I found a good summary with interesting history up to and including April 2013 research about vitamin D by Dr Matt ND, and am providing the link to his website and the entire article below the link so that you will be encouraged to see how he provides references to his work and 'the whole thing'; there are, naturally, other topics at his website of equally well-done quality. I encourage people to connect from here to quality providers and information.

One thing I'd like to add: Since it's ultimately a hormone, I've been educated by ITC Natural Wellness Pharmacy's late, great co-president Gary King, RPh and his still alive-and-kicking partner Allan Jolly, RPh, ND that supplementing some with bone builders through the gut only gets you so much benefit; sublingual drops and the skin of the mouth and throat are a better uptake mechanism, more similar to the sun on our skin. That made sense to me, and the drops I purchase from them have been $19/bottle which would supply an average user for about 3 months; I was tested and needing to take about double what most people need. So I ALWAYS suggest to people to put it at the TOP of their lists to get vitamin D testing done and not to presume based on how much you supplement.   ~~ Mardy 

www.drmattnd.com/articlesinformation/vitamin-indecision.html [1]

Vitamin InDecision:

A Case of Split Personality in Science

When it comes to the story of vitamin D, it all started with a simple misunderstanding, and then things generally went downhill from there. You see, vitamin D isn't really a vitamin at all: it belongs to a class of hormones known as secosteroids, which are produced in the human body when cholesterol in skin is exposed to ultraviolet light from the sun.

Though Adolf Windaus was awarded the Nobel prize for chemistry in 1928 for his work on the discovery of vitamin D, it has taken the rest of us about 75 years to even begin to fully appreciate the role of vitamin D in the body. Far beyond regulation of calcium absorption, we now know that it plays an integral role in the function of the immune system, as well as exhibits clinically significant neurological and endocrine effects.

Vitamin D Insufficiency is Common

A large Brazilian study, published in April 2013, found vitamin D insufficiency increased as a function of latitude. That is to say, the further away from the equator the participants lived, the more likely they were to have low vitamin D levels. But even in tropical regions, vitamin D insufficiency was found to be common. That probably doesn't bode too well to those of us living in Michigan.

Another study of those with sleep disorders found that 54% of the participants had insufficient levels of vitamin D in their blood.

Meanwhile, incidence of skin cancer is on the rise, and public health officials have become quite urgent about reminding us to slather ourselves in sunscreen whenever we walk outside. So what gives? Have we really evolved to require such large amounts of sunshine for optimal functioning, only to risk having our lives cut short by melanoma? I am personally inclined to say no- that's not the way nature intended for it to be. At the very least, we now have sunscreen options that are free from chemicals, such as parabens, for which scientists are currently debating research suggesting a link to breast cancer.

Unfortunately, we just haven't yet quite figured out the vitamin D enigma. On the one hand, we have decisive evidence to support benefits of higher levels in the blood, while on the other we also know that the amount of sun exposure required to maintain those levels, even if possible, would greatly increase our risk of skin cancer. In the meantime, we have dietary supplements.

How Much is Enough?

In a manner, vitamin D was the original dietary supplement, and has been added to milk for decades. However studies have found fortification practices in the United States to be inadequate. In 2011, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released updated recommendations for vitamin D intake which- while a substantial increase- were met with dissatisfaction by many other experts in the field. Meanwhile, as the academics continue to banter, the public is left scratching their heads.

While current IOM guidelines recommend a daily intake of 600-800 IU for most adults, a randomized clinical trial recently found that supplementation with up to 1000 IU produced no significant change in vitamin D levels in otherwise healthy adolescents. Other clinical trials are finding positive benefits for those with preexisting conditions at levels up to 7000 IU per day.

One controlled study found beneficial effects among elite ballet dancers given 2000 IU per day during the winter, in the form of lower injury and improved muscle performance. While it is still anybody guess where the final consensus will come to rest for general supplementation in otherwise healthy individuals- it is the guess of this author that it will land at the 2000 IU mark.

Supplements and Testing are Cheap and Safe

One redeeming aspect of this neverending story of confusion is that vitamin D supplements are both inexpensive and relatively safe to use. A year's supply for regular use can be had for about thirty dollars, and it appears difficult to imagine an adult getting into toxicity issues on anything less than 10,000 IU a day.

What is more, a recent cost-comparison study found that screening for vitamin D levels ahead of time to determine who required supplementation was even less costly than administering supplements to everybody. Which means that vitamin D testing (currently around $60) is likely to soon be covered by your medical insurance, if not already. And who knows- maybe one day soon it will even cover the supplements!

Considering how safe and inexpensive vitamin D supplements and testing are, one must acknowledge a certain degree of absurdity in spending untold dollars on investigations in order to arrive at a scientific consensus of what should be a simple appeal to common sense. But our curiosity does ever get the best of us, and we humans often enjoy a good debate.

In the meantime, if you just so happen to be a Michigander whose limbs have not seen much sun since October of last year- chances are you could benefit from supplementation with vitamin D. But don't let that stop you from soaking up a little sunshine while out and about. The benefits of fifteen to thirty minutes a day before sunscreen is likely to far outweigh the increased risk of skin cancer, even for the fairest among us. But that is just my opinion- I don't have any scientific evidence to back that one up so you will just have to decide for yourself.

Journal References

Arantes HP, Kulak CA, Fernandes CE, Zerbini C, Bandeira F, Barbosa IC, Brenol JC, Russo LA, Borba VC, Chiang AY, Bilezikian JP, Lazaretti-Castro M. Correlation between 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and latitude in Brazilian postmenopausal women: from the Arzoxifene Generations Trial. Osteoporos Int. 2013 Apr 30. [Epub ahead of print]

Calvo MS, Whiting SJ, Barton CN. Vitamin D fortification in the United States and Canada: current status and data needs. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004 Dec;80(6 Suppl):1710S-6S.

Chakhtoura M, Azar ST. The role of vitamin d deficiency in the incidence, progression, and complications of type 1 diabetes mellitus. Int J Endocrinol. 2013;2013:148673. doi:10.1155/2013/148673 [2]

Kirchhof MG, de Gannes GC. The health controversies of parabens. Skin Therapy Lett. 2013 Feb;18(2):5-7

Lee RH, Weber T, Colon-Emeric C. Comparison of Cost-Effectiveness of Vitamin D Screening with That of Universal Supplementation in Preventing Falls in Community-Dwelling Older Adults. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2013 Apr 30. doi: 10.1111/jgs.12213 [3]

McCarty DE, Reddy A, Keigley Q, Kim PY, Cohen S, Marino AA. Nonspecific pain is a marker for hypovitaminosis D in patients undergoing evaluation for sleep disorders: a pilot study.Nat Sci Sleep. 2013 Mar 9;5:37-42. doi: 10.2147/NSS.S42641 [4]

Putman MS, Pitts SA, Milliren CE, Feldman HA, Reinold K, Gordon CM. A randomized clinical trial of vitamin d supplementation in healthy adolescents. J Adolesc Health. 2013 May;52(5):592-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.10.270. [5]

Ross AC, Manson JE, Abrams SA, Aloia JF, Brannon PM, Clinton SK, Durazo-Arvizu RA, Gallagher JC, Gallo RL, Jones G, Kovacs CS, Mayne ST, Rosen CJ, Shapses SA. The 2011 report on dietary reference intakes for calcium and vitamin D from the Institute of Medicine: what clinicians need to know. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Jan;96(1):53-8. doi: 10.1210/jc.2010-2704. [6]

Suzuki M, Yoshioka M, Hashimoto M, Murakami M, Noya M, Takahashi D, Urashima M.Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of vitamin D supplementation in Parkinson disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 May;97(5):1004-13. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.112.051664. [7]

Wamberg L, Pedersen SB, Richelsen B, Rejnmark L. The Effect of High-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation on Calciotropic Hormones and Bone Mineral Density in Obese Subjects with Low Levels of Circulating 25-Hydroxyvitamin D: Results from a Randomized Controlled Study. Calcif Tissue Int. 2013 Apr 17. [Epub ahead of print]

Wolf G. The discovery of vitamin D: the contribution of Adolf Windaus. J Nutr. 2004 Jun;134(6):1299-302.

Image © User:Hungkero [8] / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0

Comments

Sat, 08/16/2014 - 8:46pm

#1 [10]

Mardy Ross

Title: LumiGRATE Poster - Top of the Totem Pole

Joined: Feb 16 2009

Posts: 2032

A conventional source that provides good yet easy case examples

I found this article (from Journal of Chiropractic Medicine) because of Searching to refresh my memory what allopathic medicine's reference range is for vitamin D, and thought it would be good to add onto this topic for the Lumigrate YOUsers.  If you go, you'll see that it offers two good case examples that I think will help people apply this information to themselves or those they are helping with their health care.  It's a small study done on self report about olfaction (sense of smell) before and after supplementation of D3, and has some very interesting symptoms that the patients were reported to experience, such as anxiety.

Naturally, a small clinic does not have the funding to do the kind of research that the conventional medical system funds, so please keep that in mind when you're looking at information.  In this case, the backdrop information provided is congruent with what is at the topic starting this thread, relative to it being a form of hormone, and they elaborate in two paragraphs about the neurological effects of vitamin D.  It's short and I thought it was interesting. I realized we'd not had anything on Lumigrate about olfaction, that I can recall, and you'll see that the number of people who have impaired sense of smell is quite high. 

Keep in mind the statistics they have about % of people testing low are from conventional means for the data, and as we're aware here at Lumigrate, the conventional 'bar' for 'normal' and not is very different than what other types of medical provider believe. So if they were to have a big database everything got reported to the way the conventional medical system does, then you'd see the numbers being higher for % with deficiencies.  I've heard functional medicine providers say the have started testing everyone because it was 'rampant'. 

The purpose of publishing this per the authors was to help find a screening item to trigger testing. So naturally this might be a good thing to consider, but it also might be that with the importance of vitamin D, that everyone simply gets that done. One way or another, remember there are many ways to get medical advise today besides paying a physician at an office in person that connects to a laboratory for sending the blood to. There are means other than blood and home test kits and etc.  If it has anything to do with mental health, there's a wonderful resource I've linked to from a topic at Lumigrate, if you search here on the words Florida, pyroluri (or pyrole disorder), and I would imagine 'mental health' would do it, you'll see where they're near the end of a thorough thread about pyrole disorder/ pyroluria. * (see below for mor information on finding this group)

Here's the link to the topic about the olfaction, neuro information about D3, and the case examples I think you'll benefit from perhaps. 

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3315864/ [11]

---

* Note: The info about the Florida clinic NP/MD with test kits and supplements for things affecting the mind/brain etc. would be in the forum on "environmental illness / wellness".   The group I'd like for you to see if you're interested are a psychiatric NP and MD who collaborate at the clinic she started in the late 1990s, if I remember the story correctly about how she could no longer handle treating patients in the allopathic system once she knew the functional medicine information (a.k.a. 'truth' in some circles).  They have a shopping cart and charge in 20 and 30 minute increments for their time at $180/hour, which is very reasonable.  They have all kinds of test kits for things that affect people's minds/ behavioral health ('brain' / nervous system, etc), as well as supplements specific for the things they advise and specialize in.  

I know these things are difficult to track down sometimes and ascertain. That topic links to another option for purchasing some testing things, so naturally there are other options, I just have found their website information to be superb and their a very interesting and established business. Here's the link to the topic where I provide information they have about pyrole disorder and some about them: www.lumigrate.com/forum/pyroluria-kryptopyrroluria-kpu-or-hemopyrrollactamuria-hmu-many-names-causes-connections [12]

I can't provide the usual snippet, I was going to bring two paragraphs here but the website there won't let me copy anything SO you'll just have to trust me when I say 'try it, you might like it'. 

__________________

Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! is my motto. I'm Mardy Ross, and I founded Lumigrate in 2008 after a career as an occupational therapist with a background in health education and environmental research program administration. Today I function as the desk clerk for short questions people have, as well as 'concierge' services offered for those who want a thorough exploration of their health history and direction to resources likely to progress their health according to their goals. Contact Us comes to me, so please do if you have questions or comments. Lumigrate is "Lighting the Path to Health and Well-Being" for increasing numbers of people. Follow us on social networking sites such as: Twitter: http://twitter.com/lumigrate [9] and Facebook. (There is my personal page and several Lumigrate pages. For those interested in "groovy" local education and networking for those uniquely talented LumiGRATE experts located in my own back yard, "LumiGRATE Groove of the Grand Valley" is a Facebook page to join. (Many who have joined are beyond our area but like to see the Groovy information! We not only have FUN, we are learning about other providers we can be referring patients to and 'wearing a groove' to each other's doors -- or websites/home offices!) By covering some of the things we do, including case examples, it reinforces the concepts at Lumigrate.com as well as making YOU feel that you're part of a community. Which you ARE at Lumigrate!

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Sun, 01/25/2015 - 9:44am

#2 [16]

Mardy Ross

Title: LumiGRATE Poster - Top of the Totem Pole

Joined: Feb 16 2009

Posts: 2032

Adding Onto the Other Main Topic About D, Here's Link:

www.lumigrate.com/forum/flu-prevention-lifestyle-basics-plus-vitamin-d-japanese-study-kids-20089-flu-season#comment-2413 [17]

This ^^ is the link to a comment that I just updated to put a new resource I found that has 4 tests for looking at what is going on related to vitamin D (the hormone) in a person with two minerals that interplay, calcium and magnesium. They make the information very highlight, very visually easy on the eyes, which is a good balance for much of the more elaborate, lenghty information out there.  

These are tests that a doctor can order for those who go that route, it is stated there, or the topic at the magnesium-focused website routes people to a resource for DIY purchase of testing on their own.  

I've witnessed a divide in the US with people growing --- those that are minimilists about testing and others who are getting more into testing than EVER, including the things that you pay for out of pocket and order online.  Some people 'need' or 'want' (two different things), or are 'helped by' SEEING IT TO BELEIVE IT.  That makes them more 'bought into' what's going on.  Others are more intuitive, or insightful and don't need the visual 'data'.  The good thing is, we have the freedom more than ever right now, to be getting tests done if we want them OR not.  I hope ALL consider putting D testing at the top of their lists for testing resources (resources being time, energy money). 

 Some people are testing and testing about the bugs that are in them (Lyme, Borrelia, Bartonella, etc.) and many others are testing about their genetics (because of the new wave of info about MTHFR gene mutations, methylation issues and what THAT does with people's detoxification pathways, which leads to the organism / (person in the case of those reading this) becoming symptomatic with this domino effect, catch 22 chronic illness 'stuff' that increasing numbers of people have. Which has been the core 'niche' market of Lumigrate from the start of planning, but initially I was erroneously hinging things on 'the F word' (fibromyalgia) and thyroid and other hormones as tools to rebalance.  We've ALL learned a lot since 2007, 8, 9 when I was creating the concept through fruition of the website going onto the Internet. 

And I've come to see how few tests are really needed, compared to what overall are run --- sending people for imaging testing rather than to a skilled manual therapist / PT to get their input from hands-on and brain-in, and THEN go for imaging if they agree.  Other tests are "nice to have", and there's such a mix today of what people have as resources of time, energy and money for working on testing that people are all over the place on it.  I've become more of a minimalist over the last 10 years on testing.  

BUT when it comes to Vitamin D, I think it's VERY important to get the testing done and not wing it based on what someone else takes, what the average person takes, what the average person with complex chronic conditions due to many things in the body causing more D to be used and then needed.  

Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! ~ Mardy

__________________

Live and Learn. Learn and Live Better! is my motto. I'm Mardy Ross, and I founded Lumigrate in 2008 after a career as an occupational therapist with a background in health education and environmental research program administration. Today I function as the desk clerk for short questions people have, as well as 'concierge' services offered for those who want a thorough exploration of their health history and direction to resources likely to progress their health according to their goals. Contact Us comes to me, so please do if you have questions or comments. Lumigrate is "Lighting the Path to Health and Well-Being" for increasing numbers of people. Follow us on social networking sites such as: Twitter: http://twitter.com/lumigrate [9] and Facebook. (There is my personal page and several Lumigrate pages. For those interested in "groovy" local education and networking for those uniquely talented LumiGRATE experts located in my own back yard, "LumiGRATE Groove of the Grand Valley" is a Facebook page to join. (Many who have joined are beyond our area but like to see the Groovy information! We not only have FUN, we are learning about other providers we can be referring patients to and 'wearing a groove' to each other's doors -- or websites/home offices!) By covering some of the things we do, including case examples, it reinforces the concepts at Lumigrate.com as well as making YOU feel that you're part of a community. Which you ARE at Lumigrate!

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