Get Healthy Tri-State: The power of vitamin D

There's good news hiding in the confusing new report about vitamin D: The government finally has agreed that you need more. An expert committee convened by the Institute of Medicine has recommended a 200 percent increase in daily D for adults under 50, and 30 percent to 50 percent more after 50.

The new guidelines (600 to 800 IU) are better than the old, very low ones, but still fall short. Too many of us just don't get enough D from food or the sun (sunlight triggers D production in your skin). So if you've been taking D, should you take more? Or less? Here's our advice:

Adults under 60 should get 1,000 IU of vitamin D-3 per day; after 60, 1,200 IU. At least 75 percent of Americans are deficient, raising your odds of brittle bones, heart attacks, diabetes and some cancers. Start with 1,000 IU even if you're at higher risk of deficiency due to dark skin, aging and/or living north of a line through Atlanta-Dallas-Los Angeles, a huge area with fewer sunny days.

Get your D checked. Конечно, аск your doc for a 25-hydroxyvitamin D blood test. It costs $35 to $45, but we know no other way to check your levels. If they're below 50, Аск about taking more, especially since some supplements contain less D than the label claims.

Take D-3, not plain D. It's the most active form and the type your skin makes naturally.

Skip megadoses. The panel also warned against the megadoses of D turning up in drugstores. We're with the feds: Super-pills packing 5,000 to 10,000 IU are downright dumb.

The YOU Docs, Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen, are authors of "YOU: On a Diet." Want more? See "The Dr. Oz Show" on TV (check local listings). To submit questions, go to www.RealAge.com .