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"The Grounded 2" is the much anticipated sequel to the feature film,
"The Grounded".
It is about the greatest health rediscovery of all time.
Stars Apollo 14 astronaut, Dr. Edgar Mitchell and award-winning
Canadian science broadcaster,
Dr. David Suziki.
🌸
"The Grounded".
It is about the greatest health rediscovery of all time.
Stars Apollo 14 astronaut, Dr. Edgar Mitchell and award-winning
Canadian science broadcaster,
Dr. David Suziki.
🌸
🌸
Introduction to the Concept of Grounding
Internet Health Guru, Dr. Mercola and his colleague, Cardiologist, Dr Stephen Sinatra discuss the latter's first introduction to the concept of Grounding / Earthing as an effective health modality,
While the latter discusses the importance of Vitamin D, which he does not recommend be taken in pill form but with healthy exposure to natural sunlight.
After all, this is how the human body has been naturally synthesizing Vitamin D since the dawn of time!
Dr. Mercola brings up Vitamin D because while you are outside and Grounding, be it by talking a barefoot walk in a park or on the beach or just laying down in the grass, this will necessitate that you be outside - and this will afford you the opportunity to obtain natural Vitamin D via sunlight. Low Vitamin D levels in your blood are associated with increased mortality.
Both of these most basic and simple of activities - yet, which are also incredibly important to your health, along with a diet of organic, super healthy and detoxifying foods, with recipes from the Gerson Therapy are what saved Dr. Sinatra's son, Step Sinatra from the brink of death.
Step Sinatra had been a Wall Street trader, surrounded by what his father describes as a "horseshoe" of electronic equipment; mostly old-fashioned TV screens.
Sitting close to one, let alone 20 of those things, is tantamount to getting slammed by a fire hose of untold amounts of dirty electricity (old TV technology uses a beam of electrons to excite the old style screens into producing images encoded within that stream of electricity). Often he had a cellphone in each ear.
Long story short, Step Sinatra's body's natural EM field literally got "blown out" and dozens of medical specialists and hundreds of thousands of dollars later, he still hadn't been diagnosed, let alone, cured, as this young man's body steadily wasted away, to the point where he got down to an astonishing 78 lbs!
It was ultimately through his father's discovery of Grounding, that this son, Step finally got on the road to recovery.
While the latter discusses the importance of Vitamin D, which he does not recommend be taken in pill form but with healthy exposure to natural sunlight.
After all, this is how the human body has been naturally synthesizing Vitamin D since the dawn of time!
Dr. Mercola brings up Vitamin D because while you are outside and Grounding, be it by talking a barefoot walk in a park or on the beach or just laying down in the grass, this will necessitate that you be outside - and this will afford you the opportunity to obtain natural Vitamin D via sunlight. Low Vitamin D levels in your blood are associated with increased mortality.
Both of these most basic and simple of activities - yet, which are also incredibly important to your health, along with a diet of organic, super healthy and detoxifying foods, with recipes from the Gerson Therapy are what saved Dr. Sinatra's son, Step Sinatra from the brink of death.
Step Sinatra had been a Wall Street trader, surrounded by what his father describes as a "horseshoe" of electronic equipment; mostly old-fashioned TV screens.
Sitting close to one, let alone 20 of those things, is tantamount to getting slammed by a fire hose of untold amounts of dirty electricity (old TV technology uses a beam of electrons to excite the old style screens into producing images encoded within that stream of electricity). Often he had a cellphone in each ear.
Long story short, Step Sinatra's body's natural EM field literally got "blown out" and dozens of medical specialists and hundreds of thousands of dollars later, he still hadn't been diagnosed, let alone, cured, as this young man's body steadily wasted away, to the point where he got down to an astonishing 78 lbs!
It was ultimately through his father's discovery of Grounding, that this son, Step finally got on the road to recovery.
🌸
Vitamin D3
Higher Doses Reduce Risk of Common Health Concerns
By Chris D. Meletis, ND
http://www.vrp.com/bone-and-joint/vitamin-d3-higher-doses-reduce-risk-of-common-health-concerns
Vitamin D3 is one of the most useful nutritional tools we have at our disposal for improving overall health. This vitamin is unique because cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) is a vitamin derived from 7-dehyrocholesterol; however, Vitamin D3 acquires hormone-like actions when cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) is converted to 1,25-dihydroxy Vitamin D3 (Calcitriol) by the liver and kidneys.
As a hormone, Calcitriol controls phosphorus, calcium, and bone metabolism and neuromuscular function. Vitamin D3 is the only vitamin the body can manufacture from sunlight (UVB). Yet, with today’s indoor living and the extensive use of sunscreens due to concern about skin cancer, we are now a society with millions of individuals deficient in life-sustaining bone building and immune modulating 1,25-dihydroxy Vitamin D3.
For more than a century, scientists have recognized that Vitamin D3 is involved in bone health. Research has continued to accumulate, documenting Calcitriol’s role in the reduction of the risk of fractures to a significant degree. The latest research, however, shows that 1,25-dihyroxy Vitamin D3 deficiency is linked to a surprising number of other health conditions such as depression, back pain, cancer, both insulin resistance and pre-eclampsia during pregnancy, impaired immunity and macular degeneration.
As it becomes clear that Vitamin D3 plays a wide role in overall health, it’s becoming equally clear that a large percentage of individuals are deficient in this important nutrient, which has hormone-like activity. The fear of skin cancer has stopped many individuals from obtaining beneficial amounts of sunlight.
The skin uses the energy of UVB to convert 7-dehydrocholesterol into Vitamin D3. Even individuals, who venture out into the sun often and use suntan lotion, may be deficient in Vitamin D3.
Furthermore, as we age, we are less equipped to produce sufficient quantities of this vital nutrient. One study found that age-related declines in kidney function may require older people to ingest more Vitamin D3 to maintain the same blood levels as younger people.1
The Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of Vitamin D3 is set so low those mature individuals who consume this small amount (400 to 600 International Unites (I.U.’s)) are still likely to be deficient if they live north of the Tropic of Cancer or south of the Tropic of Capricorn.
In fact, researchers have discovered that the RDI, which was considered adequate to prevent osteomalacia (a painful bone disease) or rickets, is not high enough to protect against the majority of diseases linked to 1,25-dihyroxy Vitamin D3 deficiency. For example, an analysis of the medical literature found that at least 1,000 to 2,000 IU of Vitamin D3 per day is necessary to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer and that lower doses of Vitamin D3 did not have the same protective effect.2
Researchers Call for Higher Doses
In an editorial in the March 2007 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a prominent group of researchers from leading institutions such as the University of Toronto, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Tufts University and University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, lashed out at the conventional media for its inaccurate reporting of Vitamin D supplementation.3
The researchers wrote, “Almost every time the public media report that Vitamin D nutrition status is too low, or that higher Vitamin D intakes may improve measures of health, the advice that accompanies the report is outdated and thus misleading. Media reports to the public are typically accompanied by a paragraph that approximates the following:
‘Current recommendations from the Institute of Medicine call for 200 IU/day from birth through age 50 years, 400 IU for those aged 51–70 years, and 600 IU for those aged >70 years. Some experts say that optimal amounts are closer to 1,000 IU daily. Until more is known, it is wise not to overdo it.’ The only conclusion that the public can draw from this is to do nothing different from what they have done in the past.”
The researchers point out that supplemental intake of 400 IU per day barely raises blood concentrations of 25(OH)D, which is the circulating Vitamin D metabolite that serves as the most frequently measured indicator of Vitamin D status. To raise 25(OH)D from 50 to 80 nmol/L requires an additional intake of 1,700 IU Vitamin D per day.
The researchers went on to write that, “The balance of the evidence leads to the conclusion that the public health is best served by a recommendation of higher daily intakes of Vitamin D. Relatively simple and low-cost changes, such as increased food fortification or increasing the amount of Vitamin D in Vitamin supplement products, may very well bring about rapid and important reductions in the morbidity associated with low Vitamin D status.”
One of the challenges is the outdated acceptable upper limit for Vitamin D3 consumption, which was set at 2,000 IU. However, researchers point out that more recent studies have shown that 10,000 IU is the safe upper limit.4
Dr. R. Vieth, one of the foremost authorities on Vitamin D3 supplementation, has extensively studied Vitamin D, and lamented the low requirements for Vitamin D3 in a recent issue of the Journal of Nutrition: “Inappropriately low UL [upper limit] values, or guidance values, for Vitamin D have hindered objective clinical research on Vitamin D nutrition; they have hindered our understanding of its role in disease prevention, and restricted the amount of Vitamin D in multivitamins and foods to doses (that are) too low to benefit public health.”5
When examining the medical literature, it becomes clear that Vitamin D3 affects human health in an astonishing number of ways and that not obtaining enough of this important nutrient can leave the door open to developing a number of health conditions.
Depression
Vitamin D3 deficiency is common in older adults and has been implicated in psychiatric and neurologic disorders. For example, in one study of 80 older adults (40 with mild Alzheimer’s disease and 40 nondemented persons), Vitamin D3 deficiency was associated with low mood and with impairment on two of four measures of cognitive performance.6
Back Pain
Musculoskeletal disorders have been linked to Vitamin D3 deficiency in a number of studies. One of the newest studies explored the role that low Vitamin D3 levels play in the development of chronic low back pain in women. Sixty female patients in Egypt complaining of low back pain lasting more than three months were studied. Researchers measured levels of Vitamin D3 in the women with low back pain and compared those levels to those of 20 matched healthy controls.
The study revealed that patients with low back pain had significantly lower Vitamin D3 levels than controls. Low Vitamin D3 levels (25 OHD < 40 ng/ml) were found in 49/60 patients (81 percent) and 12/20 (60 percent) of controls.7
Bone Health
One of the best known and long-established benefits of Vitamin D3 is its ability to improve bone health and the health of the musculoskeletal system. It is well documented that Vitamin D3 deficiency causes osteopenia, precipitates and exacerbates osteoporosis, causes a painful bone disease known as osteomalacia, and exacerbates muscle weakness, which increases the risk of falls and fractures. Vitamin D3 insufficiency may alter the regulatory mechanisms of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and cause a secondary hyperparathyroidism that increases the risk of osteoporosis and fractures.8
Cognitive Enhancement
Scientists are developing a greater appreciation for Vitamin D3’s ability to improve cognition. In a recent study, Vitamin D3 deficient subjects scored worse on mental function tests compared to individuals who had higher levels of the Vitamin.9 The researchers wrote, “In conclusion, the positive, significant correlation between serum 25(OH)D concentration and MMSE [mental state examination scores] in these patients suggests a potential role for Vitamin D in cognitive function of older adults.”
Mu-Talented Nutrient
Vitamin D3 deficiency has been linked to a host of other conditions such as high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and an increased risk of pre-eclampsia and insulin resistance during pregnancy.11,15-16 Most recently, low Vitamin D3 levels have been linked to an increased prevalence of early age-related macular degeneration.17
Proper Dosage
In many of my patients, even after consuming 2,000 to 4,000 IU of Vitamin D3 per day, their test results indicate that their Vitamin D3 levels have not increased. These patients needed to consume 8,000 IU of Vitamin D3 per day to achieve proper blood levels of the Vitamin.
Patients should, therefore, have their physicians test their serum 1,25-dihyroxy D3 levels to determine the proper level of supplementation required. Testing is very important due to the fact that, in a small number of patients, Vitamin D3 supplementation can raise calcium levels to an excessively high level.
I have found this to be especially true in African American patients. Testing for 1,25-dihyroxy Vitamin D3, PTH and calcium blood levels should therefore become a part of every woman’s regular blood work.
Conclusion
A growing number of researchers who have widely studied Vitamin D3 are almost begging the general public to consume more of this important nutrient.
Due to Vitamin D3’s high safety profile in doses up to 10,000 IU per day and because of the wide role it plays in our health, consuming 2,000 to 4,000 IU per day of this nutrient at times of the year when sunlight is scarce is a prudent way to improve overall health.
References
1. Vieth R, Ladak Y, Walfish PG. Age-related changes in the 25-hydroxyVitamin D versus parathyroid hormone relationship suggest a different reason why older adults require more Vitamin D. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Jan;88(1):185-91.
2. Gorham ED, Garland CF, Garland FC, Grant WB, Mohr SB, Lipkin M, Newmark HL, Giovannucci E, Wei M, Holick MF. Optimal Vitamin D status for colorectal cancer prevention: a quantitative meta analysis. Am J Prev Med. 2007 Mar;32(3):210-6.
3. Vieth R, Bischoff-Ferrari H, Boucher BJ, Dawson-Hughes B, Garland CF, Heaney RP, Holick MF, Hollis BW, Lamberg-Allardt C, McGrath JJ, Norman AW, Scragg R, Whiting SJ, Willett WC, Zittermann A. The urgent need to recommend an intake of Vitamin D that is effective. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. March 2007;85(3):649-650.
4. Hathcock JN, Shao A, Vieth R, Heaney R. Risk assessment for Vitamin D. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jan;85(1):6-18.
5. Vieth R. Critique of the considerations for establishing the tolerable upper intake level for Vitamin D: critical need for revision upwards. J Nutr. 2006 Apr;136(4):1117-22.
6. Wilkins CH, Sheline YI, Roe CM, Birge SJ, Morris JC. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with low mood and worse cognitive performance in older adults. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2006 Dec;14(12):1032-40.
7. Lotfi A, Abdel-Nasser AM, Hamdy A, Omran AA, El-Rehany MA. HypoVitaminosis D in female patients with chronic low back pain. Clin Rheumatol. 2007 Mar 22; [Epub ahead of print].
8. Pérez-López FR. Vitamin D and its implications for musculoskeletal health in women: An update. Maturitas. 2007 Jun 28; [Epub ahead of print].
9. Przybelski RJ, Binkley NC. Is Vitamin D important for preserving cognition? A positive correlation of serum 25-hydroxyVitamin D concentration with cognitive function. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2007 Apr 15;460(2):202-5.
10. Grant WB. An estimate of premature cancer mortality in the U.S. due to inadequate doses of solar ultraviolet-B radiation. Cancer. 2002 Mar 15;94(6):1867-75.
11. Lappe J, Travers-Gustafson D, Davies K, Recker R, Heaney R. Vitamin D and calcium supplementation reduces cancer risk: results of a randomized trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. June 8;85(6):1586-1591.
12. Ma Y, et al. Study presented at the 2007 centennial meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), April 14 to 18, 2007, Los Angeles.
13. Cannell JJ, Vieth R, Umhau JC, Holick MF, Grant WB, Madronich S, Garland CF, Giovannucci E. Epidemic influenza and Vitamin D. Epidemiol Infect. 2006 Dec;134(6):1129-40.
14. Kurylowicz A, Bednarczuk T, Nauman J. [The influence of Vitamin D deficiency on cancers and autoimmune diseases development.] [Article in Polish] Endokrynol Pol. 2007;58(2):140-152.
15. Bodnar LM, Catov JM, Simhan HN, Holick MF, Powers RW, Roberts JM. Maternal Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of preeclampsia. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007 May 29; [Epub ahead of print].
16. Maghbooli Z, Hossein-Nezhad A, Karimi F, Shafaei AR, Larijani B. Correlation between Vitamin D(3) deficiency and insulin resistance in pregnancy. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2007 Jul 2; [Epub ahead of print].
17. Parekh N, Chappell RJ, Millen AE, Albert DM, Mares JA. Association Between Vitamin D and Age-Related Macular Degeneration in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988 Through 1994. Arch Ophthalmol. May 2007;125: 661-669.
Higher Doses Reduce Risk of Common Health Concerns
By Chris D. Meletis, ND
http://www.vrp.com/bone-and-joint/vitamin-d3-higher-doses-reduce-risk-of-common-health-concerns
Vitamin D3 is one of the most useful nutritional tools we have at our disposal for improving overall health. This vitamin is unique because cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) is a vitamin derived from 7-dehyrocholesterol; however, Vitamin D3 acquires hormone-like actions when cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3) is converted to 1,25-dihydroxy Vitamin D3 (Calcitriol) by the liver and kidneys.
As a hormone, Calcitriol controls phosphorus, calcium, and bone metabolism and neuromuscular function. Vitamin D3 is the only vitamin the body can manufacture from sunlight (UVB). Yet, with today’s indoor living and the extensive use of sunscreens due to concern about skin cancer, we are now a society with millions of individuals deficient in life-sustaining bone building and immune modulating 1,25-dihydroxy Vitamin D3.
For more than a century, scientists have recognized that Vitamin D3 is involved in bone health. Research has continued to accumulate, documenting Calcitriol’s role in the reduction of the risk of fractures to a significant degree. The latest research, however, shows that 1,25-dihyroxy Vitamin D3 deficiency is linked to a surprising number of other health conditions such as depression, back pain, cancer, both insulin resistance and pre-eclampsia during pregnancy, impaired immunity and macular degeneration.
As it becomes clear that Vitamin D3 plays a wide role in overall health, it’s becoming equally clear that a large percentage of individuals are deficient in this important nutrient, which has hormone-like activity. The fear of skin cancer has stopped many individuals from obtaining beneficial amounts of sunlight.
The skin uses the energy of UVB to convert 7-dehydrocholesterol into Vitamin D3. Even individuals, who venture out into the sun often and use suntan lotion, may be deficient in Vitamin D3.
Furthermore, as we age, we are less equipped to produce sufficient quantities of this vital nutrient. One study found that age-related declines in kidney function may require older people to ingest more Vitamin D3 to maintain the same blood levels as younger people.1
The Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of Vitamin D3 is set so low those mature individuals who consume this small amount (400 to 600 International Unites (I.U.’s)) are still likely to be deficient if they live north of the Tropic of Cancer or south of the Tropic of Capricorn.
In fact, researchers have discovered that the RDI, which was considered adequate to prevent osteomalacia (a painful bone disease) or rickets, is not high enough to protect against the majority of diseases linked to 1,25-dihyroxy Vitamin D3 deficiency. For example, an analysis of the medical literature found that at least 1,000 to 2,000 IU of Vitamin D3 per day is necessary to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer and that lower doses of Vitamin D3 did not have the same protective effect.2
Researchers Call for Higher Doses
In an editorial in the March 2007 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a prominent group of researchers from leading institutions such as the University of Toronto, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Tufts University and University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, lashed out at the conventional media for its inaccurate reporting of Vitamin D supplementation.3
The researchers wrote, “Almost every time the public media report that Vitamin D nutrition status is too low, or that higher Vitamin D intakes may improve measures of health, the advice that accompanies the report is outdated and thus misleading. Media reports to the public are typically accompanied by a paragraph that approximates the following:
‘Current recommendations from the Institute of Medicine call for 200 IU/day from birth through age 50 years, 400 IU for those aged 51–70 years, and 600 IU for those aged >70 years. Some experts say that optimal amounts are closer to 1,000 IU daily. Until more is known, it is wise not to overdo it.’ The only conclusion that the public can draw from this is to do nothing different from what they have done in the past.”
The researchers point out that supplemental intake of 400 IU per day barely raises blood concentrations of 25(OH)D, which is the circulating Vitamin D metabolite that serves as the most frequently measured indicator of Vitamin D status. To raise 25(OH)D from 50 to 80 nmol/L requires an additional intake of 1,700 IU Vitamin D per day.
The researchers went on to write that, “The balance of the evidence leads to the conclusion that the public health is best served by a recommendation of higher daily intakes of Vitamin D. Relatively simple and low-cost changes, such as increased food fortification or increasing the amount of Vitamin D in Vitamin supplement products, may very well bring about rapid and important reductions in the morbidity associated with low Vitamin D status.”
One of the challenges is the outdated acceptable upper limit for Vitamin D3 consumption, which was set at 2,000 IU. However, researchers point out that more recent studies have shown that 10,000 IU is the safe upper limit.4
Dr. R. Vieth, one of the foremost authorities on Vitamin D3 supplementation, has extensively studied Vitamin D, and lamented the low requirements for Vitamin D3 in a recent issue of the Journal of Nutrition: “Inappropriately low UL [upper limit] values, or guidance values, for Vitamin D have hindered objective clinical research on Vitamin D nutrition; they have hindered our understanding of its role in disease prevention, and restricted the amount of Vitamin D in multivitamins and foods to doses (that are) too low to benefit public health.”5
When examining the medical literature, it becomes clear that Vitamin D3 affects human health in an astonishing number of ways and that not obtaining enough of this important nutrient can leave the door open to developing a number of health conditions.
Depression
Vitamin D3 deficiency is common in older adults and has been implicated in psychiatric and neurologic disorders. For example, in one study of 80 older adults (40 with mild Alzheimer’s disease and 40 nondemented persons), Vitamin D3 deficiency was associated with low mood and with impairment on two of four measures of cognitive performance.6
Back Pain
Musculoskeletal disorders have been linked to Vitamin D3 deficiency in a number of studies. One of the newest studies explored the role that low Vitamin D3 levels play in the development of chronic low back pain in women. Sixty female patients in Egypt complaining of low back pain lasting more than three months were studied. Researchers measured levels of Vitamin D3 in the women with low back pain and compared those levels to those of 20 matched healthy controls.
The study revealed that patients with low back pain had significantly lower Vitamin D3 levels than controls. Low Vitamin D3 levels (25 OHD < 40 ng/ml) were found in 49/60 patients (81 percent) and 12/20 (60 percent) of controls.7
Bone Health
One of the best known and long-established benefits of Vitamin D3 is its ability to improve bone health and the health of the musculoskeletal system. It is well documented that Vitamin D3 deficiency causes osteopenia, precipitates and exacerbates osteoporosis, causes a painful bone disease known as osteomalacia, and exacerbates muscle weakness, which increases the risk of falls and fractures. Vitamin D3 insufficiency may alter the regulatory mechanisms of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and cause a secondary hyperparathyroidism that increases the risk of osteoporosis and fractures.8
Cognitive Enhancement
Scientists are developing a greater appreciation for Vitamin D3’s ability to improve cognition. In a recent study, Vitamin D3 deficient subjects scored worse on mental function tests compared to individuals who had higher levels of the Vitamin.9 The researchers wrote, “In conclusion, the positive, significant correlation between serum 25(OH)D concentration and MMSE [mental state examination scores] in these patients suggests a potential role for Vitamin D in cognitive function of older adults.”
Mu-Talented Nutrient
Vitamin D3 deficiency has been linked to a host of other conditions such as high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and an increased risk of pre-eclampsia and insulin resistance during pregnancy.11,15-16 Most recently, low Vitamin D3 levels have been linked to an increased prevalence of early age-related macular degeneration.17
Proper Dosage
In many of my patients, even after consuming 2,000 to 4,000 IU of Vitamin D3 per day, their test results indicate that their Vitamin D3 levels have not increased. These patients needed to consume 8,000 IU of Vitamin D3 per day to achieve proper blood levels of the Vitamin.
Patients should, therefore, have their physicians test their serum 1,25-dihyroxy D3 levels to determine the proper level of supplementation required. Testing is very important due to the fact that, in a small number of patients, Vitamin D3 supplementation can raise calcium levels to an excessively high level.
I have found this to be especially true in African American patients. Testing for 1,25-dihyroxy Vitamin D3, PTH and calcium blood levels should therefore become a part of every woman’s regular blood work.
Conclusion
A growing number of researchers who have widely studied Vitamin D3 are almost begging the general public to consume more of this important nutrient.
Due to Vitamin D3’s high safety profile in doses up to 10,000 IU per day and because of the wide role it plays in our health, consuming 2,000 to 4,000 IU per day of this nutrient at times of the year when sunlight is scarce is a prudent way to improve overall health.
References
1. Vieth R, Ladak Y, Walfish PG. Age-related changes in the 25-hydroxyVitamin D versus parathyroid hormone relationship suggest a different reason why older adults require more Vitamin D. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2003 Jan;88(1):185-91.
2. Gorham ED, Garland CF, Garland FC, Grant WB, Mohr SB, Lipkin M, Newmark HL, Giovannucci E, Wei M, Holick MF. Optimal Vitamin D status for colorectal cancer prevention: a quantitative meta analysis. Am J Prev Med. 2007 Mar;32(3):210-6.
3. Vieth R, Bischoff-Ferrari H, Boucher BJ, Dawson-Hughes B, Garland CF, Heaney RP, Holick MF, Hollis BW, Lamberg-Allardt C, McGrath JJ, Norman AW, Scragg R, Whiting SJ, Willett WC, Zittermann A. The urgent need to recommend an intake of Vitamin D that is effective. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. March 2007;85(3):649-650.
4. Hathcock JN, Shao A, Vieth R, Heaney R. Risk assessment for Vitamin D. Am J Clin Nutr. 2007 Jan;85(1):6-18.
5. Vieth R. Critique of the considerations for establishing the tolerable upper intake level for Vitamin D: critical need for revision upwards. J Nutr. 2006 Apr;136(4):1117-22.
6. Wilkins CH, Sheline YI, Roe CM, Birge SJ, Morris JC. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with low mood and worse cognitive performance in older adults. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2006 Dec;14(12):1032-40.
7. Lotfi A, Abdel-Nasser AM, Hamdy A, Omran AA, El-Rehany MA. HypoVitaminosis D in female patients with chronic low back pain. Clin Rheumatol. 2007 Mar 22; [Epub ahead of print].
8. Pérez-López FR. Vitamin D and its implications for musculoskeletal health in women: An update. Maturitas. 2007 Jun 28; [Epub ahead of print].
9. Przybelski RJ, Binkley NC. Is Vitamin D important for preserving cognition? A positive correlation of serum 25-hydroxyVitamin D concentration with cognitive function. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2007 Apr 15;460(2):202-5.
10. Grant WB. An estimate of premature cancer mortality in the U.S. due to inadequate doses of solar ultraviolet-B radiation. Cancer. 2002 Mar 15;94(6):1867-75.
11. Lappe J, Travers-Gustafson D, Davies K, Recker R, Heaney R. Vitamin D and calcium supplementation reduces cancer risk: results of a randomized trial. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. June 8;85(6):1586-1591.
12. Ma Y, et al. Study presented at the 2007 centennial meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), April 14 to 18, 2007, Los Angeles.
13. Cannell JJ, Vieth R, Umhau JC, Holick MF, Grant WB, Madronich S, Garland CF, Giovannucci E. Epidemic influenza and Vitamin D. Epidemiol Infect. 2006 Dec;134(6):1129-40.
14. Kurylowicz A, Bednarczuk T, Nauman J. [The influence of Vitamin D deficiency on cancers and autoimmune diseases development.] [Article in Polish] Endokrynol Pol. 2007;58(2):140-152.
15. Bodnar LM, Catov JM, Simhan HN, Holick MF, Powers RW, Roberts JM. Maternal Vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of preeclampsia. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2007 May 29; [Epub ahead of print].
16. Maghbooli Z, Hossein-Nezhad A, Karimi F, Shafaei AR, Larijani B. Correlation between Vitamin D(3) deficiency and insulin resistance in pregnancy. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2007 Jul 2; [Epub ahead of print].
17. Parekh N, Chappell RJ, Millen AE, Albert DM, Mares JA. Association Between Vitamin D and Age-Related Macular Degeneration in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988 Through 1994. Arch Ophthalmol. May 2007;125: 661-669.
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Eventually science and medicine are going to have to concede that “Vitamin D” does not whatsoever live up to the claims made about it.
Hundreds of randomized controlled trials show this. So why is your practitioner still selling these pills?
Partly because on the surface, it may seem that a higher “Vitamin D” level helps you—but actually higher D levels correlate to better health, while TAKING the pill known as “Vitamin D” does not.
Taking the pills does not strengthen your bones, which is what we were originally told it would do.
Nor does it improve your immune function, the narrative they switched to, when the “stronger bones” story completely fell apart.
Vitamin D isn’t a vitamin at all. No case can be made that it is a vitamin. The only reason I can figure out that this steroidal hormone is labeled as a vitamin on the bottle is that people understand the word vitamin.
So it’s a good idea for marketing purposes. But it’s not true.
The medical definition of “vitamin” is a substance that cannot be made by the body and has to come from food.
The substance you call vitamin D is not found in food, is made by the body, and you really cannot get it from what is wrung out from sheep’s wool.
The grease from sheep’s wool is what over 99% of “vitamin D” supplements are made from, making this byproduct of the sheep industry, when it’s dried and processed using chemicals and solvents, worth more than gold, by weight.
Is it worth anything, in what it actually does for your health, though? Or is it just lining the pockets of tens of thousands of people and companies all over the Western world?
Another part of the scam is that we’re measuring 2 molecules, in the lab test–when dozens of molecules are involved in the steroidal hormone made by the body.
Also, the lab test you get is measuring blood levels. But secosteroid hormone D is stored in fat in your body. We’re not measuring the right thing, or from the right place.
Hundreds of studies show D levels drop when a person is sick and their levels recover when the person gets well. Also, a large study showed that having D measured in the blood considered to be “low,” has no impact on health outcomes.
When you really study this subject, it becomes clear that low D levels are a marker of poor health–and not a cause of it.
Nor is taking the pills a cure for it.
Part of the scam is that they’ve repeatedly pushed the range you’re supposed to be in, of the biomarker measured by blood labs, to higher and higher levels. So more people believe they are “deficient” and are then the customer for the pills.
The one and only time I took these pills was when my hormone practitioner told me long ago that my D level was optimal, as it always had been. But she told me to take it anyway, just to be sure.
Against my better judgment, I bought the pills she private-labeled. I took them till my labs the following year.
At that time, my vitamin D level was below optimal for the first and only time in my history of getting labs drawn annually.
Now this, all by itself, doesn’t prove anything to you. It’s a n=1 case study. But this is when I started researching this issue more deeply.
Now what most practitioners would do, in that case, is just tell you to increase your dose! It’s a pretty strange cycle, really:
I take D when I have optimal levels, my D goes down to below some arbitrary threshold—so I’m told to take MORE D!
I didn’t, though, and never took it again—and the following year and every year since, I have a high D level as a blood biomarker.
And really I don’t even want to test for that any more, the whole narrative having fallen apart for me long ago. I have to pay for that lab test, after all. But I do it just for the sake of my ongoing research here.
There are no health consequences, according to 60 studies, attributed to having what is deemed as “low” vitamin D levels.
And yet 95% of the holistic-oriented people I know are committed to the idea that the lab tests show they’re “deficient,” and they believe they need to get a deficiency covered by a pill.
Everybody’s doing it, so it must be a good idea, right? That’s not particularly good logic.
People sometimes get angry with me sharing information like this, if they take vitamin D. It appears that we very much want to believe that whatever medical products we’ve used are good for us.
A few times, I’ve had a colleague or a friend show me a study to argue their point that we need Vitamin D pills, to argue that it prevents something.
I then read the study, and every time, I’ve pointed out to them that the study doesn’t actually support the idea that taking the pills improves your health.
Every time, I ask them, did you read that study? And every time they’ve either said no, or they said they read the one-paragraph abstract–or they just didn’t answer my question.
Anyone who spends two hours reading the meta studies on D with even rudimentary knowledge of research methods and decent critical thinking skills, will seriously question the widespread advice to take the pills made from sheep’s wool.
Or some “vegan” alternative wherein chemistry is involved, or it wouldn’t be a white powder in a capsule.
So far I haven’t been able to get the vegan “vitamin D” manufacturers to tell me how they make it.
(Please write these companies and ask how their product is made, and whether it involves any solvents, metals, or petrochemicals–I would love to hear from you if you can get a response.)
More and more studies show that taking the pills doesn’t correct a deficiency, and doesn’t improve immune function.
Just like these same pills clearly don’t strengthen bone, which is how they USED to pitch this steroidal hormone to us.
They started selling it to dairy companies in the 80’s–who then advertised milk as “fortified” with “Vitamin D.” Since that makes the consumer think it’s better!
A meta analysis of 3,940 studies shows NO positive effect on bone fracture rate of those taking Vitamin D supplements. Remember, for decades, that’s what they sold it to us for!
That narrative finally came completely off the rails—so they just started telling us another benefit it was supposed to have. The rails have come off, for that narrative too–but many people just haven’t gotten the memo.
A study called BITAL followed 25,000 people, for 5 years, comparing half of them taking D, and the other half taking a placebo.
They found NO DIFFERENCE in cancer or heart disease between the groups. Which matters a lot, when so many are claiming that taking the from sheep’s wool pills prevents those diseases.
So I mentioned that 60 studies show lower vitamin D levels show NO difference in health outcomes between people who take Vitamin D and people who don’t.
What fools a lot of healthcare practitioners is that basically the two molecules they’re measuring have ASSOCIATIONS with selected outcomes, but taking the sheep’s wool pills do not AFFECT or CAUSE the health outcomes for huge populations of people in these studies.
When the BITAL researchers failed to find any positive benefit in the study with 25,000 people for 5 years, they did a secondary study, with 5,000 people.
And went to the media and the healthcare industry saying they found one good thing: 0.4% less metastatic cancer.
Which is barely statistically significant, but that’s what made it into the media. Is that Vitamin D prevents metastatic cancer.
And thousands of practitioners repeat that this product is preventative for cancer because they’ve not dug into the history of this study and the followup study.
It makes sense that the media just repeats what they’re told (by the industry-funded “science”), but doctors mostly don’t dig into the research EITHER, and just go along with the consensus.
The vast majority of functional medicine practitioners are affiliates for some D brand, or they private label a D brand, so it represents significant income to most of them.
My perception from trying to talk to many healthcare practitioners and influencers about this for years is that the more their income is linked to a product, the less interested they are in research that doesn’t support the need for that product.
I hope this is useful to you in saving your money on products that you don’t need.
I don’t have any alternative supplement to sell you, because your body makes the steroid they call D, and it’s highly unlikely that you’re deficient.
I hope you save some money from learning about this.
Hundreds of randomized controlled trials show this. So why is your practitioner still selling these pills?
Partly because on the surface, it may seem that a higher “Vitamin D” level helps you—but actually higher D levels correlate to better health, while TAKING the pill known as “Vitamin D” does not.
Taking the pills does not strengthen your bones, which is what we were originally told it would do.
Nor does it improve your immune function, the narrative they switched to, when the “stronger bones” story completely fell apart.
Vitamin D isn’t a vitamin at all. No case can be made that it is a vitamin. The only reason I can figure out that this steroidal hormone is labeled as a vitamin on the bottle is that people understand the word vitamin.
So it’s a good idea for marketing purposes. But it’s not true.
The medical definition of “vitamin” is a substance that cannot be made by the body and has to come from food.
The substance you call vitamin D is not found in food, is made by the body, and you really cannot get it from what is wrung out from sheep’s wool.
The grease from sheep’s wool is what over 99% of “vitamin D” supplements are made from, making this byproduct of the sheep industry, when it’s dried and processed using chemicals and solvents, worth more than gold, by weight.
Is it worth anything, in what it actually does for your health, though? Or is it just lining the pockets of tens of thousands of people and companies all over the Western world?
Another part of the scam is that we’re measuring 2 molecules, in the lab test–when dozens of molecules are involved in the steroidal hormone made by the body.
Also, the lab test you get is measuring blood levels. But secosteroid hormone D is stored in fat in your body. We’re not measuring the right thing, or from the right place.
Hundreds of studies show D levels drop when a person is sick and their levels recover when the person gets well. Also, a large study showed that having D measured in the blood considered to be “low,” has no impact on health outcomes.
When you really study this subject, it becomes clear that low D levels are a marker of poor health–and not a cause of it.
Nor is taking the pills a cure for it.
Part of the scam is that they’ve repeatedly pushed the range you’re supposed to be in, of the biomarker measured by blood labs, to higher and higher levels. So more people believe they are “deficient” and are then the customer for the pills.
The one and only time I took these pills was when my hormone practitioner told me long ago that my D level was optimal, as it always had been. But she told me to take it anyway, just to be sure.
Against my better judgment, I bought the pills she private-labeled. I took them till my labs the following year.
At that time, my vitamin D level was below optimal for the first and only time in my history of getting labs drawn annually.
Now this, all by itself, doesn’t prove anything to you. It’s a n=1 case study. But this is when I started researching this issue more deeply.
Now what most practitioners would do, in that case, is just tell you to increase your dose! It’s a pretty strange cycle, really:
I take D when I have optimal levels, my D goes down to below some arbitrary threshold—so I’m told to take MORE D!
I didn’t, though, and never took it again—and the following year and every year since, I have a high D level as a blood biomarker.
And really I don’t even want to test for that any more, the whole narrative having fallen apart for me long ago. I have to pay for that lab test, after all. But I do it just for the sake of my ongoing research here.
There are no health consequences, according to 60 studies, attributed to having what is deemed as “low” vitamin D levels.
And yet 95% of the holistic-oriented people I know are committed to the idea that the lab tests show they’re “deficient,” and they believe they need to get a deficiency covered by a pill.
Everybody’s doing it, so it must be a good idea, right? That’s not particularly good logic.
People sometimes get angry with me sharing information like this, if they take vitamin D. It appears that we very much want to believe that whatever medical products we’ve used are good for us.
A few times, I’ve had a colleague or a friend show me a study to argue their point that we need Vitamin D pills, to argue that it prevents something.
I then read the study, and every time, I’ve pointed out to them that the study doesn’t actually support the idea that taking the pills improves your health.
Every time, I ask them, did you read that study? And every time they’ve either said no, or they said they read the one-paragraph abstract–or they just didn’t answer my question.
Anyone who spends two hours reading the meta studies on D with even rudimentary knowledge of research methods and decent critical thinking skills, will seriously question the widespread advice to take the pills made from sheep’s wool.
Or some “vegan” alternative wherein chemistry is involved, or it wouldn’t be a white powder in a capsule.
So far I haven’t been able to get the vegan “vitamin D” manufacturers to tell me how they make it.
(Please write these companies and ask how their product is made, and whether it involves any solvents, metals, or petrochemicals–I would love to hear from you if you can get a response.)
More and more studies show that taking the pills doesn’t correct a deficiency, and doesn’t improve immune function.
Just like these same pills clearly don’t strengthen bone, which is how they USED to pitch this steroidal hormone to us.
They started selling it to dairy companies in the 80’s–who then advertised milk as “fortified” with “Vitamin D.” Since that makes the consumer think it’s better!
A meta analysis of 3,940 studies shows NO positive effect on bone fracture rate of those taking Vitamin D supplements. Remember, for decades, that’s what they sold it to us for!
That narrative finally came completely off the rails—so they just started telling us another benefit it was supposed to have. The rails have come off, for that narrative too–but many people just haven’t gotten the memo.
A study called BITAL followed 25,000 people, for 5 years, comparing half of them taking D, and the other half taking a placebo.
They found NO DIFFERENCE in cancer or heart disease between the groups. Which matters a lot, when so many are claiming that taking the from sheep’s wool pills prevents those diseases.
So I mentioned that 60 studies show lower vitamin D levels show NO difference in health outcomes between people who take Vitamin D and people who don’t.
What fools a lot of healthcare practitioners is that basically the two molecules they’re measuring have ASSOCIATIONS with selected outcomes, but taking the sheep’s wool pills do not AFFECT or CAUSE the health outcomes for huge populations of people in these studies.
When the BITAL researchers failed to find any positive benefit in the study with 25,000 people for 5 years, they did a secondary study, with 5,000 people.
And went to the media and the healthcare industry saying they found one good thing: 0.4% less metastatic cancer.
Which is barely statistically significant, but that’s what made it into the media. Is that Vitamin D prevents metastatic cancer.
And thousands of practitioners repeat that this product is preventative for cancer because they’ve not dug into the history of this study and the followup study.
It makes sense that the media just repeats what they’re told (by the industry-funded “science”), but doctors mostly don’t dig into the research EITHER, and just go along with the consensus.
The vast majority of functional medicine practitioners are affiliates for some D brand, or they private label a D brand, so it represents significant income to most of them.
My perception from trying to talk to many healthcare practitioners and influencers about this for years is that the more their income is linked to a product, the less interested they are in research that doesn’t support the need for that product.
I hope this is useful to you in saving your money on products that you don’t need.
I don’t have any alternative supplement to sell you, because your body makes the steroid they call D, and it’s highly unlikely that you’re deficient.
I hope you save some money from learning about this.
🌸
🌸
🌸
The Relationship Between Vitamin D
and Insulin Resistance
🌸
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/
🌸
The Relationship Between Vitamin D
and Insulin Resistance
🌸
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/
🌸
Story at-a-glance
WARNING!
This is an older article that may not reflect Dr. Mercola’s current view on this topic. Use our search engine to find Dr. Mercola’s latest position on any health topic.
By Dr. Mercola
Vitamin D is a steroid hormone that influences virtually every cell in your body, which is why maintaining a healthy level is so important. Low vitamin D levels are widely known to harm your bones, leading them to become thin, brittle, soft or misshapen.
But vitamin D is equally important for your heart, brain, immune function and much more. For example, there's an important connection between insufficient vitamin D and insulin resistance and/or diabetes, both type 11 and type 2.
Vitamin D Deficiency May Influence Your Type 2 Diabetes RiskAccording to recent research, vitamin D deficiency affects your glucose metabolism and may actually be more closely linked to diabetes than obesity. In a study of 118 people, those with low vitamin D levels were more likely to have type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes or metabolic syndrome, regardless of their weight.
Among obese people, those without metabolic disorders had higher levels of vitamin D than those with such disorders, and among lean people, those with metabolic disorders were more likely to have low levels of vitamin D. According to one of the study's authors:2
"The study suggests that vitamin D deficiency and obesity interact synergistically to heighten the risk of diabetes and other metabolic disorders. The average person may be able to reduce their risk by maintaining a healthy diet and getting enough outdoor activity."
It's not the first time vitamin D has been shown to play a role in diabetes. One Indian study found that vitamin D and calcium supplementation, in combination with exercise, can prevent pre-diabetes from progressing into full-blown diabetes.
For every unit increase in vitamin D levels, the risk of progression to diabetes in people with pre-diabetes went down by 8 percent.3
Another study4 published in 2013 found that type 2 diabetics given 50,000 IUs of oral vitamin D3 per week for eight weeks experienced "a meaningful reduction" in fasting plasma glucose and insulin. Other research showing this link includes but is not limited to the following:
Vitamin D May Lower Risk of Hyperglycemia in Those Taking Atypical Antipsychotics
Certain drugs can raise your risk of metabolic dysfunction. For example, statin drugs can trigger drug-induced diabetes. Atypical antipsychotics such as quetiapine, a bipolar medication, have also been linked to an increased risk of hyperglycemia and diabetes.
In the latter case, research suggests vitamin D3 may counteract these effects. As reported by The American Journal of Managed Care:11
"Atypical antipsychotics have long been associated with an increased risk of hyperglycemia — which can lead to new-onset diabetes, diabetic ketoacidosis, coma and even death.
Some proposed mechanisms for this effect include weight gain, decreased insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells and insulin resistance.
To determine whether there were any medications that could decrease this likelihood of hyperglycemia, researchers analyzed the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting (FAERS) system — a database that logs self-reported adverse effects or medication errors submitted by patients.
By cross-referencing atypical antipsychotics and hyperglycemia, the study authors found that patients who had been simultaneously prescribed to take vitamin D and quetiapine were somehow less likely to have hyperglycemia."
Subsequent animal studies produced similar results. Mice given vitamin D and quetiapine had significantly lower blood sugar levels compared to mice given quetiapine alone. According to lead author Takuya Nagashima, vitamin D inhibits quetiapine from reducing an enzyme that causes hyperglycemia.
Based on these results, the authors suggest combining antipsychotics with vitamin D supplementation to "efficaciously safeguard against antipsychotic-induced hyperglycemia accompanied by insulin resistance."
Other Benefits of Vitamin D
Download Interview TranscriptResearchers have pointed out that raising levels of vitamin D among the general population could prevent chronic diseases that claim nearly 1 million lives throughout the world each year.
Incidence of several types of cancer could also be slashed in half, or more. Recent research reveals raising your serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D to 40 ng/ml can slash your risk of invasive cancers by 67 percent!
In the interview above, Dr. Michael Holick — a well-known vitamin D researcher — expands on these and many other health benefits of vitamin D. For instance, optimizing your vitamin D levels can help protect against:
Cardiovascular disease
Vitamin D is very important for reducing hypertension, atherosclerotic heart disease, heart attack and stroke. According to Holick, one study showed that vitamin D deficiency increased the risk of heart attack by 50 percent.
Autoimmune diseases
Vitamin D is a potent immune modulator, making it very important for the prevention of autoimmune diseases, like multiple sclerosis (MS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Infertility
Vitamin D may help stimulate the production of hormones including testosterone and progesterone, and has been shown to boost fertility in both men and women.
Vitamin D is also associated with semen quality in men and may improve menstrual frequency in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).12
DNA repair and metabolic processes
One of Holick's studies showed that healthy volunteers taking 2,000 international units (IUs) of vitamin D3 per day for a few months upregulated 291 different genes that control up to 80 different metabolic processes.
Some of these processes help improve DNA repair and boost immune function, while others affect autoxidation (oxidation that occurs in the presence of oxygen and /or UV radiation, which has implications for aging and cancer, for example).
Migraine
Recent research also suggests vitamin D can play a role in migraines. Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center found that many who suffer from migraines have deficiencies in vitamin D, riboflavin (B2) and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10).13
Girls and women who suffered migraines were particularly prone to having CoQ10 deficiency, while boys and men were more likely to be deficient in vitamin D. Those with chronic migraines were more likely to have CoQ10 and riboflavin deficiencies, compared to those with episodic migraines.
Neurological/psychological/mental disorders
Vitamin D also plays a major role in neurotransmission, and vitamin D deficiency has been associated with a number of neurological and brain disorders, including cognitive dysfunction and Alzheimer's disease (in one study, those who were most vitamin D deficient had a 31 percent increased relative risk of suffering neurocognitive decline), schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, stroke, epilepsy and depression.
Cold and flu
Vitamin D has potent infection-fighting abilities, and can be beneficial for both the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis, pneumonia, colds and flu.
What's the Best Way to Optimize Your Vitamin D Level?There is no doubt that vitamin D is imperative for good health and disease prevention. It may even help counteract some of the deleterious metabolic effects caused of certain drugs. But there's no lack of controversy when it comes to the issue of how to optimize your vitamin D. Most of the researchers specializing in vitamin D agree that sensible sun exposure is the ideal way though.
First of all, vitamin D3 supplements do not confer the identical effects as the vitamin D your skin generates in response to UV exposure. Secondly, sun exposure has additional health benefits that are unrelated to vitamin D production.
For example, UVA exposure produces nitric oxide (NO), which has a blood pressure-lowering effect. In fact, the entire solar spectrum is important for optimal health. We're not dependent solely on the narrowband wavelength of about 295 nanometers (nm), which is where vitamin D is made.
However, unless you make a concerted effort, chances are you're simply not getting enough sun exposure to raise your vitamin D level. As noted in a recent British study, adolescent Britons are not getting enough sun exposure even in the middle of summer to elevate their vitamin D to a healthy level, prompting the authors to suggest changes to the U.K.'s vitamin D guidelines.
As reported by Endocrine Today,14 "more than one-quarter of the adolescents in the study had inadequate vitamin D levels even during summer, the period when participants spent the most time outdoors." According to the authors:
"Current U.K. national guidance on vitamin D acquisition assumes those aged 4 to 64 years gain their vitamin D requirements from sunlight alone, thus there is no recommended nutrient intake. Meanwhile, substantial proportions of the global population, including the U.K., are reported to have low vitamin D status, and rickets has returned as a clinical concern ...
As U.K. current sun exposure patterns do not provide an adequate source of vitamin D, amendments are required to recommendations on vitamin D acquisition in this age group. While wider skin surface area exposure to sunlight might safely increase vitamin D status, oral vitamin D supplements may be beneficial during this critical time for bone development."
When to Take a Vitamin D3 SupplementIndeed, while sun exposure is the ideal route, it can be difficult for many to achieve an optimal vitamin D level this way. Your lifestyle, location, age, ethnicity, time of year, weather conditions and a number of other factors influence how much vitamin D your skin will make in response to sun exposure.
The fact that vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency is widespread even in sundrenched areas like India attests to this difficulty.
In some cases, making changes to your routine in order to get more regular sun exposure may do the trick. Key points to remember is that you need to expose large areas of skin to the sun, and on a frequent basis (ideally daily). However, under ideal conditions you may not need more than a few minutes of exposure.
The worst thing you could do is to bake in the sun for hours on end on the weekends. You definitely want to avoid burning your skin, as this will only cause skin damage that could potentially increase your risk for skin cancer.
If sensible sun exposure is either not feasible or isn't sufficient to raise your vitamin D to a healthy level, then taking an oral vitamin D3 supplement is a wise choice. If you decide to supplement with vitamin D please consider using one that also has vitamin K2, as it works synergistically with vitamin D to maximize the benefits.
The only way to know how your sun exposure is affecting your vitamin D level is to get your vitamin D tested. I recommend doing this twice a year, in January and June/July, to get a reading on your lowest and highest levels. This will tell you whether you might be in need of a supplement. It will also guide you in terms of dosage.
In short, your ideal dosage is one that will help you maintain a clinically relevant vitamin D level of 40 to 60 ng/ml year-round. For some this may be 2,000 IUs a day. For others, it could be 8,000 IUs a day or more.
- Vitamin D is a steroid hormone that influences virtually every cell in your body. Low levels are linked to poor bone health, as well as heart, brain, immune and metabolic dysfunction
- Animal studies have shown vitamin D is a foundational factor necessary for normal insulin secretion, and that vitamin D improves insulin sensitivity
- Atypical antipsychotics such as quetiapine, a bipolar medication, can increase your risk of hyperglycemia and diabetes. Research suggests vitamin D3 may counteract these effects
WARNING!
This is an older article that may not reflect Dr. Mercola’s current view on this topic. Use our search engine to find Dr. Mercola’s latest position on any health topic.
By Dr. Mercola
Vitamin D is a steroid hormone that influences virtually every cell in your body, which is why maintaining a healthy level is so important. Low vitamin D levels are widely known to harm your bones, leading them to become thin, brittle, soft or misshapen.
But vitamin D is equally important for your heart, brain, immune function and much more. For example, there's an important connection between insufficient vitamin D and insulin resistance and/or diabetes, both type 11 and type 2.
Vitamin D Deficiency May Influence Your Type 2 Diabetes RiskAccording to recent research, vitamin D deficiency affects your glucose metabolism and may actually be more closely linked to diabetes than obesity. In a study of 118 people, those with low vitamin D levels were more likely to have type 2 diabetes, pre-diabetes or metabolic syndrome, regardless of their weight.
Among obese people, those without metabolic disorders had higher levels of vitamin D than those with such disorders, and among lean people, those with metabolic disorders were more likely to have low levels of vitamin D. According to one of the study's authors:2
"The study suggests that vitamin D deficiency and obesity interact synergistically to heighten the risk of diabetes and other metabolic disorders. The average person may be able to reduce their risk by maintaining a healthy diet and getting enough outdoor activity."
It's not the first time vitamin D has been shown to play a role in diabetes. One Indian study found that vitamin D and calcium supplementation, in combination with exercise, can prevent pre-diabetes from progressing into full-blown diabetes.
For every unit increase in vitamin D levels, the risk of progression to diabetes in people with pre-diabetes went down by 8 percent.3
Another study4 published in 2013 found that type 2 diabetics given 50,000 IUs of oral vitamin D3 per week for eight weeks experienced "a meaningful reduction" in fasting plasma glucose and insulin. Other research showing this link includes but is not limited to the following:
- Animal studies have shown vitamin D is a foundational factor necessary for normal insulin secretion5,6 and that vitamin D improves insulin sensitivity7,8
- One study involving nearly 5,680 individuals with impaired glucose tolerance showed that vitamin D supplementation increased insulin sensitivity by 54 percent9
- The mechanisms by which vitamin D reduces insulin resistance include its effect on calcium and phosphorus metabolism and by upregulating the insulin receptor gene10
Vitamin D May Lower Risk of Hyperglycemia in Those Taking Atypical Antipsychotics
Certain drugs can raise your risk of metabolic dysfunction. For example, statin drugs can trigger drug-induced diabetes. Atypical antipsychotics such as quetiapine, a bipolar medication, have also been linked to an increased risk of hyperglycemia and diabetes.
In the latter case, research suggests vitamin D3 may counteract these effects. As reported by The American Journal of Managed Care:11
"Atypical antipsychotics have long been associated with an increased risk of hyperglycemia — which can lead to new-onset diabetes, diabetic ketoacidosis, coma and even death.
Some proposed mechanisms for this effect include weight gain, decreased insulin secretion from pancreatic beta cells and insulin resistance.
To determine whether there were any medications that could decrease this likelihood of hyperglycemia, researchers analyzed the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting (FAERS) system — a database that logs self-reported adverse effects or medication errors submitted by patients.
By cross-referencing atypical antipsychotics and hyperglycemia, the study authors found that patients who had been simultaneously prescribed to take vitamin D and quetiapine were somehow less likely to have hyperglycemia."
Subsequent animal studies produced similar results. Mice given vitamin D and quetiapine had significantly lower blood sugar levels compared to mice given quetiapine alone. According to lead author Takuya Nagashima, vitamin D inhibits quetiapine from reducing an enzyme that causes hyperglycemia.
Based on these results, the authors suggest combining antipsychotics with vitamin D supplementation to "efficaciously safeguard against antipsychotic-induced hyperglycemia accompanied by insulin resistance."
Other Benefits of Vitamin D
Download Interview TranscriptResearchers have pointed out that raising levels of vitamin D among the general population could prevent chronic diseases that claim nearly 1 million lives throughout the world each year.
Incidence of several types of cancer could also be slashed in half, or more. Recent research reveals raising your serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D to 40 ng/ml can slash your risk of invasive cancers by 67 percent!
In the interview above, Dr. Michael Holick — a well-known vitamin D researcher — expands on these and many other health benefits of vitamin D. For instance, optimizing your vitamin D levels can help protect against:
Cardiovascular disease
Vitamin D is very important for reducing hypertension, atherosclerotic heart disease, heart attack and stroke. According to Holick, one study showed that vitamin D deficiency increased the risk of heart attack by 50 percent.
Autoimmune diseases
Vitamin D is a potent immune modulator, making it very important for the prevention of autoimmune diseases, like multiple sclerosis (MS) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Infertility
Vitamin D may help stimulate the production of hormones including testosterone and progesterone, and has been shown to boost fertility in both men and women.
Vitamin D is also associated with semen quality in men and may improve menstrual frequency in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).12
DNA repair and metabolic processes
One of Holick's studies showed that healthy volunteers taking 2,000 international units (IUs) of vitamin D3 per day for a few months upregulated 291 different genes that control up to 80 different metabolic processes.
Some of these processes help improve DNA repair and boost immune function, while others affect autoxidation (oxidation that occurs in the presence of oxygen and /or UV radiation, which has implications for aging and cancer, for example).
Migraine
Recent research also suggests vitamin D can play a role in migraines. Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center found that many who suffer from migraines have deficiencies in vitamin D, riboflavin (B2) and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10).13
Girls and women who suffered migraines were particularly prone to having CoQ10 deficiency, while boys and men were more likely to be deficient in vitamin D. Those with chronic migraines were more likely to have CoQ10 and riboflavin deficiencies, compared to those with episodic migraines.
Neurological/psychological/mental disorders
Vitamin D also plays a major role in neurotransmission, and vitamin D deficiency has been associated with a number of neurological and brain disorders, including cognitive dysfunction and Alzheimer's disease (in one study, those who were most vitamin D deficient had a 31 percent increased relative risk of suffering neurocognitive decline), schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, stroke, epilepsy and depression.
Cold and flu
Vitamin D has potent infection-fighting abilities, and can be beneficial for both the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis, pneumonia, colds and flu.
What's the Best Way to Optimize Your Vitamin D Level?There is no doubt that vitamin D is imperative for good health and disease prevention. It may even help counteract some of the deleterious metabolic effects caused of certain drugs. But there's no lack of controversy when it comes to the issue of how to optimize your vitamin D. Most of the researchers specializing in vitamin D agree that sensible sun exposure is the ideal way though.
First of all, vitamin D3 supplements do not confer the identical effects as the vitamin D your skin generates in response to UV exposure. Secondly, sun exposure has additional health benefits that are unrelated to vitamin D production.
For example, UVA exposure produces nitric oxide (NO), which has a blood pressure-lowering effect. In fact, the entire solar spectrum is important for optimal health. We're not dependent solely on the narrowband wavelength of about 295 nanometers (nm), which is where vitamin D is made.
However, unless you make a concerted effort, chances are you're simply not getting enough sun exposure to raise your vitamin D level. As noted in a recent British study, adolescent Britons are not getting enough sun exposure even in the middle of summer to elevate their vitamin D to a healthy level, prompting the authors to suggest changes to the U.K.'s vitamin D guidelines.
As reported by Endocrine Today,14 "more than one-quarter of the adolescents in the study had inadequate vitamin D levels even during summer, the period when participants spent the most time outdoors." According to the authors:
"Current U.K. national guidance on vitamin D acquisition assumes those aged 4 to 64 years gain their vitamin D requirements from sunlight alone, thus there is no recommended nutrient intake. Meanwhile, substantial proportions of the global population, including the U.K., are reported to have low vitamin D status, and rickets has returned as a clinical concern ...
As U.K. current sun exposure patterns do not provide an adequate source of vitamin D, amendments are required to recommendations on vitamin D acquisition in this age group. While wider skin surface area exposure to sunlight might safely increase vitamin D status, oral vitamin D supplements may be beneficial during this critical time for bone development."
When to Take a Vitamin D3 SupplementIndeed, while sun exposure is the ideal route, it can be difficult for many to achieve an optimal vitamin D level this way. Your lifestyle, location, age, ethnicity, time of year, weather conditions and a number of other factors influence how much vitamin D your skin will make in response to sun exposure.
The fact that vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency is widespread even in sundrenched areas like India attests to this difficulty.
In some cases, making changes to your routine in order to get more regular sun exposure may do the trick. Key points to remember is that you need to expose large areas of skin to the sun, and on a frequent basis (ideally daily). However, under ideal conditions you may not need more than a few minutes of exposure.
The worst thing you could do is to bake in the sun for hours on end on the weekends. You definitely want to avoid burning your skin, as this will only cause skin damage that could potentially increase your risk for skin cancer.
If sensible sun exposure is either not feasible or isn't sufficient to raise your vitamin D to a healthy level, then taking an oral vitamin D3 supplement is a wise choice. If you decide to supplement with vitamin D please consider using one that also has vitamin K2, as it works synergistically with vitamin D to maximize the benefits.
The only way to know how your sun exposure is affecting your vitamin D level is to get your vitamin D tested. I recommend doing this twice a year, in January and June/July, to get a reading on your lowest and highest levels. This will tell you whether you might be in need of a supplement. It will also guide you in terms of dosage.
In short, your ideal dosage is one that will help you maintain a clinically relevant vitamin D level of 40 to 60 ng/ml year-round. For some this may be 2,000 IUs a day. For others, it could be 8,000 IUs a day or more.
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