This new vitamin D delivery system requires us to rework our protocols for fixing and maintaining healthy levels of this vital prohormone. Here's what to do.
By now, you know a blood level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D below 30 ng/mL is considered insufficient or deficient. In other words, you have low vitamin D. You also know that while being above 30 ng/mL is good, shooting for 40-70 ng/mL is even better.
Typically, health professionals prescribe different protocols to help correct mild, moderate, and severe vitamin D deficiencies. Depending on how low you are, they'll have you take big doses of vitamin D for several weeks, then a maintenance dose.
Even if you take a big dose (5000 IU per capsule or softgel) and do everything correctly, it'll still take 12 weeks or longer to get your blood levels up to optimal. That's a long time to have subpar vitamin D levels.
Can you speed it up? Yes. You easily knock off around 4 weeks by using a self-emulsifying drug delivery excipient that improves solubility and absorption. That excipient is called caprylocaproyl polyoxyl-8 glyceride, or Labrasol.
Thankfully, it's not a drug, but rather a drug delivery agent, so you don't need a prescription for it. In fact, we use it in our D Fix formula (Buy at Amazon).
But that changes things when it comes to correcting vitamin D deficiencies or insufficiencies. Since Labrasol-infused vitamin D3 works better and faster, we need new protocols.
The new protocols with high-absorption D3
Before we move on, it's best to know your vitamin D status. Here's how to get that tested without needing a doctor's note.
Now, the old rule of thumb looked like this: About 100 IU daily raises serum 25(OH)D by about 1 ng/mL. But this assumes steady-state and average absorption. With Labrasol, absorption is enhanced, so correction will be faster and more reliable.
Our goal is to raise serum 25(OH)D to at least 40-60 ng/mL. And no, we really don't need to worry about vitamin D toxicity. That requires prolonged intakes of more than 40,000 IU/day. We'll steer clear of that.
If you know your blood levels, here's what to do:
Mild deficiency (20-30 ng/mL)
- Loading Phase: For 4 weeks, take 10,000 IU per day. That's 2 softgels of D-Fix.
- Maintenance Phase: 5000 IU daily (1 softgel)
- Expected Correction: 6 weeks
Moderate deficiency (10–20 ng/mL)
- Loading Phase: For 6 weeks, take 15,000 IU per day. That's 3 softgels of D-Fix.
- Option: Take 20,000 IU every other day if compliance is easier.
- Maintenance Phase: Drop to 5,000 IU/day.
- Expected Correction: 8 weeks
Severe deficiency (< 10 ng/mL)
- Loading Phase: For 8 weeks, take 20,000 IU per day. That's 4 softgels of D-Fix.
- Option: Take 35,000 IU once weekly (7 softgels in one dose)
- Maintenance Phase: Drop to 5,000 IU daily.
- Expected Correction: 10 weeks
Ideally, retest after 8 to 12 weeks. What's too high? Experts argue about that. Some say to keep it under 80 ng/mL. Others say the cut-off point is much higher. (Ensuring you get enough vitamin K2 reduces the risks of taking very large amounts of vitamin D, since K2 supports calcium regulation.)
But, based on this study, we seem to get all the benefits of vitamin D without exceeding 70 ng/mL. If your levels are too high for your liking, back off to 5000 IU every other day.
