There is a study making headlines today that we do not need more than 600IU of vitamin D per day. You probably have seen the headlines. What is ridiculous is that this study only looked at bone health as a marker and ignored the thousands of other metabolic functions that vitamin D plays. Ignore the headlines – take your vitamin D and get it measured properly!

I’ll let the experts reply to this article, but I cut and pasted below a response to this study from the Vitamin D Council.

(Do get your vitamin D levels checked, but when you do make sure you do not take any in supplementation form for at least 2-3 days prior to the blood draw.  Also it is the 25(OH)D level that is important although in some people the ratio of D2:D3 may be important such as some autoimmune diseases)

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After 13 year of silence, the quasi governmental agency, the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Food and Nutrition Board (FNB), today recommended that a three-pound premature infant take virtually the same amount of vitamin D as a 300 pound pregnant woman. While that 400 IU/day dose is close to adequate for infants, 600 IU/day in pregnant women will do nothing to help the three childhood epidemics most closely associated with gestational and early childhood vitamin D deficiencies: asthma, auto-immune disorders, and, as recently reported in the largest pediatric journal in the world, autism. Professor Bruce Hollis of the Medical University of South Carolina has shown pregnant and lactating women need at least 5,000 IU/day, not 600.

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There is a saying ‘that it is only skin deep’.   But really the skin is very often a reflection of digestive health.   In Chinese Medicine the skin is a reflection of the Lungs organ system and the Lungs are paired with the Large Intestine organ system.   For example asthmatic reactions are  often precipitated by ingestion of food allergens.    When dealing with something like psoriasis it can often be helped by using nutraceuticals (i.e. adding fish oils to reduce inflammation or taking Vitamin D to support immune/inflammatory response) or changes in diet (such as a gluten free diet).  The etiology of psoriasis is different for every body, however addressing nutritional imbalances thereby improving gut function, or changing diet and improving gut function can help reduce the itchy flaky skin. Read the rest of this entry

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I am giving a talk today at the Acton Board of Health’s “Wellness University”.   It was motivated by 2 new women patients coming into my office within hours that were put on statins because of mildly elevated cholesterol.    I wrote this talk specifically for today’s event.

Click here for PDF of Better Heart Healthy Ways

Yours In Health,

George Mandler CNS LDN LicAc

I get frustrated and sad when I hear a friends kid is on antibiotics, especially if they are under 2 years of age.   There is little doubt that antibiotics cause stress to the gut mucosa lining.   There is also clear indication that antibiotics may not be useful for the common infant/toddler ear and sinus infections.   The good news is that many pediatricians are cautious to only use antibiotics as a last resort.  There are other options such as dietary changes (often sugar or cow’s dairy can be a culprit), increasing vitamin D levels and using essential oils.   Chinese Medicine has a 2000+ year history of treating common infant/toddler issues that existed a millennium ago as they exist today.   There are many alternatives before one subjects their child to antibiotics. Read the rest of this entry

Back during my high school football days I recall Coach V. always giving players an earful if they missed school because they were sick. If we missed school we were not allowed to practice and if we missed school on a Friday we were not supposed to play on a Saturday. He’d say “You are supposed to be in shape, how can you get sick? If you were in better shape you wouldn’t get sick”. Read the rest of this entry

For many years I’ve strongly recommended to my perinatal patients that they take a high dose DHA fish oil supplement. DHA is docosahexaenoic acid found in fatty fish which is one of the beneficial longer chain fatty acids we get from fish – the other being EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid). I’m not sure where I first learned of the benefits of DHA for the brain and using it during pregnancy, but it makes sense given the plethora of research on its neurological benefits.

I had my wife take a high DHA fish oil throughout pregnancy and 2 years of breast feeding. The proof is in the pudding as our child will be attending Harvard next fall. He is only 2 years old.
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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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A recent study has shown that women who are the most stressed have the least likely chance to conceive.   Basically stress plays a huge role in conception which is why so many people that try and try to conceive cannot.   Then they go away on vacation and get pregnant.  We’ve heard these stories many times and I and others believe this is true, but the recent study has now given it more credence.

In this study they checked a marker of stress called alpha-amylase.   It is an enzyme made in the mouth that helps us digest carbohydrates.   But it has also been shown to increase during times of Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) dominance – meaning the flight or fight stage we’ve heard about.   Researchers use this marker for determining the stress response in the body because it is easy to measure and it is quick to respond.    Women who had the most trouble getting pregnant had higher levels of alpha-amylase than women who conceived.
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It is widely knows that the phytonutrient known as isothiocyanates have powerful anti-cancer effects.   Isothiocyanate are found in mustard, horseradish, and onions to name a few.  It is what gives the herb its powerful biting taste.    However another anti-cancer phytonutrient that doesn’t get as much attention is phenethyl ITC (PEITC).  Watercress contains high amounts of PEITC.  A recent study looked at what happens in women’s blood after ingesting watercress.  In particular they looked at a specific blood marker that shows a  reduction in cancer cells.   What they found is marked inhibition in cancer cell activity, even stronger inhibition than what is found with isothiocyanates.

So next time you have the opportunity to buy fresh watercress please do so.   Add some to your salad to give it some bite and reduce your cancer risk as well.    Besides watercress is delicious! Read the rest of this entry