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The “sunshine vitamin” or vitamin D has been a topic of great interest recently. What are the benefits of vitamin D? How can it help me with my PCOS? In this article, we’ll discuss the benefits of vitamin D and PCOS and how to take advantage of this key nutrient.

The truth is, a lot of people don’t know they are vitamin D deficient, and there are many women who have both a deficiency in vitamin D and PCOS.

Vitamin D is produced in the skin when exposed to sunlight. This vitamin is fat-soluble and includes the vitamins D1, D2, and D3.

How Will I Benefit From Sufficient Vitamin D?

1. Helps fight disease

Although this vitamin was discovered in 1920, with its initial use limited to treating children with rickets and osteomalacia, a sufficient intake of this vitamin can also benefit a range of other health challenges. For example, it helps to strengthen the immune system and reduce inflammation (1). According to the study, Vitamin D, PCOS, and androgens in men: a systematic review, vitamin D also helps women with PCOS increase their fertility. (2)

2. Helps to reduce oxidative stress

Vitamin D, when paired with evening primrose oil, has been shown to reduce oxidative stress in PCOS. According to a study by Khadijeh Nasri and team, women who supplemented with vitamin D and evening primrose oil for 12 weeks had healthier triglyceride and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol levels, significant increases in blood vitamin D and plasma total glutathione (GSH) levels and a reduction in malondialdehyde level (MDA), (3) all indicators of a reduction in oxidative stress.

3. Helps aid a healthy weight, boosts fertility (and more)

Research shows that the vast majority of women with PCOS—between 67% and 85%—have vitamin D levels that are far too low (below 20 ng/mL on blood tests). For optimal health, I prefer to see my patients at 80 ng/mL or above—that’s four times higher than what most individuals with PCOS are walking around with.

This matters because low vitamin D levels are connected to nearly every major PCOS problem:

• Insulin resistance – making it harder to manage blood sugar and weight
• Cardiovascular disease risk – increasing your chances of serious heart or blood vessel problems
• Fertility struggles – making it more difficult to conceive
• Excess hair growth (hirsutism) – particularly on the face, chest, and abdomen
• Obesity – and difficulty losing weight
• Irregular or absent periods – disrupting your menstrual cycle
• Lower pregnancy success rates – even when trying to conceive
• High androgen levels – the excess “male” hormones that drive many PCOS symptoms
• Increased premature death risk – affecting overall life expectancy (the lower the level, the higher the risk)

In other words, vitamin D deficiency isn’t just a minor issue—it’s potentially fueling the very symptoms that make PCOS so frustrating to deal with.

Ensuring you have adequate vitamin D levels through safe sun exposure, a balanced diet, and supplementation when necessary is one of the most important steps you can take to manage PCOS.

Where can I obtain Vitamin D, aside from exposure to the sun?

There are a few food sources of vitamin D, although some foods are now fortified with this essential vitamin. “Fortified” means the vitamin has been added to the food. Here are food sources of vitamin D: (5)

• Cod liver oil
• Swordfish
• Sockeye Salmon
• Egg yolk
• Cooked beef liver
• A2 yogurt (Fortified)
• Sardines (Fortified)

Signs and symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency

• Tiredness
• Aches
• Severe bone and muscle pain
• Stress fractures in your legs, pelvis, and hips
• Mental illnesses, like depression

How much Vitamin D do you need?

Now that you know how key vitamin D is for your health, it’s vital to have an idea of appropriate intakes. Here’s the recommended vitamin D dosage in women (5):

• 0-6 months – 1000 IU
• 7-12 months – 1500 IU
• 1-3 years – 2500 IU
• 4-8 years – 3000 IU
• 9-18 years – 4000 IU
• 19 and up – 4000 IU

During summer, ensure at least several minutes of sun exposure daily. This is best done earlier in the morning or later in the day to avoid dangerous exposure to the rays that can contribute to cancer. During the winter, you may need to get several hours of sunshine a day.

Remember, we can never overdose on Vitamin D produced by the sun alone. And though we certainly need to be careful of the potential for skin cancer, a deficiency in vitamin D, and PCOS are also serious issues.

I highly recommend supplemental vitamin D, especially during the cool and cold months. The risks of low levels are too essential to ignore, especially in PCOS.

From PCOS to perfect health, with love,

Dr. Rebecca Harwin
The PCOS Expert
Chiropractor & Bestselling Author of
Conquer Your PCOS Naturally
www.ConquerYourPCOSNaturally.com