Vitamin D Health Benefits

In response to Robert (Manhattan, Ny) on 08/20/2012, who wrote:

"I found from repeated use, on and off, that higher doses of Vit D3 (1000 to 3000iu) results in a negative mood state... So instead I try to make an effort of getting around 10 to 15 minutes of summer sun daily. Another lesson to myself to remember that despite all the positive claims and current hype about a supplement or herb, one must listen to their body first."

Deficiency in D causes a deficiency in B vitamins which are needed for nerves, and mood. If you are low in B bits to begin with and supplement with D, because D stimulates repairs in the body, and Bs are also needed in higher amounts for tissue and nerve repair, a B deficiency can easily crop up. The fact your moods were affected is not a bad thing and neither does it suggest it was D vitamin causing it but rather more the fact you're probably deficient in B's too. In fact, B Vitamins are usually made by the microbes in the gut, but if those microbes get deficient in D, they die off and B vitamin production declines. It's the main reason why we gain weight in winter and drop a few pounds in Summer. Conversely studies show that when you supplement with adequate doses of D, you lose weight. That's becausevin addition to feeding microbes that make B's, it also increases insulin sensitivity, AND reduces insulin levels as a result. [Studies done in post menopausal women who had PCOS)

Vitamin D and Why it May Not Be Working For You as Well as it Should

Many people take vitamin D because it is noted for many health benefits in hundreds of studies, but for some reason, some people do not seem to be able to obtain benefit from vitamin D. Many people are aware that there are cofactors for vitamin D such as boron, zinc, magnesium, vitamin K-2 and calcium, but we often do not realize how important these cofactors can be in terms of helping vitamin D to be all it can be for our health.

On that note, here is a very brief and easy to read article that clearly and simply explains why magnesium is absolutely needed in order for vitamin D to completely do the job it was meant to do in our bodies.

https://www.health.news/2018-03-27-are-you-getting-enough-vitamin-d-if-you-dont-take-magnesium-you-may-not-be.html

On a related note, the following very short abstract describes how not enough vitamin D and / or not enough magnesium can potentially create health problems for us!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29480918

Art

I learned so much from that Vitamin D book Robert Henry suggested that I read early 2017.

And I gave the D3 a Purposeful second go because of it. However for some reason I seem to soon forget the necessity of a supplement when I am feeling better.

I went on a vacation and when I returned I had forgotten why I was taking the Vitamin D. All I knew was once again my bones were achy, I started back on the MSM. Then I came across more information that stated that fibromyolgia is a Vitamin D3 deficiency. When I take the 10,000 to 20,000 IU D3 at least 5 days a week, I find it very energizing and when I get up in the morning I automatically stretch. When I don't take it, I do not get that stretch. I am 66 so I guess I need help to stretch.

And also other readings mention that Vitamin D3 taken at a 50,000 IU for 3 days lightens the pains of shingles. And I did try it and after 3 days tested it out by eating a good old peanut butter sandwich, I had no breakout and no pain.

HisJewel

Dear Ted, my mother toke overdose off d3 by mistake and now she is sufering from the toxity of d3 "870 nmol". She is in the hospital now given the treatment for lowering the calcium. How can we detox d3? Kindly help ASAP

I'm writing to follow up on my vitamin D cure for insomnia report in February. After taking 2000 IU/day for 1.5 months I finally went to my doctor for a Vitamin D blood test, and it was 20 ng/ml, which is considered deficient. I also asked him why he didn't test me for vitamin D last year when I was having incredible trouble sleeping, digesting (I also had IBS) and managing daily life, and was told that insurance would not have paid for the test unless I had a "known" symptom of deficiency such as osteoporosis. However, insurance was very willing to pay for several expensive pharmaceuticals the doctor recommended me to try.

A SIMPLE VITAMIN D TEST THEN WOULD HAVE SAVED ME A WHOLE YEAR'S WORTH OF AGONY, AND WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH CHEAPER FOR ALL CONCERNED. WAKE UP USA WE NEED BETTER PREVENTIVE MEDICINE!!!

I am continuing to do much much better, am now taking 3000 IU/day D3, upping my daily intake of veggies, and also supplementing with ACV/honey, flaxseed oil, 500 mg vit C, and 200-400 mg magnesium citrate (I've read that vit D deficiency can go hand-in-hand with magnesium and potassium deficiency). My "sensitivity" to fish (rich in Vit. D and magnesium) has disappeared! No more IBS! I'm looking forward to some warm sunny spring days when I can get my vitamin D dose from the sun.

Jan, I really miss the sun on my skin as fall is upon us. I tan as much as is reasonable while the sun is out and take vitamin K to store the D. Fall comes with shorter, cooler, darker days and rain ... but for me the autumn brings with it holiday pressures to make everyone happy .The media has put great subconscious demands on us to buy and decorate to fulfill the people in our lives. It sells products but does not produce healthy emotions. Most of the gatherings are filled with foods that are not very healthy and people stressed by the added pressures. I try as much as possible to get outdoors even in the cooler weather. We are body, mind, and spirit and our health improves when we address all the areas that affect us. I felt led to write this to you. Hope you find what heals you of SAD and fills your cup with joy overflowing. Blessings, Charity

I had a wart on my thumb. It was on the joint which made removing it difficult. Tried for years to get rid of it using compound w and sacylic acid. When I started taking 10,000 IU per day of Vitamin D3 after discovering I was deficient on a serum D blood test, the wart disappeared and never returned.

Calcification in tissue occurs in vitamin D deficiency. If you don't get enough, calcium is pulled from bone and the blood levels are high anyway. Taking vitamin D in sensible doses prevents this. It's the people posting about the higher doses and claiming calcium is high that really get me. Yes mega doses over long periods are dangerous. But the RDI is beyond a joke and causing many diseases. For one, if you get calcification Of arteries in deficiency then take doses to address that deficiency, stands to reason that calcium in arteries will be pulled out and put back into bone. And to do this it needs to be in the blood first. Would be handy to know what levels of blood calcium are TOO high, but I would say that when its dissolved from the artery walls with optimal doses, it goes into the blood to be cleared out and has a snowflakes chance in hell if actually adhering to much tissue thereafter. Even the kidneys would be shoving that stuff out. I doubt it could stick to ureters or kidneys any more than it could an artery. Heck calcium levels would have to be dangerously high or way above normal levels.

I have been in the healing profession (practitioner, researcher, advocate) for 30 years, nothing comes close to my experience with MSM, I am so sorry it took this long to try it. My chronic asthma gone in 3 days!! On albuterol for almost 40 years. I am in shock.

Some side effects which I consider to be cleansing symptoms: nausea, sleeplessness and skin breakouts, but I did start on a high dose of 20 grams a day. After three weeks no more 'side effects'.

My energy has greatly increased, I feel quite euphoric every day now. The only time I had that kind of euphoria was by drinking three glasses of organic green juices a day. I think people on heavy medications, mercury fillings, toxic diet are going to have more difficulties with it, so building up from a small dose with extra vitamin C and plenty of pure water will help.

The other supplement that really helps is Vitamin D3, I take 16,000iu liquid daily, no colds for two years now and my chronic bronchitis of 20 years has disappeared. Some years it was mild others, severe triggering serious asthma attacks. So the combination of Vitamin and MSM has been miraculous for me. This great website encouraged me to try MSM. Thanks so much.

p.s. Brushing my teeth with MSM has whitened them.

In reference to the cough...I have a friend here at work, age 58 who had been suffering from a bacterial respiratory infection since April of 2008. We work of different floors and I hadn't seen her in a while until she stopped into my office in the middle of January (Tues 1/13) of this year. She was still very, very ill. Whenever she tried to talk she would cough. It was bad.

I suggested she do the Vitamin D3 treatment....50,000 ius on the first day followed by 10,000 ius each day for a week and then 50,000 more for the following 2 weeks plus the daily 10,000. Guess what. She is cured. She had been on antibiotics and everything imaginable to get rid of this. She was sick for over 8 months.

Not only is her respiratory infection gone but she told me that she is no longer depressed and she has a great outlook on life again. Mind you, when I saw Cindy in January her skin was gray and she couldn't talk without coughing. Today looks completely healthy. I just went upstairs on a errand and I saw her in the classroom with students and the teacher she assists and she was laughing and healthy for the first time in almost a year. Vitamin D is an amazing thing.

For me, Vitamin D is a MIRACLE. I have been on and off of the 50,000 iu/prescription-only doses and they did NOTHING for me until I stumbled upon an article about how unhealthy the prescription-grade is because it is lab-made and is actually vitamin D2. I did tons of research online and I can say that after ONE day of taking 2000 I.U. of vitamin D3, I felt AMAZING.

I have been telling EVERYONE about it and each person who has started taking it has had significant health changes.

For me...the chronic exhaustion is gone, I feel HAPPY, I feel like I can make it through the day! I wake up feeling renewed and my attitude is 10000% better. My asthma is MUCH better! A friend of mine suffered from chronic migraines all of her life and after two days of taking the D3, she feels amazing! Another friend had muscle spasming issues/constant aching and during the first day, she felt spectacular!

I'm not sure what else it will do for me but my skin is amazingly beautiful and clear! Also, I bent over to pick something up and to my surprise I felt NO pulling in my muscles! I used to be a dancer and was very limber, and this has returned despite the only change being Vitamin D3!!!!!! I could bend down to where my forehead touched my knees and I could touch the floor with my wrists!

I'm SOOOOO VERY BLESSED by stumbling upon the information I discovered and I am sharing it with the world!!!!

Ted posted his statement in 2006 and since then, so much more evidence has been released in great favor of Vitamin D. The TRICK is, stick with D3...NOT with D2!!!! ONLY cholecalciferol, NOTTTT ergocalciferol.

Once I get my next blood tests and determine whether my levels have returned to normal, I will then change my intake from 2000 I.U. of D3 to 1000 I.U. of D3.

I feel the best I've felt in ALL of my life and Vitamin D3 is ABSOLUTELY A HUGE PART OF THIS!

Hi Jan...If it were me and I had SAD, I would take the following simple protocol:

Niacinamide (no flush) -- 500 mgs 3 times a day with meals. You can also safely increase this dose to 1000 mgs 3 times a day if it is helping. There are few significant side effects with niacinamide -- it's quite safe at higher dosage.

B50 Complex -- once a day with a meal.

See the research here: http://drjaydavidson.com/s-a-d-winter-blues/

Here's some more research by Dr Abram Hoffer, one of the Fathers of orthomolecular medicine, on the benefits of taking higher dose niacin/niacinamde for various psychoses and depression:

http://www.doctoryourself.com/hoffer_psychosis.html

All about the benefits of higher dose niacin/niacinamide for the body:

http://www.doctoryourself.com/hoffer_niacin.html

I take at least 500 mgs of niacin (with flush) once or twice a day. Keeps my blood healthy, gives me energy, helps to prevent arthritis, Alzheimer's disease and diabetes 2 and also helps to keep me calm and happy.

I have AS, diagnosed nearly 8 years ago. I have tried everything and stumbled upon something that has made a remarkable difference to my pain. I have been taking a supplement with vitamin d3 1000iu per tablet, boran(from borax)1mg, selenium 50mcg, and natural vitamin E 33 mg. I have been taking this supplement two mid morning and one in the afternoon. At the same time I am taking red algea (lithothamnion calcareum) 500mg, twice a day (taken at same time as red algea). Before trying this, talk to your Dr, not everyone is vitamin D difficient. I avoid the sun as I am fair skinned and burn easily.

I had the good fortune a couple of weeks ago when I was visiting Los Angeles to speak with an osteopathic doctor from Colorado who has treated and cured many of his patients with D3. The gist of what he told me (sorry, I didn't have any writing instruments with me at the time of the conversation so this is in my memory bank) was that many ailments are healed with vitamin D3 after 2-3 months on the hormone (he refers to it as a hormone, not a supplement). He suggested that I first get my D levels checked at a doctor's office. Once I know the baseline, I can start taking 8,000 iu of vitamin D3 a day. After 3 months, I should get the levels checked again. In summertime some people would be able to drop this daily dose to about 4,000 iu/day or less, but you won't know unless you get your levels checked. He told me people will be very surprised to see how deficient they are in D. Even those that live in sunny climates like Los Angeles are surprisingly deficient in D3.

One of his patients with erectile dysfunction was cured after a two months on D3. Unfortunately, the patient was so thrilled with the results that he started taking a lot more than what was recommended! A blood test showed his D levels soared too high and he had to come off it for about two months. After two months he was deficient again.

The good doctor also told me that 90% of his patients suffering from migraines were cured after being 2-3 months on D3. The key is to give it 3 months at 8,000/day dosage. He recommended the vitamin d council website for further research: http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/

Found this website looking for flea remedies and found so much more! I too am always looking for remedies other than what are mainstream, just because it seems to me there has got to be more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak!

Read about Vitamin D deficincy in The Star Tribune by a doctor at the U of MN who discovered how many people suffer from a lack of it. Of course, I am a blue eyed blond who frys like a lobster in the sun and can't remember when the last time was that I went outdoors without sunscreen and and hat so I began taking a D supplement right away. I take 2000 IU of vitamin D daily. I have to say that I feel pretty darn good considering I have arthritis in all the major joints of my body.

I also have been using lysine to take care of my Herpes simplex outbreaks for years and would not be without it. I find that if I take 4-6 500 mg tablets at the first sign of the itch/tingle on my lip, and then 2 tablets every couple of hours after that, I can most times, stop it in its tracks and completely skip and signs of the break out. If I am nowhere near my supply of lysine and I get those symptoms, taking it at first opportunity causes the leisons to heal very rapidly. In any case, it works for me.

Am going to try the apple cider vinegar thing as well, for arthritis and for the flea problem. Weird that it will be for 2 such unrelated problems but If it works, who cares. It is certainly safe enough. Thanks for being here as a sounding board and gathering of natural remedies.

MARY, you know not of what you speak. Name me one vegetable that has vitamin D in it except a mushroom. ====ROBERT HENRY=====

I got depressed on cod liver oil. Subtle blue feeling. Stopped taking and it went away. I am now taking D3 but with all the required co-factors. Mag, Bs, K, etc. Ok so far.

For the most part, most people are suffering D deficiency because of lack of sunlight actually. Hyperactive Parathyroid is due to boron deficiency from my reading. I'd say that most people out there know if they have not been out in the sun enough when considering the whole vitamin D issue and instinctively know they need it. Scaring people with your personal experiences (rare disease) is just not helpful

NOTE: Some people are unable to convert betacarotene to retinol efficiently so if they rely on this variety alone for Vitamin A can become deficient in it. I'd say those that are vegan and have this issue need to find an oil containing retinol to supplement with. The fish Oil or cod liver oil variety is great source for non vegans or non vegetarians and needs no conversion.

A 50,000 i.u. a month works out to 50,000/30 = 1667 i.u per day. A healthy person on a sun can easily produce 10,000 i.u. in a day. So the fact that giving 50,000 i.u. is like taking a 1700 i.u. vitamin D so that will have a minor impact on a vitamin D deficiency. Most unhealthy people can't produce 10,000 i.u. so they need supplements. But if supplements don't produce 5000 to 10000 i.u. from sun exposure it could mean some problems. As to woman with nursing babies they need about 2000 - 2500 i.u. A sick people I estimate needs at least 20,000 i.u. for people who have muscular atrophy. So the question works out to how much I.U. you need per day. The number is different. For example, in a condition of hyppoparathyroid, the dose required to normalize them is about 150,000 i.u. per day. In one case I remember a person with a muscular atrophy. The dose to reverse that required 20,000 i.u. for about a month. A person with a kidney problem (from lack of vitamin D) needed to get back in order required 50,000 i.u. of D3 for about a month. A good sun exposure will help increase vitamin D, but what's not mentioned is the long term trends in increasing UV radiation output by the sun has been also increasing.

So the issue is one of determining the right I.U. dose for a specific conditions. On the whole vitamin D works better if it's taken daily because in some instances, suppose your stomach didn't work that well on the day vitamin D was consumed, then it's not likely the body will absorb them. Plenty of things can block their absorption, a diarrhea, food poisoning, bouts of constipation, certain foods or gelatin may have blocked the vitamin D from absorbing, the capsules may not have dissolved completely in the stomach. It's my estimation that some people think taking only one capsule of vitamin D will last for a whole month because the body can store the vitamin D. But my experience has been that the vitamin D may not be properly absorbed on that particular day and I my end up missing my entire month of vitamin D. Therefore taking small doses is seen as more wise on the issue of absorption if one day I were to not absorbed, then I have the other 29 days to lean on.

Ted

Vitamin D is pretty unique to each individual and there is not a one dose fits all application for it. Generally if you carry a lot of body fat it can require significantly more vitamin D to reach a specific 25 OH d serum level than a person who has low body fat even though their weight may be equal. If you are trying to reach a specific 25 OH d level in the optimum range, the only way to do that and be sure is by having a 25 OH d test done. These can be done by mail with a pin prick test directly with a lab. This would be very important if you are trying to treat a specific health issue by getting your 25 OH d level into the upper end of the reference range (reference range: 30 ~ 100 ng/ml).

Some cancer studies suggest that optimal anti-cancer activity may occur around the 80 ng/ml level. Dr. Cannell suggests working your serum level up toward the upper end of the range for autism and even above if improvement continues, and then decrease the dose when no further improvement is seen, but again that would require regular testing by your doctor.

Some people just require more vitamin d than others to reach a specific serum level so it is more important to take whatever dose is needed to reach the desired serum level and test to be sure rather than choose a dose that may or may not achieve the proper 25 OH d serum level for you.

Art

Denise,

Most articles when referring to vitamin D will use D, D3, vitamin D, vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol to all mean the same thing. Vitamin D3 is typically what you find in vitamin shops and online. When an article is referring to vitamin D2 or D4, they will say as much and those forms are less common than D3. D2 is sometimes given in very high doses by doctors, but D3 is considered as the common supplement form.

Once in the body vitamin D3 is converted to Calcidiol and then by the kidneys is converted to the active form of vitamin D in the body, Calcitriol. Calcitriol can also be given as a medication.

When you get a vitamin D test by your doctor it is called a 25(OH)d test and the reference range is 30 ~100 ng/ml.

Art

When an article or anything else talks about vitamin D, it is always about D3. ALWAYS!

The writers always stupidly assume that readers understand that. Regarding 50,000 IU, you can easily get it on iHerb. Few manufacturers make it.

WARNING!

Health experts mention how beneficial Vitamin D is to a person's health. You have to be aware there are some conditions that do not benefit from vitamin D supplementations. Sarcoidosis is one and Lymes disease is another.

Explanation - Trevor Marshall was a biomedical engineer from Australia. It took him about 30 years to find out how cell wall deficient bacteria survive in the body for many years. He found out that they stimulate the cells to overproduce vitamin D. It becomes toxic and shuts the immune system down. Exposure to sun, vitamin D rich foods and supplements should be stopped completely for at least 12 months to clear the cell wall deficient form of borrelia. This helps tremendously the action of the antibiotics. Low doses of antibiotics become very effective. He advises Benicar (high blood pressure medicine) to decrease significantly the vitamin D in the body. Not all patients are able to take it. The majority of doctors and holistic practitioners advocate taking vitamin D without being aware of present microorganisms. Remember that fish oils and seaweed are high in vitamin D as well. They are taken by millions of people as supplements.

Most people have vitamin D deficiency that reflects in a blood test. Vitamin D could aggravate severely anybody with chronic Lyme disease and co–infections with CWD bacteria!!! Every person should be tested for these bacteria before administering vitamin D!!!

I know this is an old post, but some reading the comments further down the line may find this helpful.

It is recommended to also take the co-factors - magnesium, K2, boron, zinc, B vitamins, etc, when taking vitamin D, as they are apparently needed to support the D synthesis & to help orchestrate calcium in the body.

if calcium accumulation is already an issue (& you may not realise that until you start taking D), taking D without those co-factors may actually exacerbate the calcium issue.

Nothing works in isolation. Taking one element in isolation may potentially unbalance others.

High pasteurised dairy consumption may potentially lead to calcium accumulation (the beneficial microbes that generate certain necessary enzymes, vitamins & other nutrients needed for proper calcium distribution are no longer present), as may also calcium supplementation.

Vit. D(3) is not a vitamin but a hormone. There are 4 ways to get vitamin (hormone) d3:

#1 sun, #2 veggies, #3 fish oils like salmon, codliver, sardines #4 made from lanolin, which includes sprays, liquids, lotions, pills and mouse poison.

One must be very careful taking d3 as it stays in the liver for 3 months, causes the blood to thin, and allows the calcium to get into the blood stream causing clogged arteries, calcium to deposit anywhere it wishes. Look it up.

Apple cider vingar works with my blood pressure I had a bp of 200/120 apple cider vinegar just one dose dropped it down to 170/100 still extremely high. Now I am 6 foot 3 280 lbs and need to loose weight bad. I still take apple cider vinegar 4 tablespoonfuls once a day. I should do it a least twice but I don't and probably add some raw garlic. As I am athletic run two miles swim a mile and play sports. I am overly stress work the night shift and around obese people.

However vitamin d has worked better for me than apple cider vinegar. I take 5000 iu daily with magnesium 400mg and One a day vitamin for men. Vitamin D helps my immune system hypertension and regulates my insulin all at the same time. This vitamin D 3 works. Please check out vitamindcouncil.org. Most americans do not get enough vitamin d because we are always in doors. It is really cheap at whole foods trader joes walmart even dollar general.

Please Please add vitamin d3 to your daily routine you will feel and see the difference.

Latest newsletter from the Dr. Cannell and the Vitamin D Council. Please pay particular attention to the paragraph about the harmful effects of Vitamin A and why people should avoid cod liver oil like the plague!

..."However, hidden on page eight is one sentence and a small table, which shows that the benefits of vitamin D are almost entirely negated in those with the highest vitamin A intake."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Vitamin D Newsletter

Remarkable Paper in British Medical Journal

February 28, 2010

This is a periodic newsletter from the Vitamin D Council, a non-profit trying to end the epidemic of vitamin D deficiency. If you want to unsubscribe, go to the end of this newsletter. If you are not subscribed, you can do so on the Vitamin D Council's website.

This newsletter may be reproduced as long as you properly and prominently attribute its source. Please reproduce it, post it on Internet sites, and forward it to your friends.

A few weeks ago, the British Medical Journal published a remarkable paper, remarkable that it studied more than 500,000 subjects, remarkable that it had 56 (fifty-six) authors, remarkable that it confirmed low vitamin D levels obtained in the past are a risk factor for developing colon cancer in the future. However, the most remarkable part of the paper is that the 46 scientists minimized the true significance of their own research. They found that vitamin A, even in relatively low amounts, appears to thwart vitamin D's association with reduced rates of colon cancer.

Jenab M et al. Association between pre-diagnostic circulating vitamin D concentration and risk of colorectal cancer in European populations: a nested case-control study. BMJ 2010;340:b5500

This is a prospective nested case-controlled study, which means it uses subject's vitamin D blood samples obtained and frozen in the past and then reviews their medical records into the future to see who gets colon cancer, comparing the study subjects to similar members of the group that did not get the illness. Dr. Mazda Jenab and his 45 colleagues from the International Agency for Research on Cancer confirmed that low vitamin D levels are a risk for colon cancer in a dose response manner; those with the highest levels were about twice as less likely to develop colon cancer compared to those with the highest levels.

However, hidden on page eight is one sentence and a small table, which shows that the benefits of vitamin D are almost entirely negated in those with the highest vitamin A intake. And the retinol intake did not have to be that high in these older adults to begin to negate vitamin D's effects, about 3,000 IU/day. Remember, young autistic children often take 3,500 IU of retinol a day in their powdered multivitamins, which doesn't count any additional vitamin A given in high single doses.

This is the largest study to date showing vitamin A blocks vitamin D's effect and explains some of the anomalies in other papers on vitamin D and cancer. For example, Dr. Rachael Stolzenberg-Solomon of the NIH conducted two similar studies on pancreatic cancer, with startling different results. Her first paper showed high vitamin D levels tripled the subsequent risk of pancreatic cancer, her second paper showed no effect. The difference, the first was conducted in a cod liver oil country, Finland, the second in the USA.

Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ et al. A prospective nested case-control study of vitamin D status and pancreatic cancer risk in male smokers. Cancer Res. 2006 Oct 15;66(20):10213-9.

Stolzenberg-Solomon RZ, et al. Serum vitamin D and risk of pancreatic cancer in the prostate, lung, colorectal, and ovarian screening trial. Cancer Res. 2009 Feb 15;69(4):1439-47.

Prostate cancer is another good example; ten similar studies have been conducted on vitamin D blood levels and the risk of subsequent prostate cancer. Dr. Lu Yin of the German Cancer Research Center reviewed them in detail. Eight of the studies found no relationship but two studies found a U shaped curve, that is, an increased risk of prostate cancer at both lower and higher vitamin D levels. You guessed it; both of these studies were from Nordic countries where cod liver oil consumption is rampant.

Yin L et al. Meta-analysis of longitudinal studies: Serum vitamin D and prostate cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiol. 2009 Dec;33(6):435-45.

So why is there no relationship between vitamin D levels and the future risk of prostate cancer? All the subjects had their vitamin D levels checked in the late 1980s or 1990s, well into the sun-scare but before the vitamin D revolution. So how did these older people get high levels of vitamin D back then? Multivitamins? No, they only contained a meaningless 400 IU. Vitamin D supplements? No, they were not widely available back then and only contained a meaningless 200 to 400 IU of vitamin D if available. Sunshine? Maybe, but I doubt it. Studies have shown that the elderly were the first to abide by sun-avoidance advice; anyway, the elderly lose the ability to make vitamin D from sunshine; it takes the elderly up to ten times more time in the sun that the young to make an equivalent amount of vitamin D.

However, the elderly of many countries, not just Nordic countries, were raised on cod liver oil and I suspect that a sizable number of Americans continue to take cod liver oil as they age. While cod liver oil from the 1980s and 90s had higher amounts of vitamin D than does modern cod liver oil, it still had toxic amounts of A. I suspect if authors of the above ten studies had controlled for cod liver oil intake, they would have found that high retinol intake was blocking the cancer-preventing effects of vitamin D.

I say this because one author has controlled for retinol intake and the pre-cancerous condition, colon adenomas. Dr. Kyungwon Oh, of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, working with Harvard epidemiologists, found that high retinol intake completely thwarted the beneficial effects of vitamin D, stating, "a higher retinol intake, approximately > 4,800 IU/day, appears to counter the beneficial effect of vitamin D . . ." In other words, exactly what the British Medical Journal paper found with colon cancer.

Oh K et al. Calcium and vitamin D intakes in relation to risk of distal colorectal adenoma in women. Am J Epidemiol. 2007 May 15;165(10):1178-86.

Let"s look at Dr. Pamela Goodwin"s study from the University of Toronto that studied breast cancer survival. This a very different study as it looked at vitamin D levels obtained after the diagnosis of breast cancer and subsequent survival in 535 Toronto women between 1989 and 1996. Vitamin D levels ranged from 3 ng/ml to 70 ng/ml. The women with the lowest levels were about twice as likely to die and to suffer distant cancer recurrence compared those with the highest levels. Ten year survival was 85% for those in the upper one-third of vitamin D levels compared to 74% in the lower one-third. However, the data suggested a U shaped curve for the women with levels above 40 ng/ml, that is, a higher risk of dying, but it was not statistically significant.

Goodwin PJ et al. Prognostic effects of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in early breast cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2009 Aug 10;27(23):3757-63.

Again, let"s ask where women would get levels above 40 ng/ml in Toronto between 1989 and 1996? Sunshine? We know the answer is no as the authors found no seasonal variation in 25(OH)D levels in the 535 women, even in the women with the highest levels. So where did blood levels of 40-70 ng/ml come from in the early 1990s? Vitamin D supplements were not widely available in the early 1990s, and only contained meaningless doses when available. As sunshine was ruled out, they could only have gotten it from cod liver oil. I have emailed Dr. Pamela Goodwin, lead author, asking how hard it would be to see if cod liver oil use was asked about in the dietary questionnaire and if she could control for cod liver oil intake. She did find retinol intake was associated with higher vitamin D levels but I am particularly interested in cod liver oil intake in women with vitamin D levels above 40 ng/ml.

It's not just in breast cancer that vitamin D levels appear to have a treatment effect; it's in lung, prostate and colon cancer as well. Again, these are studies of people diagnosed with cancer to see if high vitamin D levels at the time of diagnosis are associated with improved survival.; that is, do high vitamin D levels have a treatment effect? On average, those with the highest vitamin D levels at time of diagnosis lived 2 or 3 times longer. One has to ask how high vitamin D levels are associated with greatly improved survival once you get cancer but a higher risk of getting cancer in the first place. That requires some gymnastic thinking and acrobatic basic science.

Zhou W et al. Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels predict survival in early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer patients. J Clin Oncol. 2007 Feb 10;25(5):479-85.

Ng K et al. Clin Oncol. 2008 Jun 20;26(18):2984-91. Circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and survival in patients with colorectal cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2008 Jun 20;26(18):2984-91.

Tretli S et al. Association between serum 25(OH)D and death from prostate cancer. Br J Cancer. 2009 Feb 10;100(3):450-4.

Remember, studies of vitamin D levels and subsequent risk of cancer are only one type of epidemiological study. Studies of latitude and cancer are quite clear, the less sunshine the higher the cancer risk. Studies of dietary vitamin D intake and cancer are also mostly supportive but such studies are limited by the tiny doses people get in their diets.

So it is not just autistic children that are being harmed by vitamin A. Avoid cod liver oil like the poison it is and check your multivitamins. Life Extension Foundation just reformulated their multivitamin to contain only 500 IU of preformed retinol. And, I am happy to report that Purity Products, which markets my vitamin D, has no preformed retinol at all in any of their multivitamins, only beta carotene. Purity has also stopped selling cod liver oil. Now, if only Carlson, Solgar, Nature's Way, and other companies would stop selling cod liver oil and stop selling their concentrated vitamin A supplements to a country whose problem is widespread sub-clinical vitamin A toxicity, I'd be a happier agitator.
John Cannell, MD
Executive Director
Vitamin D Council

This newsletter may be reproduced as long as you properly and prominently attribute it source. Please reproduce it, post it on Internet sites, and forward it to your friends.

Remember, we are a non-profit and rely on your donations to publish our newsletter, maintain our website, and pursue our objectives. Send your tax-deductible contributions to:
The Vitamin D Council
1241 Johnson Ave., #134
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

Hello Briona, I am sorry to hear of your problem,,,I am taking 5,000-6,000 unit of D3 my self for about 6 weeks, and now for the last week I have been having some unusual sideeffects, at least they are unusal for me at 63 years old,,I have been more sexually aroused than when I was 40 years old, It causes me to have problems going to sleep and I do not dare go out for a drink I am afraid I will forget I am a christian lady,,,I feel like a she cat in heat,,,so I have stopped taking for two days and see if that helps,,,but other wise I feel good, more energy,, less appetite, I have lost 6 pounds and enjoy my house work and am in a happy mood, have stoped taking depression medication,,, now if I can get a hold of my sex drive and feel like I will not molest the men around me I will be ok...Merryanne in Central FL