Letting the Sunshine In: Susan Zemke’s Success Story

For years, Susan Zemke had done everything right. The lean 60-year-old worked out regularly with a personal flight simulator ; ate a healthy, poise diet ; and made certain to get regular health checkups. But in 2010 she was slowly putting on system of weights and felt dull. once, she even blacked out during a trail session. “ I felt decayed, ” she remembers. “ And I precisely couldn ’ thymine design out what was going on. ”
At first, Zemke believed she might merely need more substantial foods. But adding more sources of protein, such as eggs and kernel, didn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate better matters. Perplexed but determined to get to the bottom of her mysterious ailments, Zemke began looking for ways to dig bass into the problem .
At the time, Zemke was working with Cliff Edberg, a personal flight simulator and registered dietician at the Life Time Fitness in Chanhassen, Minn. He suggested a serial of tests for Zemke, including a arrant rake reckon and screens that would evaluate key nutritional factors, such as the total of iron and vitamin D3 in her system.

When the results came back, Edberg saw a bright crimson flag : Zemke ’ s vitamin-D levels hovered at just 40 nanograms per milliliter ( ng/ml ). Though many doctors ( including Zemke ’ second ) preceptor ’ thyroxine fuss advising patients to make changes until their vitamin-D levels dip into the 30s, a range of 50 to 70 is more distinctive for optimum health ( 100 ng/ml is considered the amphetamine limit of safe levels ) .
“ I felt that improving that status could help improve her mood, her energy and her overall wellbeing, ” says Edberg .
For Zemke, the findings were jarring. She knew of plenty of reasons for poor health — smoke, inaction, high gear cholesterol — but a vitamin-D insufficiency never would have made her list. “ I had never realized how meaning it was, ” she says. “ cipher had mentioned vitamin D to me, ever. ” She read up on the research and was floored to discover that vitamin-D deficiencies are a far-flung problem .
A holocene CDC report indicated that one-third of Americans aren ’ triiodothyronine getting enough of the vitamin. One draw were at hazard of vitamin D “ inadequacy ” ( levels between 30 and 49 ) and 8 percentage were at risk of insufficiency. Individuals with benighted clamber tones are even more probably to be low than those with lighter peel .
It ’ s a trouble oneself statistic, because studies have linked abject levels of vitamin D with everything from fleshiness to problems with mental clearness. other inquiry has shown that increasing vitamin-D levels can help reduce insulin resistance, protect against Crohn ’ s disease and enhance the immune organization. ( Learn more about vitamin D ’ s health impacts at ELmag.com/vitaminddebate. )

A Better Balance

To counteract her shortages, Zemke began taking a casual 1000-IU ( external unit ) venereal disease of vitamin D. “ Within a calendar month, ” says Zemke, “ I felt 100 percentage better. ” After six weeks, her levels were up over 70. She had more energy and more vitality, and felt glad, besides .
Zemke ’ s vastly improved health began to open up new train options for her. rather of focusing on just getting better, she and Edberg began working on the finish of getting her potent .
For months, throughout the winter and spring, the fix seemed perfect. She got her levels tested every four to six weeks to make sure she was on traverse. then, abruptly, in the summer of 2011, her levels spiked to 118 .
Although Zemke hadn ’ thymine noticed any problems, she learned that in some people, levels above 110 can lead to a range of symptoms, including constipation, vomiting and heart-rhythm abnormalities, and can result in long-run bone and kidney damage .
Edberg advised her to cease her supplementation regimen for the summer, suspecting that all the supernumerary time Zemke was spending enjoying the outdoors might be the perpetrator. And he was right .
Vitamin D is frequently called “ the sunlight vitamin, ” and for thoroughly reason. Though it ’ s rarely found naturally in foods, people much get the command measure good by spending some clock outside. Zemke ’ s supplement provided precisely the correct sum of vitamin D when she was inside during cold-weather months, but caused her levels to climb excessively high in warm months when she spent more time outside working on her cubic yard or taking long walks in the local arboretum .
“ Seeing person get above the commend sum of vitamin D at a relatively low dose like this is very uncommon, ” says Edberg, “ but it ’ s not wholly storm when you consider that the sun was constantly intended to be our basal beginning of vitamin D. ”
A childlike adjustment in Zemke ’ s supplement was all it took to get her levels back to normal very promptly.

These days, she customizes her vitamin-D supplement based on her daily plans. “ During the workweek, when I spend most of my meter in the office, I take a supplement, ” she says. “ But on the weekends, when I like to be outside, I don ’ metric ton. ”
Zemke besides considers factors like whether or not she is wearing sunscreen, and how much skin photograph she ’ ll likely have that day .
She appears to be getting the formula right : today, her vitamin-D levels hover between 80 and 100 ng/ml. But she still gets her lab tests every six months precisely to be condom. Edberg notes that there is a well deal of variability in how well individuals absorb vitamin D, and how they assimilate it under varying circumstances. “ That ’ s why the best way to optimize your vitamin-D levels is to test to get a baseline, get some sun or take some vitamin D, then retest your levels a few weeks former and adjust your approach path accordingly. ”

Beyond the Numbers

Over the past several months, Zemke has continued to refine her diet and drill regimen, and to make solid fitness gains. But she credits her vitamin-D test as the catalyst that vaulted her health and fitness to a new level and gave her the motivation to pursue new goals .
When Edberg proposed that Zemke enter the “ calculate ” category in a bodybuilding competition, she initially scoffed — and then reconsidered, finally taking him up on the theme. In the four competitions in which she ’ sulfur participated, she ’ south placed ampere high as second in her division, frequently besting competitors closely half her long time .
From Zemke ’ s point of opinion, it ’ s all a will to the power of information. “ If it weren ’ metric ton for that important piece of vitamin-D data, ” she says, ” I would have precisely gone on my way think I would be very well. But I wasn ’ thyroxine OK. And without that data, I never could have gotten to the set I needed to be. ”
Want to get your vitamin-D levels tested ? Consult your doctor, or try a direct-to-consumer lab service like those offered by HealthCheckUSA ( www.health checkusa.com ) .

Success Summary

Meet: Susan Zemke, 60, a leadership development adviser in Minneapolis .
Big achievement: Took control of her health by optimizing her vitamin-D levels after lab testing revealed a insufficiency .
Big inspiration: Alleviating the exhaustion that had dogged her for months .
What worked: Regular test and simple supplementation tweaks that helped her keep her levels within a healthy compass, careless of the temper .
What didn’t work: Assuming that a healthy diet and regular exercise regimen was enough to maintain health. “ I followed the conventional wisdom for [ diet and exercise ], but I had no idea how significant vitamin D is, or that I was at risk of a lack. ”

Words of Wisdom: “ There ’ s a bunch of [ media hype ] about other health problems, like cholesterol, for case. But there are so many other things that are just equally significant to your health that you never hear about. You shouldn ’ metric ton wait until you ’ ve got major problems to get tested. ”