Vitamin D: My Personal Journey And Experience

I have to admit…with all the knowledge I’ve gained over the years regarding the potential health benefits of supplements, not even I was aware of the effects of vitamin D.  Sure, I knew it was called the “sunshine vitamin” because our skin is able to synthesize UV light from the sun and convert it to vitamin D.  I also knew you could receive more from dairy products, such as milk, cheese, and yogurt.  But I didn’t “see the light” until earlier this year.  That was when I began to really dig into the benefits of vitamin D.

A Theory is born.

You see, I’ve had a theory for quite some time.  Here in Wisconsin, our cold and flu season begins in the Oct/Nov time frame.  And it lasts until early spring.  I started to wonder WHY we don’t see more colds and cases of influenza in the spring or summer.  The old song-and-dance from your mother may have gone something like this:  “Make sure you put a hat on and dress warm when going outside or you’ll catch a cold”.  Sound familiar?  If you think about it, it makes sense.  You get colds in the winter.  So as soon as I would get one, I would go back and try to remember when I had gone outside without a coat or hat.

The problem is, it’s not true.   Even Mythbusters debunked it in one of their shows.  The fact is, these are spread through germs and contact with people.  Someone sneezes into their hand, then grabs a doorknob, shakes someone’s hand, and passes a glass around.  Everything that person touches becomes a little time-released germ bomb.

So if colds and influenza are actually spread around from these germ bombs and NOT cold weather, then why wouldn’t we see more cases in the summer.  If they truly have nothing to do with the temperature outside, we shouldn’t have a cold and flu season…it should be a year-round thing.  But that’s not the case…WHY?

Getting Closer to the Truth.

I started to put the pieces of the puzzle together.  I knew we absorbed vitamin D from the sun.  I also knew, in order to accomplish this, we needed our skin exposed while outdoors.  Outside of a couple crazy fans watching the Packers play at Lambeau Field in December…without shirts on…the odds are pretty slim one would have much of any skin exposed during the harsh Wisconsin winters.  Not to mention the fact people tend to stay indoors more often.  Could this be the reason we have colds in the winter?  That’s when I started researching.

It turns out, I wasn’t far off.  While skin exposure to the sun is very important, the main issue here is the angle of the sun in the sky.  During the fall, through the winter, and into spring the sun is at such a low angle in the sky that our bodies do not absorb the UV rays critical for the creation of vitamin D.  You could sit outside in a swimsuit for 3hrs with snow blowing around you and it wouldn’t help your vitamin D creation one bit.

Upon listening to presentations by Dr. Myron Wentz and Dr. John Whittcomb, I felt compelled to write multiple blog entries on vitamin D.  And as you have probably noticed, this is the topic I have written about the most.  Namely because I feel it is information everyone should have.  But this time, I wanted to pass along my own personal experiences.

Using Vitamin D to Change Lives.

Following my research, I began to supplement my diet with additional vitamin D.  I am already receiving 2000IU from the multi-vitamin and fish oil I take.  I began taking an additional 2000IU back in early October when I knew I wouldn’t be receiving any more from the sun.  Since then, I have increased that amount and have been taking 6000IU every day.  My wife also began taking an increased amount of vitamin D.  And after watching Dr. Whittcomb’s presentation and reading the research from Japan regarding children taking vitamin D, I started giving my 2 children 2000IU/day.  The tablet we use is about the size of a Tic-Tac and is chewable, so it’s easy enough for them to take.

Regardless of the recent FDA ruling to limit yourself to only 600IU of vitamin D/day, based upon the scientific studies I had read, my belief was, and still is, that we are perfectly safe.  In fact, physicians are recommending their patients take 5000IU/day in lieu of receiving the flu shot.  Suffice to say, my personal opinion is that the FDA ruling was either a matter of being overly cautious or an attempt at protecting the pharmaceutical industry.  Perhaps both.

Here we are with January coming to a close.  To date, we have had no sickness in our household this winter.  An occasional runny nose, sure.  But no colds or flu.  An amazing feat considering my wife works in a hospital and my children attend daycare, which is a germ-bomb factory.

How Well Has It Been Working?

Now, am I saying my family’s results are typical and you should immediately go out and start taking vitamin D?  Yes and no.  It is my opinion that it can only help…there are no negative effects that I am aware of.  But I’m also not a doctor and can’t “officially” give out that type of advice.  So it’s up to you to make your own decision.  If you want to base it off my family’s experience, or the various other posts I’ve made is entirely up to you.  But before you start up on something, you may also want to consider consulting with your family physician and looking into a pharmaceutical grade supplement.

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,  send an email with questions to:  huffster@usana.com.

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.