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• Document Services • Packing Services • Faxing • Office Supplies • Freight Services • Boxes/Moving Supplies Open 7 days a week 58 | October/November • 2009 kinds of fish such as salmon, mackerel and herring. But it should be wild-caught; an analysis of farm-raised salmon found that it contains essentially no vitamin D. Milk is fortified with vitamin D, but you need to drink one quart of fortified milk just to get 400 International Units. Dairy products such as cheese and ice cream are not fortified and have only negligible amounts of the vitamin. Should we all go back to taking cod liver oil? This old-fashioned remedy is controversial. Many cod liver oil preparations contain too much Vitamin A and may actually be harmful to our health. Vitamin D can also be found in egg yolks, mushrooms, liver, fortified orange juice and fortified breakfast cereals. Should you be tested for vitamin D deficiency? It has been linked with obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure. At this point we don't know if the link is causal or not though a study presented to the Endocrine Society showed a possible connection between an increase in vitamin D and weight loss. It may be that low vitamin D is a marker for poor diet in general. Vitamin D deficiency definitely causes osteomalacia, a condition of generalized and isolated bone pain that is frequently misdiagnosed as depression or chronic fatigue. Adequate vitamin D intake has been shown to reduce fracture risk in the elderly and protect us against tuberculosis, influenza and upper respiratory infections. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a variety of cancers including colorectal, breast, and prostate cancers. Is my 80-year-old patient vitamin D deficient, and is this contributing to her medical conditions? She'll know the answer to the first part of the question soon enough – yesterday we drew a quick blood test to gauge her vitamin D level. If it is low (less than 30), I will recommend that she take a capsule containing 50,000 units of vitamin D once a week for 12 weeks. We'll then check her vitamin D levels again. Most patients notice some improvement in their pain and energy level relatively quickly, hopefully she will as well. CV Dr. Salzberg teaches and sees patients at the Southeastern Regional AHEC Family Medicine Center.

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