Every fall the same thing happens in my office. The sun starts clocking out earlier, the vitamin D I was getting for free all summer dries up, and people start dragging. Sleep gets weird. Energy tanks. Then October rolls in and everybody’s surprised they feel off. I’m not surprised anymore.
Here’s the part most people miss: vitamin D isn’t really a vitamin. It acts more like a hormone in your body. It talks to your immune system. When levels drop — and for most of us, they drop hard by late fall — your immune system is basically working without its playbook.
So here’s what I actually do, and what I tell my own family: check your levels once a year. Simple blood test. And in the fall and winter, I take a D-3 supplement myself. The one I carry in the store pairs D-3 with K-2, and there’s a reason for that — K-2 helps your body put calcium where it belongs instead of where it doesn’t. Two teammates, one capsule.
One flag before you reach for the bottle: if you’re on a blood thinner like warfarin, talk to your doctor first — vitamin K and blood thinners don’t mix. That’s not a suggestion, that’s the label talking.
I’m not telling you this will keep you from catching anything this fall. Nobody can promise you that, and I’d run from anyone who does. What I can tell you is this: your body was designed to run on sunlight, and for the next few months, sunlight is in short supply. Give your immune system the raw materials and let it do its job.
The NOW Foods Vitamin D-3 & K-2 is $14.99 in the store — 120 capsules, about four months’ worth at one a day. It’s the same one I take.
Live long and prosper,
-Dr. Dan
