A new study just published in the New England Journal of Medicine of over 31,000 people found that those taking the highest levels of Vitamin D (over 800IU which by many standards is not high at all) had a 30% reduction in him and 14% reduction in non-vertebral fractures. There was no significant reduction in people taking less than 800IU per day.

High doses of vitamin D prevent fractures in older people – as long as
they take the substance regularly, researchers reported.

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(From HealthDay News) — Pregnant women with low levels of vitamin D may be putting their children at risk for language difficulties, Australian researchers report.

Taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy may relieve the problem, they suggest.

“Adequate vitamin D levels among pregnant women may be important for the optimal development of their baby,” said lead researcher Andrew Whitehouse, an associate professor and reader in developmental psychopathology at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research at the University of Western Australia. “However, it is important for the findings of this study to be replicated before any strong conclusions are made.” Read the rest of this entry

For many years alternative MDs and practitioners have been against the use of a class of drugs known as bisphosphonates for improving bone density. The most popular bisphosphonates is Fosamax. The bones in our body are constantly breaking down and reforming. It is said by some that every 7 years you have a new skeleton. Bones are dynamic and living not static structures – hence lies the problem with taking bisphosphonates long term. Bones are broken down by cells called osteoclasts and new bone is created by cells called osteoblasts. Bisphosphonates block the formation of osteoclasts so that bone cannot be broken down. This most definitely will increase bone density and in the short run reduce fracture risk. However can you see what the long term consequences of this are? It creates brittle bones. The bone cells become dried out because they should have died and been replaced by new cells, but the bisphosphonates prevented the destruction of old cells. Another study was just released that showed long term use of bisphosphonates increases fracture risk.
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More than a decade ago (even just a few years ago) alternative MDs that used supplements and suggested patients take Vitamin D above the RDA of 400IU/day were called quacks.    The inaccurate ‘truth’ stated over and over again is that above 400IU/day you can get Vitamin D toxicity.    Read the rest of this entry

I know so many friends, especially ones with young kids, that have such a fear of sunlight. We need sun and it is my belief that children need to be in the sun, not coated with chemicals that are toxic and cause cancer! Yes sunscreen can cause cancer because we are lathering on chemicals that then cause oxidative damage to our DNA. The current medical thinking is that the most important reason we want to be in the sun is to increase our Vitamin D levels. Michael Holick MD a researcher at Boston University (an alma mata of mine) has a great presentation about Vitamin D and sunlight. Read the rest of this entry

Vitamin D was named the “Vitamin of the year” a couple of years ago by the nutrition journals.  There are new articles coming out every month about the impact this vitamin/hormone and its amazing amount of physiological functions.  There have been several studies that show Vitamin D’s role in modulating the immune system  including this one just published last week.  What this study tells us is that if you often gets upper respiratory infections then you may have low vitamin D levels.   So do ask your PCP to order you a Vitamin D panel.  Read the rest of this entry

There is an increasing awareness how a large percentage of the population is vitamin D deficient and the ill health effects caused by inadequate Vitamin D levels. If someones blood work comes back as below 30ng/ml I usually dose them with at least 10,000IU/day for 3 weeks then cut down to 5000IU/day for a couple of weeks then wait a week of no supplementation and retest. I usually hear comments about vitamin D toxicity, but as BU researcher Michael Holick has stated – “doctors have never seen a vitamin D toxicity – it is all theory”. Read the rest of this entry

The news has been loaded with a plethora of articles touting the benefits of vitamin D reported in nutrition journals. Based on research of the past few years it appears that Vitamin D plays a large role in regulating the immune system. Most recently the American Academy of Pediatrics have doubled its recommended daily dosage of Vitamin D for kids. Read the rest of this entry