PODCAST. Are you wondering if you should take vitamin D, how much and whether to get it from food or a supplement? In the body, vitamin D is responsible for working with the minerals calcium and phosphorus to help them absorb correctly. And as you’ve probably heard, Vitamin D prevents and treats osteoporosis or weak and brittle bones.

How do you know if you need to take vitamin D? The best way to find out is to ask your health care provider to check your vitamin D level with a blood test. This is the deciding factor. For bone health, if the blood level of vitamin D is above 20 nanograms per milliliter or you’ll see it on the lab results as ng/ml, there is probably no need to take a supplement. Don’t miss this…it’s important to know that lab tests often show a range for a normal level. If your number is on the lower end of normal, it doesn’t mean you need more as long as it’s above 20.

But if you’re 65 and older, a blood level between 24-29 may be beneficial in the prevention of bone fractures. Blood levels below 14 and above 29 are actually tied to fractures according to studies, which suggest to us …too little vitamin D is not good but too much Vitamin D in the body is not either. This is a case of more is not necessarily better.

Listen now for your 5 things to remember about vitamin D and bone health.

Be sure and try the culinary companion recipe for Veggie Mac & Cheese

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