More Secrets Of Vitamin D - Part 3

Following a brief break from Thanksgiving, I'm back for the final article of this 3-part series on More Secrets of Vitamin D.  If you are just coming across this article, it is based upon a presentation Dr. John Whitcomb gave in October of 2010.  If you want to get caught up, part 1 and part 2 can be found by following the links.

In my last article, I touched upon a few studies Dr. Whitcomb had brought up.  In this posting, I am going to cover the other studies he brought up.  I hope you find them as insightful as I did.  I'll also answer the question, can you overdose on vitamin D.

If you will recall from part 1, once we get into the fall and winter your body does not produce vitamin D from sunlight if you live north of Atlanta, GA.  As such, it becomes necessary to supplement in order to keep your blood level up.  Here are a few more studies which support this.

In the July 2006 edition of the Journal of Science, it was reported that vitamin D actually makes your immune system work better.  At a blood level of 32, a protein called catheliciden is released.  However, is is NOT released when your blood levels are below that magic number of 32.

This protein is a natural anti-biotic.  It enables monocytes, which kill viruses.  This lends credibility to the theory of why we have a cold and flu season in the winter.  In fact, in Wisconsin the influenza season starts right around October 1st.  Coincidentally, our ability to produce vitamin D from sunlight stops around September 1st, dropping our blood levels.

These monocytes also kill tuberculosis.  The treatment many years ago for tuberculosis patients was to admit them into a sanitarium and have them sit in the sun.  And, this treatment worked!  Could it be because of the additional vitamin D production?

Another test was conducted at a California prison for the criminally insane.  A psychiatrist measured the serum levels of vitamin D in convicts.  In the focus group, he supplemented them with 2000IU of vitamin D every day.  An influenza outbreak came to the prison in March of 2006.  Not a single person of the 45 supplementing with vitamin D came down with the flu; whereas, 45% of the rest of the population became sick.

April 2010 - Japan.  Japanese scientists conducted a randomized, controlled trial with school children and influenza.  Children who had been immunized still saw a 19% infection rate.  However, children who were supplementing with 5000IU of vitamin D only saw a 10% infection rate.  Almost a 50% reduction!  Children who had no immunization had a 40% infection rate.

Another stunning report comes from the Archives of Internal Medicine where they found a 7% reduction in mortality from any amount of vitamin D.

in May of 2010, the Intermountain Heart Study conducted a randomized trial of vitamin D and heart disease.  It was scheduled to run for 5 years, but it was canceled after only 1 year.  Not because people were dying, but because of the incredible results.  They saw a 70% reduction in death in the vitamin D group where the men being studied had a blood level over 43.  In fact, you are twice as likely to survive a stroke or heart attack if your blood level is above 32 when compared to someone who has a level below 20.  If you do not supplement in the winter, this becomes a distinct possibility.

If you have been keeping up with these articles and have taken note of the studies, you may be thinking vitamin D is sounding pretty incredible.  But, you may also be asking if you can overdose on vitamin D.  The answer is...not really.  To date, no one has ever died from a vitamin D overdose.  You can take 10,000IU of vitamin D every day for the rest of your life and be safe.

Getting a shot of 600,000IU once/year is a safe level.  There have been cases of individuals getting 50,000,000IU.  They did become disoriented and confused, but did not die.  If you take 40,000IU/day for 6-months it will become toxic.  But even then, you will only suffer disorientation and confusion.  Within a week you will be back to normal.

So how do you go about getting started with vitamin D supplementation?  To start, Dr. Whitcomb recommends finding a pharmaceutical grade vitamin D supplement, as this is the only way to be certain you are getting the right amounts in the most bioavailable form.  Meaning, it will absorb into your body.  He suggests starting with a "loading dose" of 10,000IU/day for 1 month to get your blood levels up.  From there, taking 5000IU/day should get your blood level to about 60.  The optimal level is 80, but to really see the benefits you should be in a range of 53-60.  Ask your doctor to test your vitamin D blood levels to see where you are at.

Vitamin D supplementation isn't just for adults either.  In Finland, they give children 2000IU/day from the time of birth.  There is no toxicity at these levels for children.  They have also seen an 80% reduction in Type II diabetes.

I want to thank Dr. Whitcomb, once again, for this outstanding presentation.  Vitamin D is starting to gain recognition in the medical community, and the information needs to be spread to as many people as possible.  Isn't it better to prevent disease from happening, rather than treating it when it happens?  This just helps your body's natural disease prevention.  As always, if you have questions you should consult with your physician.  Bring along these studies if you need to.

In an effort to publicize this information and make as many people as possible aware of the benefits of vitamin D, you can get a free copy of Dr. Whitcomb's presentation simply by filling out the form located at the top of the page.  There is no catch...Dr. Whitcomb has made it clear that education and information is the way to go.

To Your Health

Scott Huff has been helping people obtain optimal levels of vitamins and minerals through the use of  pharmaceutical grade nutritional supplements.  He is also experienced in helping people create an alternate source of income, simply by educating and helping others with their health.  For more information on this unique opportunity, please watch this short video tour, or send an email with any questions to:  huffster@usana.com.

More Secrets Of Vitamin D - Part 2

In my previous post I told you about the excellent presentation on vitamin D given by Dr. Whitcomb for Aurora Health on Oct 13th, 2010.  Essentially, the groundwork was laid in this first post.

In this second post, I'm going to relay some of the stunning research and conclusions Dr. Whitcomb brought up.  It's sure to raise an eyebrow.

The first bit of information to store is the 20-20-20 rule.  According to Dr. Whitcomb, this rule states that if a white 20yr old with 50% of the skin exposed gets 20min of mid-day sun on the 20th of June the body will create 20,000IU of vitamin D over the next 24hrs.  That translates to 1,000IU/minute of exposure.  However, different skin types result in changes to this rule.  For instance, and African-American would need 4-5x as much sun.  And the elderly would also need 4-5x as much due to the fact that our ability to create vitamin D from the sun decreases with age.

A 1yr old child will create about 200IU/minute of sun exposure.  And a young African American makes about 160IU/minute.  Drinking a glass of milk would give you 100IU of vitamin D.  So you would only need to drink 200 glasses of milk/day to get the same benefits as 20min in the sun.

If you put on sunscreen before even stepping out the door, and SFP-8 will reduce vitamin D production by 95% and an SPF-15 by 98%.  Does this mean you should never use sunscreen?  No.  But you should probably get some sun exposure before putting it on.  Just 15min of exposure between 10am and 3pm is all you need.

Dr. Whitcomb then got into specifics on vitamin D blood levels.  32ng is the minimum level we should be at.  An optimal amount is 60ng.  Generally, we are somewhere between 32-40ng in the summer, but only 15-20ng in the winter.  To get to a level of 60ng, we need 5000IU/day.

Why is the 32ng level so important?  Remember, vitamin D is actually a hormone which tells cells to start growing.  This includes white blood cells, which fight off viruses.  At a vitamin D blood level under 32ng, it no longer functions.  Interestingly enough, we generally hit 32ng around Sept 1st, again, due to the decrease in the amount of sun we get (for people north of Atlanta).  Just as interesting, the flu season starts about 1 month later.  Dr. Whitcomb suggest that influenza is actually a vitamin D deficiency.

One placebo controlled study in which people were given 5000IU/day of vitamin D had their blood level increase to 60ng in 1 year.  The density of their hip bone also increased by 22%.  Important because 25% of people will suffer a broken hip between the ages of 75 and 80.

Does vitamin D have an effect on cancer?  It would appear so.  In Wisconsin, the risk of breast cancer is 33% higher than in the southern U.S.  In fact, it is not just Wisconsin, but all northern states have a higher risk of breast cancer than the southern states.

A study was performed at Creighton University and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.  They were studying the effects of vitamin D and the reduction of fractures over a period of 25-30 years.  However, the study was stopped after only 5 years when it was discovered that these patients had a 76% reduction in cancer within the group receiving 1100IU of vitamin D and 1g of calcium.

In the 3rd part of this series, I will report on a few other studies Dr. Whitcomb brought up, as well as information on the maximum amounts of vitamin D you can take.  Does vitamin D really help fend off the flu and help with heart health?  Can you overdose on vitamin D?  Can children take vitamin D supplements, and if so, how much?  These questions will all be answered in the 3rd and final part to this series.

Scott Huff has been helping people obtain optimal levels of vitamins and minerals through the use of  pharmaceutical grade nutritional supplements.  He is also experienced in helping people create an alternate source of income, simply by educating and helping others with their health.  For more information on this unique opportunity, please watch this short video tour, or send an email with any questions to:  huffster@usana.com.

More Secrets Of Vitamin D

On Oct 13th, 2010, Dr. John E. Whitcomb gave a presentation at Aurora Health in Sheboygan,WI.  He covered multiple topics regarding vitamin D, including:  the benefits of vitamin D, why you should be using a vitamin D supplement, and vitamin d toxicity...among other topics.  You can get a DVD copy of his presentation by filling out the form on the right.

While I have done several blog posts in the past regarding the benefits of vitamin D (Vitamin D, Part 1, Vitamin D vs flu shot, and Do UV Light Bulbs Produce Vitamin D), Dr Whitcomb provided even more information on the subject.  Enough to do another multi-part series on this important vitamin.

First, let's get a foundation down and discuss some of the history and facts about vitamin D.  In the early 1900's, 90% of children had rickets...a vitamin D deficiency illness.  In the 1930's, milk was supplemented with vitamin D and this helped to drastically reduce the cases of rickets.

Vitamin D works as a hormone and tells cells to start growing.  It turns "on" 2000 genes and, interestingly, "sticks" where auto immune disease and cancers are made.  Keep that in mind.

As I have mentioned in my previous posts, our skin creates vitamin D from the sun.  However, as we grow older our skin produces less of it.  In fact, a 70yr old makes only 25% of what a 20yr old makes.  Another interesting fact is we cannot make vitamin D from the sun north of 35-degrees Latitude in the winter.  So if you live north of Atlanta, GA, you are not getting any vitamin D from the sun.  It's simply not at the correct angle in the horizon.

Let's go back to the rickets example from 1900.  Back then, and before vitamin D, they cured rickets by taking a tablespoon of cod liver oil, which happens to contain vitamin D.  In fact, it is about 400IU.  Which is why the RDI value of vitamin D today is 400IU.  As I have explained before, the RDIs are the MINIMAL amount we need to take in order to fend off these "classic" diseases.

So if we can't make vitamin D in the winter, you may ask yourself how the Inuit people living in the arctic can survive.  After all, do they not experience winter for half of the year?  That is very true.  However, their main diet is fatty fish...a source of vitamin D.  In fact, the people of Norway have a similar diet...and their rates of Muscular Sclerosis is "dramatically lower" than in the U.S.  Why is that?

That is exactly what I will cover in the next blog post.  I'll get into some specific studies regarding vitamin D,  I will also relay what Dr. Whitcomb stated were safe, advisable, and toxic levels of vitamin D.  Why influenza may be a "vitamin D deficiency" disease and how vitamin D affects your risk of diabetes, cancer, and Muscular Sclerosis  I think you will find the next article very eye-opening when it comes to potential disease prevention.

Again, I want to thank Dr. Whitcomb and Aurora Health for allowing me to report on his presentation.  The views presented here are his.  They have also given me permission to offer his presentation to you...free of charge.  Again, if you would like to receive a DVD of his presentation, fill out the form in the upper right.

To Your Health

Scott Huff has been helping people obtain optimal levels of vitamins and minerals through the use of  pharmaceutical grade nutritional supplements.  He is also experienced in helping people create an alternate source of income, simply by educating and helping others with their health.  For more information on this unique opportunity, please watch this short video tour, or send an email with any questions to:  huffster@usana.com.

Parabens And Cancer - What Is The Link?

There are now studies which link parabens to breast cancer.  So what exactly is a paraben?  In short, these are chemical compounds used in a variety of products as a preservative.  Specifically, you can find them in cosmetics and deodorant.  The Breast Cancer Fund goes into a more specific definition.

It is a simple process to determine if any products you currently use contain parabens.  But first, you'll need to take a trip to your bathroom.  Grab any shampoo, lotion, cosmetic, or deodorant you use and take a look at the ingredients.  If you see any ingredient which ends with "paraben", then you know you are using one of these products.

Some common ingredients you find may include:  methylparaben, ethylparaben, and butylparaben.  Now, while there have been studies showing a link, there has yet to be any concrete evidence of parabens causing breast cancer.  Additional research is being conducted.

In the meantime, is there anything you can do about it?  Assuming you want to err on the side of caution.  The answer is fairly simple.  You just need to look for products which are paraben free.  This can be done by paying attention to the ingredients listed on the bottle, or by purchasing paraben free products from a trusted company.

As I said, research is still being performed on parabens and they are still approved by the FDA.  But then again, how many other FDA-approved products have been taken off the shelves due to causing harm or even death?  Consumer beware.

To Your Health

Scott Huff has been helping people obtain optimal levels of vitamins and minerals through the use of  pharmaceutical grade nutritional supplements.  He is also experienced in helping people create an alternate source of income, simply by educating and helping others with their health.  For more information on this unique opportunity, please watch this short video tour, or send an email with any questions to:  huffster@usana.com.

Tips To Stay Healthy This Winter

Winter can be fun. Who doesn’t enjoy building a snow fort in the backyard? However, winter is also a time when many dangers loom large. Whether from the cold temperatures, the shorter days with less sunlight, or even the large family get-togethers, your immune system is more susceptible in this season than any other.

Here are some helpful tips to make sure that you have the upper hand this year in the fight against winter.

• Wash your hands frequently during the day, not just before meals or after using the restroom. You never know when germs have made their way onto your hands and are ready to invade your system.
• Eat raw foods that are rich in antioxidants such as blueberries, apples, and pecans. You may not know it, but red, pinto, and kidney beans are also packed with immune-boosting antioxidants.
• Exercising and increasing physical activity helps your immune system stay in shape too. Regular exercise can increase your body’s ability to deal with stresses and builds up stronger immune defenses.
• Use a disinfectant spray in your workspace or areas where you or your guests may frequently visit.
• Stay hydrated by drinking water instead of coffee or soda. Sugar can weaken the ability of white blood cells to defend against bacteria for up to five hours after consumption.
• Take a pharmaceutical grade Vitamin D supplement to make up for the lack of vitamin D production from sunlight.

To Your Health

Scott Huff has been helping people obtain optimal levels of vitamins and minerals through the use of  pharmaceutical grade nutritional supplements.  He is also experienced in helping people create an alternate source of income, simply by educating and helping others with their health.  For more information on this unique opportunity, please watch this short video tour, or send an email with any questions to:  huffster@usana.com.

Justifing The Cost Of Nutritional Supplements

You have decided to start taking a nutritional supplement to better your health.  Bombarded by advertisements and network marketers, you decide to just purchase a popular brand name, or maybe the cheapest supplement you can find on the shelf.  But is this really giving you any benefit?

In a previous post I answered the question, "All Supplements Are The Same, Right?".  If you haven't read this post, it goes hand-in-hand with this one.  Essentially, I run down the differences between these store bought supplements (yes, even the popular ones you see on TV) and pharmaceutical grade supplements.

But how can you hope to justify the increased cost of pharmaceutical grade supplements.  Some store bought multivitamins go for around $6/bottle and will last quite awhile.  Whereas, pharmaceutical grade supplements may cost $40, $50, or more for only a 1 or 2 month supply.  Common sense would tell you to just go with the cheapest product out there.  Afterall, all supplements are the same.

Suffice to say, this is not the case.  I cover this subject in great detail in my "All Supplements Are The Same, Right?" post.  But to summarize, store bought supplements follow different regulations than pharmaceutical grade supplements.  For instance, fillers and additives are often used in these store bought supplements.  Meaning, if they advertise 100% of the RDI of, say, Vitamin C you may only be getting 50%.  The rest are fillers.

Then there is the problem of using synthetic materials to produce these supplements.  Take Vitamin E for example.  There are two types used in supplements:  d-alpha tocopheryl and dl-alpha tocopheryl.  The d-alpha version is natural, will break down, and absorb into your body.  The dl-alpha version is synethetic  and does NOT absorb into the body nearly as well, if at all.  Take a look at this picture:

This picture is an x-ray of some store bought supplements in the colon.  That's just one short stop away from the toilet.  In fact, many nurses call these well-known supplements, "bed pan pills".  Because they come out the same way they go in.  Why?  Because they do not break down or absorb into your body.

What it boils down to is this.  If you are spending $6 for a bottle of supplements at your local store, and they don't break down or absorb into your body, you are literally flushing your money down the toilet.  Not to mention the possibility of not even receiving the amounts advertised on the label.

A pharmaceutical grade supplement needs to be over 99% pure.  Higher grade materials means they will absorb into your body.  In fact, many of these companies will guarantee their bio-availability (absorption).  They are also required to contain the amounts advertised on the label in every dose.  Store bought supplements are not. 

As a result of using higher grade materials to make a pharmaceutical grade supplement, you pay more for that product.  But I ask you, isn't the higher cost worth it if you know these supplements are actually absorbing into your body and providing a benefit, rather than getting flushed down the toilet?  That's the question you need to ask yourself.

To Your Health.

Scott Huff has been helping people obtain optimal levels of vitamins and minerals through the use of  pharmaceutical grade nutritional supplements.  He is also experienced in helping people create an alternate source of income, simply by educating and helping others with their health.  For more information on this unique opportunity, please watch this short video tour, or send an email with any questions to:  huffster@usana.com.

Warning: Diet Soda Linked To Premature Birth

A recent study in Denmark, and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggests drinking diet soda can increase the risk of premature birth.

In the study, a group of 60,000 pregnant women were followed.  Women who had at least one diet soda per day were 38% more likely to have a premature baby versus women who did not drink diet soda.  Even more frightening, women who had at least four diet sodas per day were 80% more likely to deliver prematurely.  Results were the same for both normal-weight and overweight women.

According to the March of Dimes, 13% of babies born are born prematurely.  Therefore, this study suggests women who have at least one diet soda would see that risk rise to 17% and up to 22% for those who consume at least four diet sodas.

There appears to be an indirect link with the artificial sweetener, aspartame, and premature births.  According to the Reuters article, "Aspartame breaks down into methanol and other substances in the body, which can in turn be converted to toxic substances such as formaldehyde and formic acid, the researchers explain. And studies in non-human primates have linked even very low exposure to methanol to shortened pregnancy and labor complications."

To Your Health

Scott Huff has been helping people obtain optimal levels of vitamins and minerals through the use of  pharmaceutical grade nutritional supplements.  He is also experienced in helping people create an alternate source of income, simply by educating and helping others with their health.  For more information on this unique opportunity, please watch this short video tour, or send an email with any questions to:  huffster@usana.com.

Risk Of Lymphoma Decreased With Vitamin C

Another Quick Hit from Dr. Ray Strand:

"I have always been a proponent of supplementing a healthy diet.  I recommend that you eat 6 to 10  servings of fruits and vegetables each and every day along with taking high-quality, complete and balanced supplements.  Well, a study reported by Mayo Clinic looked at over 35,000 Iowa women between the ages of 55 and 69.  The researchers looked at the health benefits of consuming additional antioxidant nutrients from fruits and vegetables.  Those with the higher intake of vitamin C had a 22% decrease risk in developing lymphoma.  They also noted that increase intake of alpha-carotene, proanthocyanidins (found in grape seed extract), and manganese were associated with a 29, 30, and 38% reduction in the incidence of lymphoma."

To Your Health