Overcoming Barriers that Prevent the Translation of Vitamin D Research into Practice

Published on June 6, 2023

Learn how to become a Vitamin D*advocate, from educating others about vitamin D to implementing current best practices for addressing vitamin D deficiency into your practice and/or health education programs

The latest paper by GrassrootsHealth, published along with Dr. Beth Sanford and Dr. William Grant, demonstrates the success of our online vitamin D education course (CEUs available for nurses and dietitians) and supporting resources at filling existing gaps that are preventing the translation of current vitamin D research into practice.  This online resource, available to anyone (details below), includes basic knowledge of vitamin D and the health consequences of vitamin D deficiency, a model of best practices for implementing vitamin D research into practice, and a toolkit of resources for patients and providers, necessary for improving vitamin D knowledge and confidence among individuals and health care providers.

Utilizing these resources is essential for those wanting to better understand how vitamin D affects our health and what to do to prevent deficiency – for themselves and their sphere of influence!

Read the Paper Here

Calling all health care practitioners, public health workers, and vitamin D educators and advocates!

Many of you have reached out to GrassrootsHealth thanking us for the information we have provided to you, some with stories of how vitamin D changed their lives, and some expressing interest in joining us as Vitamin D*advocates – to take this life-changing information and spread it to others!

You can become a Vitamin D*advocate simply by sharing the information on or linking to the GrassrootsHealth.net website.  Ask us for your preferred topic-related page or resource, and the Vitamin D*advocate badge to place on your website, along with any other resources we provide, free of charge, for you to share with your audience.

THANK YOU ALL for your interest in learning more about vitamin D and for taking it a step further – to learn how to become Vitamin D*advocates and educate others about vitamin D.  The information below is for those of you who are simply individuals wanting more education to those in the health care field who want to implement current best practices for addressing vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency into your practice and/or health education programs.  GrassrootsHealth would like to offer these special opportunities for you – please take a look and let us know if you have questions on the material or how to get started!

Vitamin D*Education Course & Toolkit (A core component of an award-winning presentation!)

The new online vitamin D*education course, Moving Vitamin D Research into Practice: Addressing Vitamin D Deficiency to Improve Patient Outcomes, Population Health & Reduce Costs (approved for 1.5 CNE/CPEU), was created to help end the vitamin D deficiency epidemic by educating others on the latest research on vitamin D, importance of vitamin D for health, the steps each person needs to take in order to achieve their target vitamin D level, and the basic knowledge needed to answer the most common questions you might be asked about vitamin D. It aims to get the latest vitamin D public health science and best practice protocols, direct from world-renowned vitamin D researchers, into the hands of healthcare professionals and individuals… moving research into practice to impact individual and patient outcomes and population health, and potentially reducing healthcare costs across the globe.  Learn more about how this course has been implemented here.

What you’ll get:

• Access to the Vitamin D*Education course
• Access to the Vitamin D Best Practices Toolkit
• Approved for 1.5 CNE and CPEU for nurses and dietitians
• Pre-requisite for the Vitamin D*Practitioner Certification

Purchase the Course Here

View the original translational research project paper here: (PDF) Development of a Public Health Model for Translation of Best Practices in Addressing Vitamin D Deficiency (researchgate.net)

Vitamin D*Practitioner Certification (Add-on option to the education course above, required)

Showcase yourself as an expert in vitamin D with this certification and a listing on the Vitamin D*practitioners page! A passing score of the Vitamin D*Education course post-test is required.

What you’ll get upon passing the Vitamin D*education course post-test:

• A Vitamin D*Practitioner Certificate from GrassrootsHealth
• A listing on the grassrootshealth.net Vitamin D*Practitioner webpage
• Access to other experts through the Vitamin D*Practitioner Forum, a community of other certified D*practitioners, experts and advisors for added professional support

Purchase the Course & Certification Here
Did you already pass the Vitamin D*Education course? 
Add the Vitamin D*Certification Here

TOP Vitamin D Resources for Doctors, Health Care Providers, and Individuals

Determine Someone’s Risk of Having a Low Vitamin D Level

The Vitamin D Deficiency Risk Assessment Quiz (Beta)* is a short quiz composed of an individual’s self-reported supplemental vitamin D intake, UVB exposure, and low exposure indicators to assess risk level. Scoring is intended to determine if an individual has a low, moderate, or high risk of having a vitamin D level below 40 ng/ml. Find out your patients’ risk of having a low vitamin D level while using this as an educational tool!

Check Out the Quiz Here

Calculate How Much Supplemental Vitamin D Someone Might Need

Use the Vitamin D*calculator, with a new loading dose option, to calculate the estimated Vitamin D intake needed to reach a target vitamin D serum level (40-60 ng/ml recommended by our scientist panel). The calculator is best used when a current/starting vitamin D level is known.

Calculate Here

Need a Way to Measure the Vitamin D Level?

The only way to know if someone is getting enough vitamin D is to measure the vitamin D level. The total 25(OH)D level is the accepted measure used to determine the current/baseline vitamin D status. When ordering through GrassrootsHealth , you can choose additional tests to add to the vitamin D level, such as omega-3 status, hsCRP as a measure of inflammation, HbA1c for blood sugar health, essential & toxic elements, and more.  Testing comes with enrollment and participation in the vitamin D*action study.

Order Tests & Enroll Here

How to Understand & Optimize Vitamin D Levels

The new IRB-approved KNOW “D” NUMBER Patient and Provider Guide to Understanding Vitamin D, Testing & Results booklet was created by a team of vitamin D experts to help patients and health care providers alike better understand vitamin D and the importance of knowing the vitamin D level. Everyone needs vitamin D, and while each person is unique in how they get it and how they respond to intake, the information in this guide can help ALL achieve the vitamin D level they want for their own health!

Download Here

Top Vitamin D Resources, Right at Your Fingertips

The “Top Vitamin D Resources” handout can easily be downloaded, printed, and shared with your doctor or other health care provider. It includes links to each of our top vitamin D resources, eTools, handouts and more – including our vitamin D*calculator, vitamin D risk assessment quiz, Disease Incidence Prevention charts, our patient and provider guide, brochures and more.

Download Here

Implementing Your Own Vitamin D Testing & Educational Programs

See what can happen in your practice, organization or group when a vitamin D testing and education program is implemented for them, with the goal of getting everyone to the 40-60 ng/ml range. GrassrootsHealth provides a proven implementation model, education, tools, research and findings to help those interested in moving vitamin D research into practice.

• Test vitamin D levels and maintain ≥ 40 ng/ml (100 nmol/L)
• Education for providers and patients
• Track to see how health outcomes improve
• Reduce costs

Read about several examples of outcomes seen among practices implementing a vitamin D program here.

Coming Soon – Practitioner Accounts on grassrootshealth.net

Measure, manage and track your patients’ or clients’ vitamin D (and other) levels through your practitioner account… stay tuned for more!

Measure Your Vitamin D Level Today

Having and maintaining healthy vitamin D levels and other nutrient levels can help improve your health now and for your future. Choose which additional nutrients to measure, such as your omega-3s and essential minerals including magnesium and zinc, by creating your custom home test kit today. Take steps to improve the status of each of these measurements to benefit your overall health. With measurement you can then determine how much is needed and steps to achieve your goals.  You can also track your own intakes, symptoms and results to see what works best for YOU.

Enroll in D*action and Test Your Levels Today!

How Can You Use this Information for YOUR Health?

Having and maintaining healthy vitamin D and other nutrient levels can help improve your health now and for your future. Measuring is the only way to make sure you are getting enough!

STEP 1 Order your at-home blood spot test kit to measure vitamin D and other nutrients of concern to you, such as omega-3s, magnesium, essential and toxic elements (zinc, copper, selenium, lead, cadmium, mercury); include hsCRP as a marker of inflammation or HbA1c for blood sugar health

STEP 2 Answer the online questionnaire as part of the GrassrootsHealth study

STEP 3 Using our educational materials and tools (such as our dose calculators), assess your results to determine if you are in your desired target range or if actions should be taken to get there

STEP 4 After 3-6 months of implementing your changes, re-test to see if you have achieved your target level(s)

Enroll in D*action and Build Your Custom Test Kit!

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