Sunlight, potent medicine used with common senseA new study indicates that at least 2,000 International Units (IU) of vitamin D3 -- which is currently considered the upper limit of intake -- are needed to ensure adequate blood levels of the vitamin for post-menopausal African-American women.
Over 200 women took part in this three-year, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, which adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that there is an urgent need to review current recommended daily intake levels of the vitamin.
Vitamin D3 is produced in the skin during exposure to sunlight. However, increased skin pigmentation reduces the effect of UVB radiation, meaning darker-skinned people are more at risk of vitamin D deficiency.
As much as 4000 IU per day may be required for individuals who are already deficient in the vitamin.
Sources:
NutraIngredients.com December 12, 2007
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition December, 2007; 86(6): 1657-1662
Vitamin D, often referred to as “the sunshine vitamin,” is different from most other vitamins in that it influences your entire body. Receptors that respond to vitamin D have been found in almost every type of human cell, from your brain to your bones.
Optimizing your vitamin D levels could help you to prevent as many as 16 different types of cancer including pancreatic, lung, breast, ovarian, prostate, and colon cancers.
In fact, a previous landmark study from the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), found that some 600,000 cases of breast and colorectal cancers could be prevented each year, if only vitamin D3 levels among populations worldwide were increased.
Beyond cancer, the researchers pointed out that increasing levels of vitamin D3 could prevent diseases that claim nearly 1 million lives throughout the world each year! And other studies showed that you can decrease your risk of cancer by MORE THAN HALF simply by optimizing your vitamin D levels with sun exposure.
Further, optimal vitamin D levels are also known to positively influence the following conditions:
Heart disease
Diabetes
Inflammatory bowel disease
Rheumatoid arthritis
Multiple sclerosis and osteoporosis
How Much Vitamin D do You Need?
Your doctor can measure your serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) to determine your vitamin D status. Your vitamin D level should NEVER be below 32 ng/ml, and anything below 20 ng/ml is considered a serious deficiency state, which will increase your risk of breast and prostate cancers and autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
In the United States, late winter 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels generally range from 15 to 18 ng/ml, so this vitamin deficiency affects a very large portion of the U.S. population.
The OPTIMAL value that you’re looking for is 45-52 ng/ml (115-128 nmol/l), but previous research has suggested that maintaining a slightly higher level of 55 ng/ml (nanograms per milliliter) is optimal for cancer prevention.
African Americans are even more prone to vitamin D deficiencies, as they produce less vitamin D3 than do whites in response to usual levels of sun exposure, and therefore have lower vitamin D serum concentrations year-round. In fact, as many as 42 percent of African American women, compared to just over 4 percent of white women of childbearing age have serum 25 (OH)D concentrations that are less than 62.5 nmol/L during the summer months.
RDA Too Low for Achieving Optimal Vitamin D Levels
This latest study, published in the December issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition points out that many African Americans simply cannot reach optimal vitamin D levels under the current recommended daily allowance (RDA) guidelines.
The 1997 Panel on Calcium and Related Nutrients considers 2,000 IU’s as the upper limit of intake, with a recommended daily allowance of just 400 to 600 IU’s per day.
In fact, the new dosing algorithm that this study proposes calls for a daily dose of 2,800 IU’s for African Americans with a serum level of at least 45 nmol/L, and 4,000 IU’s per day if your serum level is below 45 nmol/L.
In addition to this one-measurement, one-dose adjustment algorithm, they point out that given the individual variability in your response to vitamin D, the best result would be expected if your 25 (OH)D was measured and your dose of vitamin D is adjusted a second time.
What is Your Best Source of Vitamin D?
Sun exposure (without sunscreen) of about 10 to 15 minutes a day, with at least 40 percent of your skin exposed is your best source of vitamin D. Sometimes, however you may not be able to get enough sun exposure during certain parts of the year. It s just not realistic in some climates. (BRRRRR it 12 F out there now) In that case supplementation is an option.
Obviously, it will be very difficult for many to get adequate sun exposure in the winter, which is why I also advise using a safe tanning bed to have your own body produce vitamin D naturally.
The most important thing to keep in mind if you opt for oral supplementation is that you only want to supplement with natural vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), which is the type of vitamin D found in foods like eggs, organ meats, animal fat, cod liver oil, and fish. Do NOT use the synthetic and highly inferior vitamin D2.
The supplement I take has 400mg of cholecalciferol .
See this complete supplement called Ultra-Vitality at www.symmetrydirect.com/sservices a truly complete and highly natural and bio-available complete daily supplement
The danger of vitamin D toxicity is greatly exaggerated but STILL influences even the BEST vitamin manufacturers in this land of the lawsuit. I really can't blame them. So the status quo changes slowly, until then optimizing natural sources like sunlight and a good once a day absorbable vitamin will help give your body the nutrients that out processed diets have been robbed of!
So the sun is very important and has taken a bad rap from some circles. JUST DO NOT GET A BLISTERING SUNBURN use common sense.
Bet You Did Not Know This About Vitamin D
Vitamin D is the most common nutritional deficiency in the United States, and most physicians are clueless about its importance. If you can answer the majority of these questions correctly you are doing better than the majority of physicians.
This test was developed by Dr. John Cannell. He is one of the leaders in the vitamin D education movement and has a very comprehensive Web site dedicated to vitamin D. You can also subscribe to his free newsletter there.
1. Vitamin D reverses inflammatory changes associated with age-related memory impairment.
a) True
b) False
True. Researchers from Ireland were the first to demonstrate that vitamin D3 acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and turns old brains into young brains--at least as far as inflammatory cytokines are concerned. This research suggests vitamin D may prevent, or even treat, age-related cognitive decline!
Biochem Soc Trans. 2005 Aug;33(Pt 4):573-7.
2. Your blood sugar is closely associated with your vitamin D level.
a) True
b) False
True. Researchers in Australia added to the growing evidence that sun avoidance may have caused the epidemic of type 2 diabetes. The Australians' findings were straightforward and powerful. The higher your vitamin D level, the lower your blood glucose.
Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2005 Jun;62(6):738-41.
3. In July, a group from Minnesota found that 100 percent of elderly patients admitted for fragility fractures were vitamin-D deficient despite the fact that half of them were taking vitamin D supplements.
a) True
b) False
True. The authors found that women taking supplemental vitamin D had average levels of 16.4 ng/ml while women not taking supplements had levels of 11.9.ng/ml, both dangerously low. None of the 82 women got enough sun or took enough vitamin D to obtain a level of 40 ng/ml. These were fragility fractures, not fractures caused by unusual trauma. That is, their bones just sort of fell apart.
Curr Med Res Opin. 2005 Jul;21(7):1069-74.
4. Women with the lowest vitamin D levels had five times higher risk for breast cancer.
a) True
b) False
True. Women with 25(OH)-vitamin D blood levels less than 20 ng/ml were more than five times more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than were women with levels above 60 ng/ml. That is five, repeat five, times more likely!
Eur J Cancer. 2005 May;41(8):1164-9. Epub 2005 Apr 14.
5. Avoiding all sun doubles the risk of prostate cancer.
a) True
b) False
True. Again, the risk of avoiding the sun is clear, this time in another study with prostate cancer. However, the authors pointed out that sun exposure increases the risk of skin cancer and believed that proper vitamin D supplementation "may be the safest solution to achieve an adequate vitamin D status." I think one can naturally obtain vitamin d with sunlight exposure while using common sense.
Cancer Res. 2005 Jun 15;65(12):5470-9.
I also believe supplementation is the only way to go for many people. African Americans are simply unable to spend an adequate time in the sun. In addition, the sun ages the skin and that fact alone will keep many Americans out of the sun. That said, I go into the sun whenever I can. The reason is simple: it is the most conservative thing to do. Until we know everything the sun does--and it does more than just make vitamin D--the conservative approach is to mimic our ancestors and the environment in which humans evolved, whenever we can. Therefore, it makes sense to sunbathe sensibly in the late spring, summer and early fall and take supplements or use UVB lamps the rest of the time.
6. South Korean researchers associated vitamin D deficiency with Parkinson's disease.
a) True
b) False
True. Actually, they showed that certain genetic malformations (VDR polymorphisms) are more likely in patients with Parkinson's disease, implying an association with vitamin D and Parkinsonism.
J Korean Med Sci. 2005 Jun;20(3):495-8.
7. Researchers in England discovered that patients with chronic pain have phenomenally low vitamin D levels.
a) True
b) False
True. The authors added to the evidence that severe vitamin D deficiency is associated with chronic pain. They found that 88 percent of their patients with chronic pain had levels less than 10 ng/ml. If they treated their patients, they did not report it. However, Swiss researchers recently treated chronic pain patients with vitamin D and reported the pain "disappeared" within one to three months in most of their patients. This is the second open study that showed adequate doses of vitamin D dramatically improved chronic pain. I find this amazing but the resistance to such a simple intervention is astounding.
Ann Rheum Dis. 2005 Aug;64(8):1217-9.
BMJ. 2004 Jul 17;329(7458):156-7.
Spine. 2003 Jan 15;28(2):177-9.
8. Severe vitamin D deficiency is common in TB patients.
Some English doctors don't know the difference between ideal and "normal" levels.
Most American doctors don't know the difference either.
a) All are true
b) All are false
c) Some are true and some are false
All are true. First, the authors reviewed the impressive animal evidence that vitamin D can help treat TB. Then they reported that most of their immigrant TB patients had undetectable vitamin D levels. Then they reported the normal range for their lab was between 5 to 47 ng/ml but "normal" was any level greater than 9 ng/ml. Finally, the researchers reported they treated their patients with "normal daily doses" of vitamin D, without reporting how much they gave. Apparently, they gave just enough to get patients above 9 ng/ml.
J Infect. 2005 Jun;50(5):432-7.
Keep in mind that different laboratory techniques result in different ranges for 25(OH)-vitamin D levels. No matter what technique is used, ideal levels can roughly be defined as any level above the median. In this case, as you will see below in Dr. Heaney's article, the doctors should have treated their patients with 4,000 units a day. They should also have watched for evidence of vitamin D hypersensitivity, which can occur when treating tuberculosis patients for vitamin D deficiency.
We can only mourn for the poor immigrants who have to suffer from both TB and vitamin D deficiency. Of course, few physicians in the United States know the difference between the Gaussian definition of "normal" (average ranges for the population tested) and the ideal definition of "normal" (levels above 32 ng/ml). Getting commercial reference labs to report ideal 25(OH)-vitamin D levels should be a priority of everyone involved in trying to end the epidemic of vitamin D deficiency.
9. Virtually all nephrologists give renal failure patients a vitamin D-like drug.
Virtually all renal failure patients are severely vitamin D deficient. The active form of vitamin d is removed by dialysis!
Some nephrologists know the difference between vitamin D and calcitriol.
a) All are true
b) All are false
c) Some are true and some are false.
All are true. Finally, the truth about renal failure patients: most of them are vitamin D deficient despite taking vitamin D analogs! Most nephrologists prescribe activated vitamin D (calcitriol) or vitamin D analogs but not vitamin D. Calcitriol and vitamin D analogs do nothing to prevent vitamin D deficiency. Renal failure patients need both vitamin D and a calcitriol-like drug. Moreover, 400 units a day of vitamin D will not correct their deficiencies. As you will see below, they need up to 4,000 units.
Am J Kidney Dis. 2005 Jun;45(6):1026-33.
P.S. If you think nephrologists know the difference between vitamin D and calcitriol, read this month's paper from some nephrologists at the University of Texas. They discuss the importance of vitamin D in preventing and treating heart disease. (I think adequate vitamin D nutrition may prevent more cardiovascular deaths than cancer deaths.) However, I read the Texas paper three times and still don't know if the authors know the difference between vitamin D and calcitriol. I hope they know the difference between cholesterol and testosterone. (Some cholesterol is metabolized into steroid hormones, vitamin D is a prehormone; testosterone is a steroid hormone, calcitriol is the most potent steroid hormone in the human body).
Kidney Int Suppl. 2005 Jun;(95):S37-42.
AND THE THREE BEST REASONS TO MAINTAIN AN ADEQUATE VITAMIN D LEVEL IN YOUR BODY
In the most important clinical paper published this month, Heaney gave the three best reasons why we should all maintain minimum levels of at least 32 ng/ml, the level that:
(a) Effectively suppresses PTH WHICH is a hormone that MOBILIZES CALCIUM FROM BONE weakening the bones over time
(b) Maximizes calcium absorption
(c) Maximally improves glucose tolerance
Then he goes on to show that some of us, especially African Americans, will need to take 3,000 to 4,000 units every day to maintain healthy 25(OH)-vitamin D blood levels.
J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2005 Jul 15.
Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 May;69(5):842-56.
REMEMBER FIX YOUR OMEGA 3 LEVELS ! The anti-inflammatory effects of vitamin D and appropriate dietary levels of essential fatty acis are well documented.
I use Advanced Omega from ALL VEGETABLE SOURCES to eliminate any risk of mercury contamination.
This can be ordered at www.symmetrydirect.com/sservices.
Over 200 women took part in this three-year, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, which adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that there is an urgent need to review current recommended daily intake levels of the vitamin.
Vitamin D3 is produced in the skin during exposure to sunlight. However, increased skin pigmentation reduces the effect of UVB radiation, meaning darker-skinned people are more at risk of vitamin D deficiency.
As much as 4000 IU per day may be required for individuals who are already deficient in the vitamin.
Sources:
NutraIngredients.com December 12, 2007
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition December, 2007; 86(6): 1657-1662
Vitamin D, often referred to as “the sunshine vitamin,” is different from most other vitamins in that it influences your entire body. Receptors that respond to vitamin D have been found in almost every type of human cell, from your brain to your bones.
Optimizing your vitamin D levels could help you to prevent as many as 16 different types of cancer including pancreatic, lung, breast, ovarian, prostate, and colon cancers.
In fact, a previous landmark study from the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), found that some 600,000 cases of breast and colorectal cancers could be prevented each year, if only vitamin D3 levels among populations worldwide were increased.
Beyond cancer, the researchers pointed out that increasing levels of vitamin D3 could prevent diseases that claim nearly 1 million lives throughout the world each year! And other studies showed that you can decrease your risk of cancer by MORE THAN HALF simply by optimizing your vitamin D levels with sun exposure.
Further, optimal vitamin D levels are also known to positively influence the following conditions:
Heart disease
Diabetes
Inflammatory bowel disease
Rheumatoid arthritis
Multiple sclerosis and osteoporosis
How Much Vitamin D do You Need?
Your doctor can measure your serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) to determine your vitamin D status. Your vitamin D level should NEVER be below 32 ng/ml, and anything below 20 ng/ml is considered a serious deficiency state, which will increase your risk of breast and prostate cancers and autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
In the United States, late winter 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels generally range from 15 to 18 ng/ml, so this vitamin deficiency affects a very large portion of the U.S. population.
The OPTIMAL value that you’re looking for is 45-52 ng/ml (115-128 nmol/l), but previous research has suggested that maintaining a slightly higher level of 55 ng/ml (nanograms per milliliter) is optimal for cancer prevention.
African Americans are even more prone to vitamin D deficiencies, as they produce less vitamin D3 than do whites in response to usual levels of sun exposure, and therefore have lower vitamin D serum concentrations year-round. In fact, as many as 42 percent of African American women, compared to just over 4 percent of white women of childbearing age have serum 25 (OH)D concentrations that are less than 62.5 nmol/L during the summer months.
RDA Too Low for Achieving Optimal Vitamin D Levels
This latest study, published in the December issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition points out that many African Americans simply cannot reach optimal vitamin D levels under the current recommended daily allowance (RDA) guidelines.
The 1997 Panel on Calcium and Related Nutrients considers 2,000 IU’s as the upper limit of intake, with a recommended daily allowance of just 400 to 600 IU’s per day.
In fact, the new dosing algorithm that this study proposes calls for a daily dose of 2,800 IU’s for African Americans with a serum level of at least 45 nmol/L, and 4,000 IU’s per day if your serum level is below 45 nmol/L.
In addition to this one-measurement, one-dose adjustment algorithm, they point out that given the individual variability in your response to vitamin D, the best result would be expected if your 25 (OH)D was measured and your dose of vitamin D is adjusted a second time.
What is Your Best Source of Vitamin D?
Sun exposure (without sunscreen) of about 10 to 15 minutes a day, with at least 40 percent of your skin exposed is your best source of vitamin D. Sometimes, however you may not be able to get enough sun exposure during certain parts of the year. It s just not realistic in some climates. (BRRRRR it 12 F out there now) In that case supplementation is an option.
Obviously, it will be very difficult for many to get adequate sun exposure in the winter, which is why I also advise using a safe tanning bed to have your own body produce vitamin D naturally.
The most important thing to keep in mind if you opt for oral supplementation is that you only want to supplement with natural vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), which is the type of vitamin D found in foods like eggs, organ meats, animal fat, cod liver oil, and fish. Do NOT use the synthetic and highly inferior vitamin D2.
The supplement I take has 400mg of cholecalciferol .
See this complete supplement called Ultra-Vitality at www.symmetrydirect.com/sservices a truly complete and highly natural and bio-available complete daily supplement
The danger of vitamin D toxicity is greatly exaggerated but STILL influences even the BEST vitamin manufacturers in this land of the lawsuit. I really can't blame them. So the status quo changes slowly, until then optimizing natural sources like sunlight and a good once a day absorbable vitamin will help give your body the nutrients that out processed diets have been robbed of!
So the sun is very important and has taken a bad rap from some circles. JUST DO NOT GET A BLISTERING SUNBURN use common sense.
Bet You Did Not Know This About Vitamin D
Vitamin D is the most common nutritional deficiency in the United States, and most physicians are clueless about its importance. If you can answer the majority of these questions correctly you are doing better than the majority of physicians.
This test was developed by Dr. John Cannell. He is one of the leaders in the vitamin D education movement and has a very comprehensive Web site dedicated to vitamin D. You can also subscribe to his free newsletter there.
1. Vitamin D reverses inflammatory changes associated with age-related memory impairment.
a) True
b) False
True. Researchers from Ireland were the first to demonstrate that vitamin D3 acts as an anti-inflammatory agent and turns old brains into young brains--at least as far as inflammatory cytokines are concerned. This research suggests vitamin D may prevent, or even treat, age-related cognitive decline!
Biochem Soc Trans. 2005 Aug;33(Pt 4):573-7.
2. Your blood sugar is closely associated with your vitamin D level.
a) True
b) False
True. Researchers in Australia added to the growing evidence that sun avoidance may have caused the epidemic of type 2 diabetes. The Australians' findings were straightforward and powerful. The higher your vitamin D level, the lower your blood glucose.
Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2005 Jun;62(6):738-41.
3. In July, a group from Minnesota found that 100 percent of elderly patients admitted for fragility fractures were vitamin-D deficient despite the fact that half of them were taking vitamin D supplements.
a) True
b) False
True. The authors found that women taking supplemental vitamin D had average levels of 16.4 ng/ml while women not taking supplements had levels of 11.9.ng/ml, both dangerously low. None of the 82 women got enough sun or took enough vitamin D to obtain a level of 40 ng/ml. These were fragility fractures, not fractures caused by unusual trauma. That is, their bones just sort of fell apart.
Curr Med Res Opin. 2005 Jul;21(7):1069-74.
4. Women with the lowest vitamin D levels had five times higher risk for breast cancer.
a) True
b) False
True. Women with 25(OH)-vitamin D blood levels less than 20 ng/ml were more than five times more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than were women with levels above 60 ng/ml. That is five, repeat five, times more likely!
Eur J Cancer. 2005 May;41(8):1164-9. Epub 2005 Apr 14.
5. Avoiding all sun doubles the risk of prostate cancer.
a) True
b) False
True. Again, the risk of avoiding the sun is clear, this time in another study with prostate cancer. However, the authors pointed out that sun exposure increases the risk of skin cancer and believed that proper vitamin D supplementation "may be the safest solution to achieve an adequate vitamin D status." I think one can naturally obtain vitamin d with sunlight exposure while using common sense.
Cancer Res. 2005 Jun 15;65(12):5470-9.
I also believe supplementation is the only way to go for many people. African Americans are simply unable to spend an adequate time in the sun. In addition, the sun ages the skin and that fact alone will keep many Americans out of the sun. That said, I go into the sun whenever I can. The reason is simple: it is the most conservative thing to do. Until we know everything the sun does--and it does more than just make vitamin D--the conservative approach is to mimic our ancestors and the environment in which humans evolved, whenever we can. Therefore, it makes sense to sunbathe sensibly in the late spring, summer and early fall and take supplements or use UVB lamps the rest of the time.
6. South Korean researchers associated vitamin D deficiency with Parkinson's disease.
a) True
b) False
True. Actually, they showed that certain genetic malformations (VDR polymorphisms) are more likely in patients with Parkinson's disease, implying an association with vitamin D and Parkinsonism.
J Korean Med Sci. 2005 Jun;20(3):495-8.
7. Researchers in England discovered that patients with chronic pain have phenomenally low vitamin D levels.
a) True
b) False
True. The authors added to the evidence that severe vitamin D deficiency is associated with chronic pain. They found that 88 percent of their patients with chronic pain had levels less than 10 ng/ml. If they treated their patients, they did not report it. However, Swiss researchers recently treated chronic pain patients with vitamin D and reported the pain "disappeared" within one to three months in most of their patients. This is the second open study that showed adequate doses of vitamin D dramatically improved chronic pain. I find this amazing but the resistance to such a simple intervention is astounding.
Ann Rheum Dis. 2005 Aug;64(8):1217-9.
BMJ. 2004 Jul 17;329(7458):156-7.
Spine. 2003 Jan 15;28(2):177-9.
8. Severe vitamin D deficiency is common in TB patients.
Some English doctors don't know the difference between ideal and "normal" levels.
Most American doctors don't know the difference either.
a) All are true
b) All are false
c) Some are true and some are false
All are true. First, the authors reviewed the impressive animal evidence that vitamin D can help treat TB. Then they reported that most of their immigrant TB patients had undetectable vitamin D levels. Then they reported the normal range for their lab was between 5 to 47 ng/ml but "normal" was any level greater than 9 ng/ml. Finally, the researchers reported they treated their patients with "normal daily doses" of vitamin D, without reporting how much they gave. Apparently, they gave just enough to get patients above 9 ng/ml.
J Infect. 2005 Jun;50(5):432-7.
Keep in mind that different laboratory techniques result in different ranges for 25(OH)-vitamin D levels. No matter what technique is used, ideal levels can roughly be defined as any level above the median. In this case, as you will see below in Dr. Heaney's article, the doctors should have treated their patients with 4,000 units a day. They should also have watched for evidence of vitamin D hypersensitivity, which can occur when treating tuberculosis patients for vitamin D deficiency.
We can only mourn for the poor immigrants who have to suffer from both TB and vitamin D deficiency. Of course, few physicians in the United States know the difference between the Gaussian definition of "normal" (average ranges for the population tested) and the ideal definition of "normal" (levels above 32 ng/ml). Getting commercial reference labs to report ideal 25(OH)-vitamin D levels should be a priority of everyone involved in trying to end the epidemic of vitamin D deficiency.
9. Virtually all nephrologists give renal failure patients a vitamin D-like drug.
Virtually all renal failure patients are severely vitamin D deficient. The active form of vitamin d is removed by dialysis!
Some nephrologists know the difference between vitamin D and calcitriol.
a) All are true
b) All are false
c) Some are true and some are false.
All are true. Finally, the truth about renal failure patients: most of them are vitamin D deficient despite taking vitamin D analogs! Most nephrologists prescribe activated vitamin D (calcitriol) or vitamin D analogs but not vitamin D. Calcitriol and vitamin D analogs do nothing to prevent vitamin D deficiency. Renal failure patients need both vitamin D and a calcitriol-like drug. Moreover, 400 units a day of vitamin D will not correct their deficiencies. As you will see below, they need up to 4,000 units.
Am J Kidney Dis. 2005 Jun;45(6):1026-33.
P.S. If you think nephrologists know the difference between vitamin D and calcitriol, read this month's paper from some nephrologists at the University of Texas. They discuss the importance of vitamin D in preventing and treating heart disease. (I think adequate vitamin D nutrition may prevent more cardiovascular deaths than cancer deaths.) However, I read the Texas paper three times and still don't know if the authors know the difference between vitamin D and calcitriol. I hope they know the difference between cholesterol and testosterone. (Some cholesterol is metabolized into steroid hormones, vitamin D is a prehormone; testosterone is a steroid hormone, calcitriol is the most potent steroid hormone in the human body).
Kidney Int Suppl. 2005 Jun;(95):S37-42.
AND THE THREE BEST REASONS TO MAINTAIN AN ADEQUATE VITAMIN D LEVEL IN YOUR BODY
In the most important clinical paper published this month, Heaney gave the three best reasons why we should all maintain minimum levels of at least 32 ng/ml, the level that:
(a) Effectively suppresses PTH WHICH is a hormone that MOBILIZES CALCIUM FROM BONE weakening the bones over time
(b) Maximizes calcium absorption
(c) Maximally improves glucose tolerance
Then he goes on to show that some of us, especially African Americans, will need to take 3,000 to 4,000 units every day to maintain healthy 25(OH)-vitamin D blood levels.
J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2005 Jul 15.
Am J Clin Nutr. 1999 May;69(5):842-56.
REMEMBER FIX YOUR OMEGA 3 LEVELS ! The anti-inflammatory effects of vitamin D and appropriate dietary levels of essential fatty acis are well documented.
I use Advanced Omega from ALL VEGETABLE SOURCES to eliminate any risk of mercury contamination.
This can be ordered at www.symmetrydirect.com/sservices.
Thanks for reading! The vast majority of this info was provided by Dr Mercola at mercola.com
1 comment:
Fabulous article! It addresses, so succinctly, much of what I have been unable to find in my research on the internet on this incredible vitamin. Thank you.
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