Vitamin D Blood Levels

less than 10 - highest risk - for dozens of diseases and most cancers

10 Prevents rickets - which still affects thousands of inner city children of color in northern US cities every winter

less than 20

Vitamin D Deficiency

Associated with a high risk for developing dozens of diseases

38% of all Americans are in this very low range

72% of African-Americans are

44% of Hispanic-Americans are

39% of obese Americans are (obese = BMI >29.9; BMI = pounds/inches ht/inches ht x 704)

19% of European-Americans are

Reference: Liu 2018 Br J Nutr 119:928

20 - 29.9 Vitamin D

Insufficiency

Associated with increased risk for dozens of diseases

38% of all Americans are in this low range

44% of European-Americans are

43% of Hispanic-Americans are

42% of obese Americans are (obese = BMI >29.9; BMI = pounds/inches ht/inches ht x 7.04)

23% of African-Americans are

Reference: Liu 2018 Br J Nutr 119:928

24 Produced by giving healthy adults 600 units of vitamin D3 daily for 6 months with no other source of vitamin D given

Reference: Shirvani 2019 Scientific Reports 9:17685

26 The average vitamin D blood level of all US adults

Reference: Liu 2018 Br J Nutr 119:928

30 - 100 Adequate

vitamin D

Associated with lower risk for dozens of diseases

24% of all Americans are adequate

39% of European-Americans are

20% of obese Americans are

13% of Hispanic-Americans are

5% of African-Americans are

Reference: Liu 2018 Br J Nutr 119:928

Be careful !

There are 2 different systems for reporting 25D levels.

One uses nanograms per milliliter or ng/mL.

The other uses nanomoles per liter or nmol/L.

They are NOT the same.

For example, 20 ng/mL = 50 nmol/L.

If you read a paper using the nmol/L, their numbers will look high.

Divide the nmol/L by 2.5 to get 25D into the ng/mL system that I use exclusively in my videos.