A Small Thing That Made a Big Difference

I’ve known for a long time how important it is to get enough vitamin D — for immunity, mood, energy, bone strength, and overall resilience, especially in the darker months. But it was only last year, when I started seeing my functional medicine doctor, that I finally understood the full picture: what levels are actually optimal, how wildly different it feels to be in that zone, and how simple it is to check it myself instead of guessing.

One of the biggest things I learned (and honestly, it shocked me) is how different I feel when my levels are in the optimal range. I’m pretty sure I’ve been low on vitamin D my entire life. I used to crave the sun with a desperate, almost animal-level intensity. I needed sunshine the way other people need coffee. But once I got my vitamin D levels up, that urge calmed down significantly. It’s not like I don’t still love the sun, but it no longer feels like a survival need. I feel more even, more stable, more optimally myself.

So, with that in mind, I thought I’d share a little discovery I made earlier this year, which are these very affordable, at-home vitamin D test kits.

They’re small, simple, and honestly kind of liberating. You prick your finger, send off the sample, and a few days later you get the results — no waiting for appointments or trying to interpret how “winter tired” you are. My doctor aims for optimal levels (around 45 to 75 ng/mL), which is higher than the standard lab “normal” range, because many people feel and function better in that zone instead of hovering at the minimum.

One thing to note about this little at-home kit: it’s what is called “semi-quantitative”, which means it won’t give you your exact vitamin D number, but it will tell you whether you’re roughly above or below a certain threshold (around 30 ng/mL, which is considered the bare-minimum to avoid deficiency). If you’re aiming for an optimal range, this kind of test can’t confirm that you’re fully in the ideal zone but it will give you an idea of whether you’re on the deficient end of the spectrum or not. And for the price and convenience, I think it’s a great start.

I’m a fan of anything that helps me understand my body better and that empowers me to take my health into my own hands. In case you’ve been feeling low on energy or just curious about your own levels, these little kits make it incredibly easy to check.