The Desi and Vitamin D

I was at my fun annual check up with my OBGYN (Dr. Katherine Sutherland at the Womens Physicians Medical Group – WPMG- in Mountain View, CA: highly recommeded, btw). Dr. Sutherland is more like my primary care physician; she really takes care of me, and has been for 14 years now. Wow. I feel old.
Anyway, back to my point. While I was getting all the usual pokings and proddings, she asked me how good I was about taking a Vitamin D supplement. Now, I do pop Vitamin B and omega 3 and all that from time to time, and calcium as well, but Vitamin D? Nah. Well, she said. We need to test your blood for Vitamin D levels. Really? Why? Well, she said again, it affects bone health, and low levels, even if you take calcium and do resistance training, can lead to osteoporosis. Now, I’ve seen one grandmother suffer from osteoporosis, and it’s really horrible. Rather confident of my results (given that I’m basically quite healthy and all), I gave blood. One week later, I get a call saying I’m waaaaay below the normal levels of Vitamin D. Yikes! Recommendation? One mega dose of Vitamin D a week for 10 weeks, and regular Vitamin D supplements daily. I’m about 5 weeks into the boost doses, and will go in another 5 weeks for a second test. Desis and Vitamin D? Well, apparently we can be prone to low levels. So, for all of you Desis out there, off you to go your doctor please! It’s also very interesting to note that one of the greatest sources of Vitamin D is the sun, and with all the sunblock we use, well, you do the math.