You NEED the Sun!
There has recently been a lot of research into the importance of Vitamin D. Vitamin D is important for strong bones and for strong immunity. Lack of vitamin D can lead to migraines, multiple sclerosis, fatigue, weak bones, depression, and other illnesses that make living difficult. People get vitamin D from the sun and from fish and a few other foods. The problem is that most people don’t get enough sun daily, especially if they live in the northeast US. In addition, very few of us eat fish on a daily basis.
If you take the USDA recommended amount of supplementation of 600 IU a day, that is not enough.
The amount of Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) that you should be supplementing with daily is 10,000 IU a day. Of those patients that I recently tested, no one, and I mean NO ONE had more than a level of 35. The standard acceptable levels are 30-100. You, as a headache sufferer, should be at least 70. That number would give you a buffer on the some of the gray days we have often.
Building your level takes time – at least a couple of months. The best thing you can do is to start supplementing now and then have your doctor check your level in 4 months. If you want, you can ask your doctor to check your level now, but I can tell you that it is most likely low. You can avoid the extra blood stick, start supplementing now, then check your levels in 4 months or so. Once you reach your desired level, continue supplementing with at least 5000 IU a day or the equivalent in sunlight.
Some of you may find that eventually you may then need less migraine preventives, or less anti-depressants or both!
There are two best ways to get the Vitamin D3 that you need:
1. Sun Exposure – daily for at least 30 minutes in full, direct sun. Being in the car doesn’t count and wearing sunscreen hampers the absorption. If you have skin that tans easily as opposed to burns easily, you need longer sun exposure.
2. Vitamin D drops. You can buy this in different forms but the easiest form is the concentrated drops in olive oil. Each drop is 2000 IU so you need 4-5 drops daily. It tastes like olive oil. This is the source that I buy for my family:
Liquid Vitamin D 3 – 2,000 IU per drop 
There is a great website if you would like to find out more. It is The Vitamin D Council, www.vitamindcouncil.org.
. Ideally, you want to get as much of your vitamin D from the sun and the least from supplements. If you got some sun, but not enough sun, you can decrease your dose of the vitamin D for that day. If you get tested and you are satisfied with you vitamin D level, you can decrease your supplement dose to 5,000 IU a day from the 10,000 IU that I had recommended.
