Vitamin D Deficiency Often Seen in Traumatic Bone Breaks

Note that the study says "often" and not "always"!

I'm a bug about Vitamin D.......just ask any of my friends.  I take 10,000 IU's daily to keep my Vitamin D level optimal, and normally work out with weight machines several times a week to help with bone strength.    My vitamin D levels are checked several times yearly to make sure I stay in the optimal range. As most of my regular readers know, I fell at the gym last month and broke the radius bone in my arm, but in my case, I do not believe it was a case of my bones being fragile.  The break occurred just below an existing plate in my arm, and I am pretty confident that no one's bones are a match for a titanium plate.  I am going to have a DEXA scan done this fall just to make sure the rest of my bones are strong, and I will post the results here when I have it done.

When I read this article from Health Day/US News and World Report, I was struck by several points:

1.  The article does not state what the researchers considered "recommended" levels for Vitamin D.  The National Institute of Health lists a level of 20 ng/ml as being "adequate" for bone health in healthy adults.  Most progressive doctors (including my own) recommend much higher optimal levels for their patients; Dr. Carr likes my Vitamin D level to be between 70-100 ng/ml (my last blood test came back at 79).

2.  More than half of young people in the study were Vitamin D deficient, many severely.  That's scary, and indicative that it's not just older people (and by older I mean over 40) need to have Vitamin D levels tested.

3. I went from the gym to the hospital by ambulance, and was in the ER 4 hours.  The emergency room staff had NO interest in the fact that I take bioidentical hormones, nor were they interested in the list of supplements that I take.  All they wanted to know was what prescription medications I take regularly.  I was referred to a hand specialist/surgeon in Charlotte because of the complexity of the case, and their office never asked me about Vitamin D, supplements, and seemed totally indifferent to my taking bioidenticals.  The surgery didn't take place until three days post injury, it was outpatient and I went home about 2 hours after I came out of the anesthesia.  My friend Karen, who took me to the hospital, stayed with me for two days post surgically (yeah, I am one blessed puppy to have friends like her).  She was chatting with me on Friday night, and she said when the doctor came out to talk to her post surgically, he told her to tell me that I should start taking calcium. I have never taken calcium, and Dr. Carr has told me repeatedly that calcium is not what builds healthy bones; and calcium can cause cardiac problems in some women.  Healthy bones are built by weight training exercise, testosterone, and Vitamin D.