A top NHS doctor has urged the public to seek an annual blood test to check for vitamin D deficiency — after he was shocked to discover he was severely lacking in the vital nutrient and risking bone problems, despite his healthy diet.
Dr Karan Rajan, a surgeon working in NHS hospitals, revealed the scare led him to u-turn on his sceptical views on vitamin D supplements, and now recommends them to patients.
Speaking in a video that has so far been watched over 45,000 times, Dr Rajan warned of the little-known dangers of not getting enough of the nutrient — which include bone deformities, muscle weakness and incorrect growth patterns.
It is currently estimated that around one in six adults in the UK do not get enough vitamin D.
Also known as the ‘sunshine vitamin’, the main source is exposure to sunlight, as well as from foods like oily fish, red meat and egg yolks.
‘I was wrong about vitamin D,’ Dr Rajan admitted in the clip.
‘At first I thought only certain people needed it at certain times. At other times I thought it was just a scam.’
‘The truth is, it took me being vitamin D deficient to change my mind.’
Dr Rajan listed other vitamins and minerals such as magnesium which help promote the production of useable vitamin D
NHS guidelines suggest taking a vitamin D supplement throughout winter, when there is less sunshine, but Dr Rajan wasn’t convinced this was necessary until his health scare.
‘When I discovered that my vitamin D levels were so low, I had to make a choice. I could have changed my diet and spent more time outdoors which I did, but I wanted to get back to sufficient levels as quickly as possible.’
The doctor’s vitamin D blood levels were 15.7 ng/ml, making him severely deficient according to the minimum threshold of 20ng/ml, set out by the institute of medicine in the US.
However, the UK threshold for deficiency is much lower, at 12ng/ml, a level that has long been criticised by international health experts.
After speaking with experts in the field, Dr Rajan decided to introduce vitamin D supplements to his daily routine, but with a ‘twist’.
He ‘mega-dosed’ the supplement, taking 17,000 units for 12 days, before before reducing his intake to 6,000 units for a maintenance dose.
Four weeks later, Dr Rajan’s vitamin D levels had surged to 66.2 ng/ml, proving that taking supplements can help to boost levels of the vitamin.
‘This is definitely not what the guidelines suggest but me experimenting on myself.
Dr Rajan’s vitamin D levels were well below the recommended daily guidelines
‘I learned there are factors you need to take into consideration…but there is no reason why you shouldn’t try supplementing with vitamin D for a specific period of time.’
Dr Rajan listed the best ways to boost levels of vitamin D, and how to take supplements responsibly to protect against bone fractures.
The doctor, who has over 2.16million subscribers, urged anyone over the age of 30 to test regularly to see if they are lacking in any essential vitamins and minerals.
He said: ‘My best advice is test don’t guess. At least once a year, get a blood test as a general indicator of health and find out your vitamin D levels too.’
He added there are many factors you need to take into consideration when it comes to vitamin D supplements.
For instance, the amount of vitamin D people need will depend on a variety of variables.
Firstly, adequate magnesium is needed for our body to process vitamin D.
Without enough of it, the so-called sunshine vitamin cannot be converted into a form the body can absorb.
Before his health scare, Dr Rajan was skeptical about the benefits of taking vitamin D supplements.
Vitamin D is fat-soluble, meaning its best taken with foods naturally high in healthy fats.
Therefore, those with lower levels of magnesium in their blood may need a higher dose.
Secondly, being overweight can also have an impact on how much vitamin D, which is stored in fat cells, can be absorbed.
‘The more fat cells you have, the less vitamin D is available to the rest of the body,’ Dr Karan explained.
Dr Rajan said eating more foods that are naturally high in healthy fats and magnesium—such as nuts, spinach and dark chocolate—will help boost absorption rates.
He also suggested looking for supplements that contain vitamin K2, which helps to reduce the risk of calcium being deposited in the bloodstream, risking heart disease, which can happen if you take too much generic vitamin D.
‘The time of day you take your supplement doesn’t seem to be important but consistency is’, Dr Rajan added.
He suggested taking the supplements for a period of between four and eight weeks before getting another blood test to see if target levels have been achieved.
He added: ‘While supplements can help to boost vitamin D levels, adequate sunlight exposure and a healthy diet that includes things like oily fish, mushrooms and fortified foods are the biggest levers to pull for everyone’.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .