Needle-Free Vitamin D Infusion
Many people can't get their vitamin D levels up with supplements, so they rely on IV drips. That may no longer be necessary. Here's why.
For around $200, you can visit a medical provider, have a needle and catheter inserted into a vein, and receive an IV infusion of vitamin D. For many, this is the only way to keep their blood levels up into the healthy range. These folks typically have malabsorption issues – gastrointestinal conditions like Crohn's or celiac disease, or they've had gastric bypass surgery.
However, a lot of people without those conditions suffer from vitamin D deficiency, too. Using progressive standards, up to 80% of Americans have at least an insufficiency, leading to poor immunity, sexual problems, mental health issues like depression, hormone imbalances, and more.
Here's the kicker: Many people with a deficiency or insufficiency take a vitamin D supplement, just not one designed for optimal absorption. If they switched to microencapsulated vitamin D3 containing caprylocaproyl polyoxyl-8 glycerides (Labrasol) like D Fix (Buy at Amazon), their blood levels would quickly rise.
But more on that in a minute. Let's first look at why it's so hard to keep vitamin D blood levels elevated.
Why Your Vitamin D May Not Be Working
1. It's Your Diet
Vitamin D is fat-soluble. It requires fat for absorption and a very low-fat diet hinders its uptake. Related: Any vitamin-D-containing foods that are boiled, pressure-cooked, Insta-Potted, baked, or air-fried could end up being vitamin D compromised.
Vitamin D also doesn't do its thing very well if you're magnesium deficient, and most people are. You may need to correct this first with a chelated magnesium supplement, like Elitepro Vital Minerals (Buy at Amazon).
2. It's Your Genes
Certain genetic polymorphisms affect vitamin D metabolism and binding. For instance, variations in the CYP2R1 gene, which codes for an enzyme converting vitamin D into its active form, or the GC gene, which encodes the D-binding protein, can reduce the efficiency of vitamin D utilization.
Likewise, some individuals have variations in the VDR (vitamin D receptor) gene that reduce their responsiveness to the vitamin. They need to take more to achieve the same effects.
3. It's Your Love Handles
Vitamin D is stored in body fat, so those with higher body fat percentages "impound" more vitamin D in fat stores, making it less available for circulation in the blood.
4. It's Your Medicines
Certain drugs like anticonvulsants, glucocorticoids, and some cholesterol-lowering drugs interfere with vitamin D metabolism.
5. It's Your El-Cheapo Supplement
You may simply not be taking enough. Most people can't correct a deficiency or insufficiency with 1000 or even 2000 IU of grocery-store vitamin D. Also, many generic brands have been compromised with heat, light, moisture, etc. meaning the vitamin D they contain may be less active.
Pharmaceutical-Inspired Vitamin D
Drug companies have a special tool to make certain drugs work better. It's called caprylocaproyl polyoxyl-8 glyceride, or Labrasol. By acting as a non-ionic surfactant, Labrasol enhances the absorption and bioavailability of drugs.
Luckily, it works for vitamin D, too:
- Labrasol forms micelles that encapsulate fat-soluble vitamin D, making it more soluble in aqueous environments like the digestive tract. This enhances overall absorption.
- Labrasol increases the permeability of the intestinal wall. By temporarily disrupting the lipid bilayer of the intestinal cell membranes, it allows more vitamin D to pass through the intestinal lining into the bloodstream.
- Labrasol mimics the presence of dietary fat, improving vitamin D absorption even when fat intake is low.
- Labrasol helps create and stabilize emulsions of vitamin D supplements, improving their bioavailability by keeping the vitamin D in a form that's more easily absorbed in the digestive tract.
- By forming micelles, Labrasol increases the surface area available for absorption. The micellar form allows vitamin D to interact more efficiently with the absorptive cells in the small intestine, enhancing the uptake rate.
- As a nice side effect, Labrasol helps lengthen the shelf life of vitamin D.
Although the delivery technology is borrowed from the pharmaceutical industry, you don't need a prescription for Labrasol-infused vitamin D. It's available in D Fix High Absorption Vitamin D (Buy at Amazon) which contains 5000 IU of microencapsulated D3.
Even if you don't use D Fix, make sure your supplement lists "caprylocaproyl polyoxyl-8 glyceride" on the back label.
Note: This same delivery technology is used in Flameout DHA-Rich Fish Oil (Buy at Amazon) and the T-booster, Omega-Man High Absorption Longjack (Buy at Amazon).