favorite is the Moroccan Tagine salmon. They're on clearance at my local grocery store for 50% off so I bought a few dozen...
iirc a physician advised my then-pregnant wife to have salmon at least twice a week, vs. the common recommendation to have tuna at most once a week.
This brings up something I always wonder when these things come up. I agree with what you said, and there's a lot of evidence that this is bad. But I've seen mixed results over time as to whether or not vitamin d supplementation has a beneficial effect. I assume it's an "it depends on the effect" and sometimes yes and sometimes no