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Winter is the time of year with shorter days, lower intensity sunlight, and colder weather leading to most people making less vitamin D in their skin due to less sun exposure. The result is that vitamin D levels decline markedly during the winter in people not taking vitamin D supplements. Scientists believe that this accounts in large part for why winter is also the time of year with higher rates of colds and flus. We’ve discussed this further in our article H1N1 / Swine Flu Risk Increased by Low Vitamin D.

It’s common for adults to need more than 4000 IU of vitamin D3 supplements per day to maintain optimal vitamin D3 levels. Current research indicates that dosages of up to 10,000 IU per day of vitamin D3 are generally safe for adults. We’ve discussed how to determine the optimal vitamin D3 dosage for you in our article Adjusting Your Vitamin D Intake to Optimal Levels by the use of loading doses and inexpensive vitamin D blood tests.

Right now, Swanson Health Products is featuring a variety of products in a “buy one get one free”. One of the very best deals they have on a supplement virtually everybody needs is Swanson Premium High Potency Vitamin D-3. For $6.39, you can get 500 capsules of vitamin D3 with 2000 IU per capsule. The limit per order is 3 bottles plus 3 free bottles for a total of 1500 capsules. That’s about enough for two adults for a year if they each take two capsules per day, a fairly typical dosage of 4000 IU per day. You can place multiple orders to buy more at this price if needed as may be the case for people taking 6000 IU to 10,000 IU of vitamin D3 per day.

Compare this to Costco’s Kirkland Signature Vitamin D3 product. With 600 softgels of 2000 IU each for $13.99 per container, this is a very good product offering in terms of price, quality, and convenience. But on sale, Swanson’s vitamin D3 product is an even better deal at about half the price per 2000 IU capsule.

Use coupon code DEAL0110 to get free US shipping on orders of $65.00 or more.

If you’re just starting vitamin D3 supplements for your family, we’d encourage you to order enough vitamin D3 to take at least 4000 IU per day for adults and for kids who are adult sized above 110 pounds or 50 kilograms.

For smaller and younger children, lower dosages are usually adequate. The optimal dosage depends in part upon weight and sun exposure and, as for adults, is more accurately determined by blood testing. Please see the section “Optimizing Vitamin D for Kids” in our article Adjusting Your Vitamin D Intake to Optimal Levels for more information.

Further Reading

Life Extension Advice on Cold/Flu Infections Including H1N1

Preventive Measures for Swine Flu

70% of US Children Have Low Vitamin D Levels

Adjusting Your Vitamin D Intake to Optimal Levels

Best Deals on Vitamin D3 Supplements

H1N1 Swine Flu Special Report: Tips That Can Help Prevent Influenza Infection

Long-term high dose vitamin D well tolerated

Lower vitamin D levels associated with common cold

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The products mentioned in this post are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.