{"id":10637,"date":"2026-03-19T14:55:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:55:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.truthforhealth.org\/?p=10637"},"modified":"2026-03-19T14:55:31","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T14:55:31","slug":"dr-vliets-health-tip-the-vitamin-d-lie-normal-levels-are-dangerously-low-aim-for-above-70-or-risk-your-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.truthforhealth.org\/es\/2026\/03\/dr-vliets-health-tip-the-vitamin-d-lie-normal-levels-are-dangerously-low-aim-for-above-70-or-risk-your-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Vliet\u2019s Health Tip: The Vitamin D Lie: “Normal” Levels Are Dangerously Low \u2013 Aim for Above 70 or Risk Your Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a9 by Elizabeth Lee Vliet MD and Kathy Kresnik<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Vitamin\u00a0D is probably the most important overlooked life saver and SHIELD in our health and resilience armamentarium! Ignoring its importance, and failing to check blood levels regularly, means you are playing Russian Roulette with your health.\u00a0 Both my medical experience over the last 40 years and current research studies confirm that for far too long, conventional \u201cwisdom\u201d has set target vitamin D levels far too low to achieve all the critical functions in the body that this wonder hormone provides.\u00a0 Yes, that\u2019s right.\u00a0 I said \u201chormone.\u201d \u201cVitamin\u201d D is actually a hormone<\/em>, not a vitamin.\u00a0 I explained that in my earlier article on Vitamin D<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are serious myths<\/em> about the level of vitamin D you actually need.\u00a0 Tragically, doctors and institutional guidelines are still telling patients that Vitamin D levels between 20-30 ng\/mL are \u201cnormal.\u201d\u00a0 Even my own patients, for whom I am trying to get Vitamin D into optimal ranges, have primary care docs telling them they are \u201ctaking too much\u201d or their level is fine at 30!\u00a0 It is very frustrating for me.<\/p>\n

Big Medicine seems unwilling to admit that current research has shown for the last 25 years or more that Vitamin D stores need to be above 60 ng\/mL <\/em><\/strong>and ideally in the 70-90 ng\/mL range<\/strong>\u2014measured as 25 (OH) vitamin D in the blood.\u00a0 Globally, roughly half of people have suboptimal vitamin D by common bone\u2011health thresholds, and about 1 in 6 have deficient levels.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind this key point:<\/strong> \u201cnormal\u201d on a lab range is NOT THE SAME as optimal for your body needs!\u00a0 <\/em>Vitamin D deficiency is often the silent killer hiding behind what patients were told is a \u201cnormal\u201d lab result.\u00a0 <\/strong>Insufficient, or deficient, vitamin D stores are simply too critical to ignore.\u00a0 So today, I teach you what you need to know about why higher levels are critical to your health, how to get tested, and how to improve your vitamin D stores.<\/p>\n

So How Did We Get Here? Why Vitamin D Intake Recommendations Miss the Mark<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many physicians focusing on health as more than just absence of disease have long recognized the crucial role Vitamin D plays in just about every system in the body.\u00a0 Current national guidelines recommend daily intakes for Vitamin D that are far too low for optimal health based on the most current studies of correlation between Vitamin D levels and various medical disorders. The official RDA of 600\u2013800 IU per day, set by the Institute of Medicine in 2011, was meant to keep almost everyone\u2019s vitamin D levels above 20 ng\/mL. However, later research found that this dose only helps the average person reach a minimum<\/em><\/strong> level, which means most people are way below the what we now know to be the optimal threshold of at least 60 ng\/mL<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This original recommendation also only focused on bone health (and still is too low for even that!), not on vitamin D levels needed for other organ systems to function optimally.\u00a0 Scientists re-examined the data and discovered that a much higher dose\u2014often several thousand IU per day\u2014is needed to ensure adequate vitamin D levels for nearly everyone.<\/p>\n

Despite this, major health authorities have not raised their recommendations, either because of inertia, or because so many medical groups have not taken into account the newer research showing higher levels are needed for most conditions, or because there is more money to be made for Big Pharma pushing Rx medicines to treat\u00a0 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and depression than there is in testing vitamin D and recommending over the counter supplements. and keep pushing outdated lab ranges.<\/p>\n

If you rely strictly on the low RDA of 600-800 IU per day from food and a multivitamin, and do not take any vitamin D supplements at all, you may not even reach minimal levels, much less optimal vitamin D levels. That\u2019s especially true for people with a higher BMI, or who spend little time outdoors, or live at northern latitudes.<\/p>\n

For better health, consider current vitamin D recommendations as a only as a minimum starting point and adjust your dose based on lab tests and individual needs\u2014often up to 5,000 IU or even more daily\u2014while keeping blood levels within safe limits unless your doctor advises otherwise.<\/p>\n

Serum vitamin D stores are measured by the blood test 25 (OH) vitamin D, commonly expressed in ng\/mL.\u00a0 Do not be confused with levels expressed in nmol\/L, as these will be higher numbers but can be misleading because the unit is not the same we are typically using.\u00a0 Here are some common ranges and what they mean:<\/strong><\/p>\n