VITAMIN D UPDATE: The Vitamin D Deficiency Epidemic. “Symptoms of deficiencies or insufficiencies, aside from an anemic immune system, include musculoskeletal pains often diagnosed as fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome, osteoporosis, bones that break too easily, weak or small muscles, low sex drive, low testosterone levels, hypertension, increased blood pressure, endothelial dysfunction, sudden cardiac death syndrome in athletes, and a long list of other undesirable stuff. And it’s not just regular Doritos-eating couch potatoes that are being affected. Thirty-two percent of pro basketball players were found to be deficient, while 47% had vitamin D insufficiency.”

Plus: “Anyhow, to meet that 20 ng/mL level, the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is 600 IU of vitamin D for children and adults under 70, and 800 IU for those over 70. The Endocrine Society, however, didn’t much like those numbers. They prefer that people – at least those people that don’t get adequate sunlight – take between 1500 and 2200 IU a day, but even that’s based on guesswork and is still maybe a little too conservative.”