Vitamin d normal range in female

Your body uses vitamin D for maintaining healthy bones and effectively absorbing calcium. Not having enough vitamin D in your system may raise your risk of osteoporosis, bone malformations, cancer, inflammation and suppressed immunity. A simple blood test can give you accurate results and help you determine if your vitamin D levels are in the healthy range. Your body has different forms of vitamin D. The National Institutes of Health reports that the 25-hydroxy vitamin D test is the most accurate measuring tool for determining whether you have enough vitamin D in your system. According to the Institute of Medicine, the optimum range of 25-hydroxy vitamin D in the blood is 20 to 50 nanograms per milliliter, abbreviated ng/mL. Less than 20 ng/mL is inadequate, but more than 50 ng/mL may also put your health at risk. Discuss your results with your doctor if you have any concerns about your vitamin D level. The Institute of Medicine recommends 600 international units, or IU, per day of dietary vitamin D for adults through age 70 and 800 IU per day thereafter. You can get vitamin D three ways: sun exposure, the food you eat and supplements. Sun exposure can be problematic because of the associated risk of skin cancer. Vitamin D-fortified, low-fat milk and dairy products, tuna, salmon and eggs are good sources of this important nutrient.

Doctors use the 25-hydroxy vitamin D test to monitor your vitamin D levels. Low levels can mean you need to spend more time outdoors or adjust your diet. But it can also occur with certain medical conditions. Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium and maintain strong bones throughout your entire life. Your body produces vitamin D when the sun’s UV rays contact your skin. Other good sources of the vitamin include fish, eggs, and fortified dairy products. It’s also available as a dietary supplement. Vitamin D must go through several processes in your body before your body can use it. The first transformation occurs in the liver. Here, your body converts vitamin D to a chemical known as 25-hydroxyvitamin D, also called calcidiol. The 25-hydroxy vitamin D test is the best way to monitor vitamin D levels. The amount of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in your blood is a good indication of how much vitamin D your body has. The test can determine if your vitamin D levels are too high or too low. The test is also known as the 25-OH vitamin D test and the calcidiol 25-hydroxycholecalcifoerol test. It can be an important indicator of Your doctor may request a 25-hydroxy vitamin D test for several different reasons. It can help them figure out whether too much or too little vitamin D is causing bone weakness or other abnormalities. It can also monitor people who are at risk for having a Those who are at high risk of having low levels of vitamin D include: • people who don’t get much exposure to...

Vitamin D is essential for bone health and immune system function. The body makes vitamin D when exposed to sunlight, but you can also get it from foods. Some people need supplements, but how much additional vitamin D you need will depend on various factors, including your age and where you live. Vitamin D is essential for good health. It’s often referred to as the “sunshine vitamin” and is made in your skin when exposed to sunlight. Despite that, vitamin D deficiency is one of the most common nutrient deficiencies in the world. Up to 42% of the American adult population has low vitamin D levels, which can cause health problems ( Vitamin D is crucial for bone health and immune system function. This article discusses how much vitamin D you need. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that’s involved in many essential body functions. There are two forms of vitamin D in the diet and supplements: • Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol): found in some mushrooms. • Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol): found in oily fish, fish liver oil, and egg yolks. D3 is the more powerful of the two types and raises vitamin D levels almost twice as much as D2 ( Significant amounts of vitamin D can also be made in your skin when exposed to UV rays from sunlight. Any excess vitamin D is stored in your body fat for later use. Almost every cell in your body has a receptor for vitamin D. It’s essential to many processes, including bone health, immune system function, and can help protect against cancer ( Vitamin D def...

Vitamin D dosage recommendations can vary depending on several factors, including your age, skin color, medical history, and where you live. Vitamin D is commonly known as the “sunshine vitamin.” That’s because your skin makes vitamin D when it is exposed to sunlight ( Getting enough Despite its importance, roughly 41% of people in the United States have a vitamin D insufficiency. Rates of vitamin D deficiency are higher for women, non-Hispanic Black people, and individuals ages 20–29 ( There are several other groups of people that have higher vitamin D needs because of their age, where they live, and certain medical conditions. This article will help you discover how much vitamin D you need daily. Vitamin D belongs to the family of There are two main forms of vitamin D in the diet: • Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol): found in plant foods like mushrooms • Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol): found in animal foods like salmon, cod, and egg yolks However, sunlight is the best natural source of vitamin D3. The ultraviolet (UV) rays from sunlight convert cholesterol in your skin into vitamin D3 ( Before your body can use dietary vitamin D, it must be “activated” through a series of steps ( First, the liver converts dietary vitamin D into the storage form of vitamin D. This is the form that is measured in blood tests. Later, the storage form is converted by the kidneys to the active form of vitamin D that’s used by the body ( Though both vitamin D2 and vitamin D3 can increase blood levels ...

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I have heard different recommendations from different sources regarding vitamin D. One doctor told my husband that everyone living in the Northern Hemisphere should take a vitamin D supplement every day, even in the summer. What do you recommend? ANSWER: Understanding how much vitamin D you need can be confusing because there are different recommendations about how much vitamin D adults should get. Using the recommendations that fall on the low end, many adults don’t get the amount of vitamin D they should. Because few foods contain vitamin D naturally, eating foods fortified with vitamin D and taking a supplement may be beneficial. Vitamin D is important because it helps your body sustain normal levels of calcium and phosphorus. Because it works as a key that allows your body to absorb calcium, vitamin D plays a critical role in forming and maintaining healthy bones. It also helps keep your muscles, nerves and immune system healthy. Research suggests that consistently getting enough vitamin D can significantly lower the risk for the bone-thinning disease Vitamin D is found in some foods, such as egg yolks, cheese, cod liver oil, beef liver and fatty fish like tuna, salmon, sardines, herring and mackerel. But the amount of vitamin D in these foods is quite small. In the U.S., many people get the bulk of their dietary vitamin D from foods that are fortified with it, including milk, cereals and some brands of yogurt and orange juice. In general, even with f...

For adults, a typical level of vitamin D in the blood is 20 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) or above. Levels of 12 ng/ml are too low and levels of 50 ng/ml are too high. High or low levels may affect a person’s health. However, needs vary between individuals. The body depends on In this article, we look at: • normal vitamin D levels by age • why vitamin D is important • signs of a deficiency • how to increase vitamin D • if too much is possible Age Amount 0–12 months 10 micrograms (mcg) or 400 international units (IU) 1–70 years 15 mcg or 600 IU 71+ years 20 mcg or 800 IU People who are pregnant or breastfeeding also need 15 mcg or 600 IU of vitamin D per day. Doctors use blood tests to determine if someone has adequate levels of vitamin D. They measure vitamin D using one of two measurements: nanomoles per liter (nmol/l) or nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml). The following table provides According to the Without adequate vitamin D, a person may develop soft, weak, or brittle bones. This Vitamin D also contributes to the health of muscles, nerves, the brain, and the immune system. Evidence suggests vitamin D may help to prevent some However, scientists are still trying to understand how vitamin D may influence specific conditions. Research into its ability to influence diseases, such as People can get vitamin D from exposure to sunlight or, to a lesser extent, from food. If someone does not get enough vitamin D from these sources, they may develop a deficiency. The symptoms...