I've been reading with interest all the benefits to be had from taking Vitamin D. I have a bottle of Omega Essentials 3 6 9 in my fridge; they consist of:

flaxseed oil 400 mg
borage oil 400 mg
fish body oil (sardine, anchovy and mackeral) 400 mg
natural source vitamin E 7.4 mg
ALA 212 mg
EPA 72 mg
DHA 48 mg
LA 207 mg
GLA 76 mg
Oleic Acid 173 mg

Am I right in thinking that the "fish body oil" is Vitamin D? If so, is this a good way to get Vitamin D, or should I be looking for some other type of supplement?

TIA!

No, fish body oil doesn't have D. Cod liver oil has. Fish oil has Omega 3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA).

I also took this combo and it gave me hives. I'm not sure if the culprit was flax or borage or both. They are both highly inflammatory for people with gut and immune problems.
I do well on fish oils only. I take cod liver oil as it takes care of the Omega 3-s, vitamins A and D.

I agree with tunkany.

So should I be taking cod liver oil... or a supplement in pill form? I'm wondering about this info from another post by Zuleikaa:

"Only natural vitamin D (D3) should be used. Natural vitamin D has been found to be non toxic at levels of 50k/day. Manmade vitamin D (D2) has been found toxic at 20,000 IU/day. Natural vitamin D (D3) is better utilized by the body. Vitamin D (D3) comes in both a gel cap with fish oil and a dry form. Some people find the dry form is better tolerated.

Cod liver oil should not be used for this as the amount of vitamin A ingested to achieve the correct vitamin D dose would be too high. If the vitamin D has vitamin A, it should not have more than 1000 IU of A per 400 IU of vitamin D."

Up to 12 tablespoons of cod liver oil is safe daily. Many people are better off taking vitamin D supplements for an amount over 4,000 IU.

We now know that it is man made vitamin A, like man made vitamin D that is the danger. Natural vitamin A from fish liver, check the label because some companies remove the natural vitamin A from cod liver oil and add man made A, is perfectly safe at relatively large daily doses.

Thanks for the info. I'm off to the health food store later today to stock up... your reply to another post, regarding the benefits to be had and the timeframe to expect results is what spurred me to try the Vitamin D thing. I'm looking to improve my sleeping, balance, dry skin, gums, hair and eyesight. OMG, that sounds like I've got one foot in the grave and the other on a banana skin

As long as you didn't EAT the banana first, you'll be ok .
I'm up to 5,000 IUs of vitamin D now. I have a bit more energy, but still hoping for a reduction in pain from my joints/muscles. My skin has improved, though. I will certainly keep up with it for another few months and probably increase my intake as well.
Babs

And that's how people are normally feeling without vitamin D, lol!!! Frightening isn't it?

As for Cod liver oil, I know Garden of Life and Nordic Naturals don't add synthetic vitamins, check their websites for info. Wilderness Family Naturals has an undistilled version to retain all the natural vitamins.
If you can't stomach the oil you can get the capsules. I don't have experience with that.

This is a question for Zuleikaa:
How much vitamin D should a person with eczema take? You know I'm also breastfeeding. I take prenatals with 400 IU and 2 tbs cod liver oil. 1 tsp has 400, so that would be about 2400 plus 400 so I'm taking 2800, plus the sun. Now that summer is coming , should I still increase the dose?

Don't know. You live in VA, I'd say 2-8000 IU during the summer depending on your reaction.

Supplementing with vitamin D is perfectly safe during breastfeeding, in fact, it's how the baby receives vitamin D so the mother's levels need to be high. In fact in Norway and Sweden breastfeeding babies are recommended to be supplemented with 1,000 IU of vitamin D per day via drops. Before the sun scare, the recommendation used to be 2,000 IU per day.

So remember when you have multiple symptoms of vitamin D deficiency you need to supplement with 7-12k per day for 3 months. It doesn't matter if it moves into summer, obviously in the past the sun exposure alone wasn't enough and won't be enough now to address the deficiencies. And your required level of vitamin D supplementation doesn't depend on one symptom, i.e., eczema but the alleviation of them all. You'll notice different improvements at different rates and they're progressive.

Eczema naturally improves with the summer due to the increased vitamin D. So find the level that starts the healing now. Take note of other healing symptoms. As you sun more, and your deficiency symptoms improve more, find the level between supplements and sun exposure that keeps your skin completely healed, soft and supple. Move it up and down as necessary.

And remember you need enough to fill the deficiency, maintain current health status once fixed, and build some stores for winter. That could take a lot of supplementation/exposure.

Also for eczema--coconut oil with or without OOO mixed in.

Okay, I have my cod liver oil - Norwegian cod liver oil, natural source. Per teaspoon, it contains 3920 IU of Vitamin A, and 392 IU of Vitamin D. How much should I be taking?

(Sounds like a question my 5th grader might get in math. )

TIA

Start with 2 tablespoons morning and afternoon and increase gradually to 4 and 4 tablespoons. If you need more than that it's time to look into vitamin D in 1000 IU doses or the D drops. Even if you go to the single source vitamin D it's always good to take at least 2 tablespoons cod liver oil daily for the natural vitamin A, otherwise you need vitamin A from fish liver as well.

Thanks, Zuleikaa. I've spent much of the morning reading the opus that is the Vitamin D Experiment thread, and I feel much more knowledgeable now! Looking forward to experiencing some improved health, and putting my DH and brother on the plan, too!

Thanks, Zuleikaa. I've spent much of the morning reading the opus that is the Vitamin D Experiment thread, and I feel much more knowledgeable now! Looking forward to experiencing some improved health, and putting my DH and brother on the plan, too!

By the way, the fish oil is REALLY nasty - taste and smell wise. Any tips on getting it down without gagging?

Swallow it ice cold. The gag reflex passes, lol!!!