The best way to get personalized recommendations for vitamin D intake is to work with your healthcare provider, who can check your vitamin D status and periodically monitor changes in blood levels with supplementation to achieve adequate blood levels of 50 nmol/L or more.[1]
However, in the absence of pressing health issues, most people are not likely to monitor vitamin D levels with regular blood testing, and much research has been conducted to correlate vitamin D supplementation doses with blood levels achieved in various populations.
Approximately 1000 IU of vitamin D3 a day is needed for half of the population to reach a blood level of 75 nmol/L,[2] and an estimated 95% of the population will achieve this blood level with 1700 IU/day supplementation.[3] Taking the current body of evidence into account, 1000-2000 IU of vitamin D3 per day seems to be sufficient to achieve adequate vitamin D levels for most of the population. It is important to note that a healthcare provider may initially prescribe much higher doses to resolve a vitamin D deficiency.
References
- ^Vitamin D Fact sheet for consumers. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), updated 2022 Nov 8; cited 2023 May 24
- ^Heike A Bischoff-Ferrari, Edward Giovannucci, Walter C Willett, Thomas Dietrich, Bess Dawson-HughesEstimation of optimal serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D for multiple health outcomesAm J Clin Nutr.(2006 Jul)
- ^Vieth R, Bischoff-Ferrari H, Boucher BJ, Dawson-Hughes B, Garland CF, Heaney RP, Holick MF, Hollis BW, Lamberg-Allardt C, McGrath JJ, Norman AW, Scragg R, Whiting SJ, Willett WC, Zittermann AThe urgent need to recommend an intake of vitamin D that is effective.Am J Clin Nutr.(2007-Mar)