There’s A Good Deal on DIY Vitamin D Test Kits When You Join the D*Action Campaign

I recently wrote about a new home test kit that you can use to monitor your vitamin D levels.  Having an adequate amount of vitamin D is so important to your health that a worldwide public health campaign, called  D*action, has been launched to motivate people to take 2000 IU/day of  “the sunshine vitamin” to achieve adequate levels.

Why is this so important? Research is showing that vitamin D, which is made by our bodies in sunlight, may protect us against certain cancers, cardiovascular disease and is vital for bone health.  Vitamin D deficiency is also associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 1 and 2 diabetes. See this chart which correlates certain diseases with various serum levels of vitamin D.

Who’s behind the D*Action campaign? According to the campaign’s website, a “consortium of scientists (see their call to action here), institutions and individuals committed to solving the worldwide vitamin D deficiency epidemic.”

So here’s the deal. When you join the D*Action campaign and do a quick health survey and agree to test your vitamin D level two times per year during a 5- year program, you will receive a test kit to be used at home (except in the state of NY for some reason) and the results will be sent directly to you.  You can then discuss the results with your own physician.  The cost is $30 for each test kit.  A spokeswoman for the campaign assured me in an email that “all health data that you provide in the survey, is protected under patient confidentiality.”

If you’ve had your vitamin D level tested in the past, you know that this is a fantastic bargain.  Some commercial labs charge well over $200, making it difficult to monitor as frequently as we should.  So do yourself a favor and sign up to participate on the D*Action Campaign website.