If you get your doctor to do a vitamin D test, please be sure he uses the right
one, as many don't. You should as for a 25-hydroxyvitamin D test, also called a
25(OH)D. Levels should be above 50 ng/ml year-round, in both children and
adults, especially if you are trying to fight infection or cancer.
I quote from VitaminDCouncil.org:
You can have your doctor order the test-some insurance companies will pay for a
25(OH)D test, some will not. Unfortunately, about 20% of United States doctors
order the wrong test. They order a 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D, thinking that by
measuring the most potent steroid in the human body, calcitriol, they are
getting useful information. They are not. 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D is an
adaptive hormone; it goes up and down with calcium intake. So these doctors see
the 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D is normal or high and tell their patients that they
are ok when really, they are vitamin D deficient-advice that may prove fatal.
Furthermore, most doctors who see a 25(OH)D of 30 ng/ml will tell you that level
is fine when it is not-that is, few doctors know how to correctly interpret the
test results.
You can also order a home test from here (unless you live in California or New
York):
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/health/deficiency/am-i-vitamin-d-deficient.shtml
http://www.zrtlab.com/Page.aspx?nid=12&action=view&category=14&partner=VitaminD%\
20Council
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