Re: Latest from the Vit D council

[Guest guest]

Thanks for reminding me to crack open the bottle of D. I could get

used to a regular reminder. But sheesh, looks like I need to take

the whole bottle now.

4,000 units a day??? Basically, those african women in that study on

2,000 i.u. per day for 2 years saw no improvement in d levels!?! I

just don't see me taking the 4,000 i.u. that the good doc said was

probably needed.

At least I now know that people in another very sunny spot (africa)

are suffering from low d too. Although it sure seems odd. And a bit

contradictory to the other cited studies where people near the

equator naturally seem to have better d levels because of more uvb

exposure.

They said something about resistance to d having developed in these

african women. Wonder if pwc are d resistant? Or wonder if they

checked these women's 1,25d levels to see if that low d was

converting rapidly into a high 1,25d? That would 'splane a few

things. Especially in women, considering it's hormonally related.

Also, wonder what would happen if the same test were done in men?

Okay, now I don't know whether supplementing with d is a worthless

exercise or what. I think I'll experiment with taking a boat load of

it in one shot and see if I notice any anti-inflammatory kind of

effects. Maybe delay taking the benicar before this experiment,

although I'd hate to do that.

Thanks for the report, though. At least it included contradictory

information, which I appreciate.

penny

p.s. also liked the differentiation between the veggie D and the

regular D. I almost bought the veggie d at the store (because

regular D as some minute fraction of soy oil in it), but I'm glad I

didn't.

> The Vitamin D Newsletter

>

> 9-10-05

>

> Another quiz

>

>

>

> This is a periodic newsletter from the Vitamin D Council, a non-

profit

> trying to end the epidemic of vitamin D deficiency. If you don't

want it,

> hit reply and let us know. This newsletter is not copyrighted.

Please feel

> free to reproduce it or post it on internet sites. Haven't signed

up for the

> newsletter yet? Go to the Vitamin D Council's website.

>

>

>

> Question: How can I use vitamin D to murder my undeserving husband?

>

> Answer: By starting early in the morning.

>

> Last month we learned vitamin D is used as a rat poison. If it

will kill a

> rat, it will kill a husband. How much would it take? The Institute

of

> Medicine's (IOM) 1997 report says anything above 2,000 units a day

may be

> toxic. Let's see.

>

>

>

> This month we learned how much it takes to sicken a child. Doctors

at the

> University of land School of Medicine report a case of

accidental

> overdose of ergocalciferol - a vitamin D like drug.

>

> Pediatrics. 2005 Sep;116(3):e453-6.

>

>

>

> (Ergocalciferol is not vitamin D; it is a vitamin D analog whose

patent

> expired years ago. Trader Joe's sells it as a vegetarian vitamin

D. It is

> usually obtained by radiating fungi, a fact the health food crowd

ignores.

> Ergocalciferol does not occur naturally in the human body, nor do

its

> numerous metabolic byproducts. It was nice to see the authors

refer to

> ergocalciferol as a vitamin D analog. Ergocalciferol is not

vitamin D.

> Cholecalciferol is vitamin D.)

>

>

>

> Anyway, mom was giving her 32-lb son a liquid preparation of

ergocalciferol

> made in Latin America. The direction stated adults should take one

drop

> (2,500 units) per day but mom mistakenly gave junior four bottles

(2,400,000

> units or 60 mg) over four days. The child developed abdominal

pain, mild

> high blood pressure, and high blood calcium but made an uneventful

recovery

> once the correct diagnosis was made.

>

>

>

> So, we still don't know how much it takes to murder a husband. The

authors

> say 21 mg/kg is the lethal dose. If the same is true in humans, a

220-lb

> death deserving husband would require about 200,000 pills. Ladies,

to get

> that much down him you'll have to start lacing his beer early in

the day.

>

>

>

> However, this child got quite sick taking one-fifth that amount (4

mg/kg).

> His calcium peaked at 15 mg/dl, high enough to be concerning.

Vitamin D

> kills rats by causing high blood calcium. A 110-lb adult would

have to take

> 200 bottles (20,000 of the 400 unit capsules) to match the child's

intake.

>

>

>

> So, don't take 200 bottles at a time; don't take 50 bottles at a

time; don't

> take 25 bottles at a time. I would say don't take 15 bottles at a

time but:

>

>

>

> 1. This month doctors at the University of New South Wales

reported giving

> 50 elderly patients the equivalent of 15 bottles (600,000 units)

in a single

> injection and concluded it was a good idea to do it every year.

>

>

>

> a) True

>

>

>

> False

>

>

>

> True. Due to sun scare, vitamin D deficiency is sunny Australia is

now quite

> a problem, so the authors were looking for an easy, cheap way to

maintain

> blood levels for an entire year. It worked pretty well but I

wouldn't do it.

> It is not physiologic.

>

> Med J Aust. 2005 Jul 4;183(1):10-2.

>

>

>

> Remember, a 25-hydroxy-vitamin D is the blood test you should have

at least

> twice a year - spring and fall. Take enough cholecalciferol to

maintain

> normal levels of around 50 ng/ml (125 nmol/L), year-round. It will

take

> about 5,000 units/day from all sources (sun, supplements, and

diet) to do

> so.

>

>

>

> 2. Professor Kay Colston, of St. s Hospital Medical School

in London,

> was the coauthor of two remarkable vitamin D papers over the last

few

> months.

>

>

>

> a) True

>

>

>

> False

>

>

>

> True. Dr. Colston was senior author on that dramatic paper that

showed

> breast cancer was five times more frequent in the women with the

lowest

> blood levels.

>

> Eur J Cancer. 2005 May;41(8):1164-9. Epub 2005 Apr 14.

>

>

>

> Dr. Colston helped Dr. Townsend, of the University of

Birmingham,

> write a review of the ability of cancerous tissues to make

activated vitamin

> D or calcitriol. Calcitriol is a remarkable anticancer agent, but

no one

> knows for sure if higher levels of vitamin D in the blood will

increase

> calcitriol levels in tumors. The take away point is that some

tumors still

> have the ability to make calcitriol while other tumors may get

calcitriol

> from nearby cells, especially immune cells. The amount of

calcitriol in your

> tumor may depend on the amount of vitamin D in your blood.

>

> J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2005 Aug 1; [Epub ahead of print]

>

>

>

> We don't yet know if vitamin D will help fight cancer. It looks as

if will

> help. Until we know more, the real question is: Should oncologists

allow

> their cancer patients to die vitamin D deficient? Most do.

>

> Endocr Pract. 2004 May-Jun;10(3):292-3.

>

>

>

> Some cancer patients tell me they are taking 10,000 units of

vitamin D a day

> in hope it will retard their cancer's growth. If you e-mail me,

asking me if

> vitamin D will help your cancer, I will e-mail you back saying I

don't know.

> 10,000 units a day has never been shown to cause high blood

calcium in

> healthy people, lifeguards get about that much every day. There is

no known

> reason to take more. If you have cancer and take vitamin D,

remember to get

> your calcium checked periodically as a few cancers can activate

too much

> vitamin D and cause high blood calcium.

>

>

>

> 3. In July, researchers at the University of Quebec showed that

breast

> density (associated with malignancy) is lower in women with higher

vitamin D

> intakes.

>

>

>

> a) True

>

>

>

> False.

>

>

>

> True. The authors speculated that even 400 units of vitamin D,

when taken

> with calcium, reduce breast cancer risk more than Tamoxifen.

> Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2005 Jul;14(7):1653-9.

>

>

>

> 4. Researchers recently reported patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma

live

> longer if they are diagnosed in sunny weather.

>

>

>

> a) True

>

>

>

> False

>

>

>

> True. The authors implied it is time to stop testing the expensive

vitamin D

> analogs in cancer patients and start testing plain old vitamin D.

So we add

> Hodgkin's' lymphoma and colon cancer to lung cancer, breast cancer

and

> prostate cancer, all of which have a better prognosis if diagnosed

when

> vitamin D blood levels are the highest. These papers are important

because

> they strongly imply a treatment effect with vitamin D.

>

> Br J Cancer. 2005 Sep 5;93(5):571-4.

>

> J Photochem Photobiol B. 2005 Mar 1;78(3):189-93.

>

>

> 5. One makes quite of bit of vitamin D in the shade.

>

> a) True

>

>

>

> False

>

>

>

> True. At least in the subtropics, vitamin D producing UVB light

was only 50%

> less under umbrellas or shade trees owing to the fact that a lot

of UVB

> light is reflected. This study was conducted at latitude 27

degrees, and the

> authors were quick to point out the amount made in the shade at

higher

> latitudes, such as U.S. and Europe, will be less.

>

> J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2005 Jul 5; [Epub ahead of print]

>

>

>

> 6. You are much more likely to die from a heart attack in the

winter than

> the summer.

>

>

>

> a) True

>

>

>

> False

>

>

> True. The dramatic decrease in deaths from myocardial infarction

over the

> last 20 years is only partially explained by improved medical care

and

> remains something of a mystery. The reason for the large seasonal

variations

> in death rates (you are much more likely to die from a heart

attack in the

> winter) is more of a mystery, although many experts believe that

colder

> temperatures cause heart attacks. If cold weather causes heart

attacks, then

> people who live at higher altitudes, where it is generally colder,

will be

> more likely to die from heart attacks. Let's see if this is so.

>

> QJM. 2003 Jan;96(1):45-52.

>

>

>

> 7. Greek researchers recently confirmed that those who live at

higher

> altitudes are much less likely to die from heart disease.

>

>

>

> a) True

>

>

>

> False

>

>

>

> True. Both the men and women living at 950 meters, where vitamin D

producing

> UVB light is much more intense, had significantly lower total and

cardiac

> mortality than their lowland cousins. The lowland men were more

than twice

> as likely to die from a heart attack in spite of having lower

blood pressure

> and lower cholesterol.

>

> J Epidemiol Community Health. 2005 Apr;59(4):274-8.

>

>

>

> Three epidemiological facts about heart attacks cry out for a

simple

> explanation, a single theory that explains all the facts. The

three facts:

> heart attacks are less common closer to the equator, less common

in the

> summer, and less common at higher altitudes. Three more facts:

vitamin D

> producing UVB light is higher closer to the equator, higher in the

summer,

> and higher at higher altitudes.

>

>

> 8. After getting 50,000 units of ergocalciferol twice a week for

eight weeks

> (800,000 units), 100% of vitamin D deficient patients with cystic

fibrosis

> remained vitamin D deficient.

>

> a) True

>

>

>

> False

>

>

>

> True. Unfortunately, ergocalciferol is not vitamin D and we will

never know

> if these patients with poor absorption would have absorbed real

vitamin D,

> probably not. 50,000 units of ergocalciferol a week for 8 weeks is

common

> treatment of vitamin D deficiency in the USA because

ergocalciferol is the

> only vitamin D like drug available in prescription strength. Real

vitamin D,

> cholecalciferol, is not available in prescription strength.

>

> Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005 Jul 15;172(2):212-7. Epub 2005 Apr

>

>

> 9. Researchers have repeatedly found lower 25(OH)D levels in

demented

> patients.

>

> a) True

>

>

>

> False

>

>

>

> True. At least four studies have incidentally found that demented

patients

> have lower 25(OH)D levels. The obvious explanation is that

demented patients

> don't go outside as much. However, Dhesi found associations

between 25(OH)D

> and cognition within a narrow range of cognition, harder to

explain by

> outdoor behavior. Flicker found the association, even after

adjusting for

> outdoor exposure.

>

> J Am Geriatr Soc. 1995 Oct;43(10):1088-91.

>

> J Bone Miner Res. 2002 May;17(5):891-7.

>

> J Am Geriatr Soc. 2003 Nov;51(11):1533-8.

>

> Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2005 Mar;86(3):576-81.

>

>

>

> Recently the Australians showed that multiple areas of the human

brain

> contain both the vitamin D receptor and the ability to activate

vitamin D

> into the powerful steroid hormone, calcitriol. This has

implications for a

> wide variety of neurological and psychiatric illnesses.

>

> J Chem Neuroanat. 2005 Jan;29(1):21-30.

>

>

>

> Of course all this is more interesting after Irish researchers

announced

> last month that vitamin D reverses the inflammation associated

with age

> related dementia. Should we add dementia to the list of diseases

caused by

> vitamin D deficiency?

>

> Biochem Soc Trans. 2005 Aug;33(Pt 4):573-7.

>

>

> 10. Researchers gave African Americans women 2,000 units of

cholecalciferol

> a day for a year and found no effect on bone mineral density.

>

> a) True

>

>

>

> False

>

>

>

> True. A New York group treated 81 healthy African American women

with 800

> units/day for two years and then with 2,000 units/day for another

year. They

> found no effect on bone loss. Examination of their data showed

that more

> than ninety-five percent of the women were still vitamin D

deficient (<40

> ng/ml) at the end of three months of treatment with 2,000 units.

It looked

> as if forty percent still had levels less than 32 ng/ml at the end

of the

> three years. That said, this was a good study.

>

> Arch Intern Med. 2005 Jul 25;165(14):1618-23.

>

>

>

> Some authors have suggested African Americans have developed

decreased

> sensitivity to vitamin D. For example, low blood levels were

strongly

> associated with diabetes (one-fourth the risk with the highest

levels) in

> whites, but not in African Americans.

>

> Diabetes Care. 2004 Dec;27(12):2813-8.

>

>

>

> Perhaps adequate doses (4,000 units a day) would have had an

effect on

> African American women - we will never know because the

researchers followed

> the archaic guidelines from the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The

1997 IOM

> guidelines state anything over 2,000 units may be toxic. Those

same IOM

> guidelines for daily supplementation recommend 200 units/day for

those less

> than 50 years old, 400 units/day between 50 and 70, and 600/day

units above

> age 70.

>

>

>

> Not only have these guidelines kept undeserving husbands alive,

they have

> hindered research by forcing scientists to use inadequate doses of

vitamin D

> in scientific studies. More importantly, they are inadequate to

maintain

> healthy blood levels. To paraphrase Professor Heaney, the

1997 IOM

> recommendations are both irrelevant and inadequate. Every month,

the

> scientific literature makes the IOM recommendations look more and

more

> dangerous to your health. The longer it takes the IOM to correct

their

> mistake, the grosser their error becomes.

>

>

>

> Cannell, MD

>

> 9100 San Gregorio Road

>

> Atascadero, CA 93422

>

> The Vitamin D Council

>

>

>

>

>

> This is a periodic newsletter from the Vitamin D Council, a non-

profit

> trying to end the epidemic of vitamin D deficiency. If you don't

want to

> get the newsletter, hit reply and let us know. This newsletter is

not

> copyrighted. Please feel free to reproduce it or post it on

internet sites.

>

>

>

> Haven't signed up for the newsletter yet? Go to the Vitamin D

Council's

> website.

>

>

>

>

>

>

> --

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> Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.

> Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.10.21/96 - Release Date:

10/09/2005

[Guest guest]

Know what you mean contradictory , seems that non African blacks should be on their knees with the effects of ultra low Vit D levels . It's not clear either how much Vit D we synthesise on non sunny days ..If I remember we make about 2400units in approx 30mins on a sunny day... that's some production but cloudy days??..It,s an important part of the equation when calculating supps.

-----Original Message-----From: infections [mailto:infections ]On Behalf Of penny Sent: 10 September 2005 15:48infections Subject: [infections] Re: Latest from the Vit D councilThanks for reminding me to crack open the bottle of D. I could get used to a regular reminder. But sheesh, looks like I need to take the whole bottle now.4,000 units a day??? Basically, those african women in that study on 2,000 i.u. per day for 2 years saw no improvement in d levels!?! I just don't see me taking the 4,000 i.u. that the good doc said was probably needed. At least I now know that people in another very sunny spot (africa) are suffering from low d too. Although it sure seems odd. And a bit contradictory to the other cited studies where people near the equator naturally seem to have better d levels because of more uvb exposure. They said something about resistance to d having developed in these african women. Wonder if pwc are d resistant? Or wonder if they checked these women's 1,25d levels to see if that low d was converting rapidly into a high 1,25d? That would 'splane a few things. Especially in women, considering it's hormonally related. Also, wonder what would happen if the same test were done in men?Okay, now I don't know whether supplementing with d is a worthless exercise or what. I think I'll experiment with taking a boat load of it in one shot and see if I notice any anti-inflammatory kind of effects. Maybe delay taking the benicar before this experiment, although I'd hate to do that.Thanks for the report, though. At least it included contradictory information, which I appreciate.pennyp.s. also liked the differentiation between the veggie D and the regular D. I almost bought the veggie d at the store (because regular D as some minute fraction of soy oil in it), but I'm glad I didn't.> The Vitamin D Newsletter> > 9-10-05> > Another quiz> > > > This is a periodic newsletter from the Vitamin D Council, a non-profit> trying to end the epidemic of vitamin D deficiency. If you don't want it,> hit reply and let us know. This newsletter is not copyrighted. Please feel> free to reproduce it or post it on internet sites. Haven't signed up for the> newsletter yet? Go to the Vitamin D Council's website.> > > > Question: How can I use vitamin D to murder my undeserving husband?> > Answer: By starting early in the morning.> > Last month we learned vitamin D is used as a rat poison. If it will kill a> rat, it will kill a husband. How much would it take? The Institute of> Medicine's (IOM) 1997 report says anything above 2,000 units a day may be> toxic. Let's see.> > > > This month we learned how much it takes to sicken a child. Doctors at the> University of land School of Medicine report a case of accidental> overdose of ergocalciferol - a vitamin D like drug.> > Pediatrics. 2005 Sep;116(3):e453-6.> > > > (Ergocalciferol is not vitamin D; it is a vitamin D analog whose patent> expired years ago. Trader Joe's sells it as a vegetarian vitamin D. It is> usually obtained by radiating fungi, a fact the health food crowd ignores.> Ergocalciferol does not occur naturally in the human body, nor do its> numerous metabolic byproducts. It was nice to see the authors refer to> ergocalciferol as a vitamin D analog. Ergocalciferol is not vitamin D.> Cholecalciferol is vitamin D.)> > > > Anyway, mom was giving her 32-lb son a liquid preparation of ergocalciferol> made in Latin America. The direction stated adults should take one drop> (2,500 units) per day but mom mistakenly gave junior four bottles (2,400,000> units or 60 mg) over four days. The child developed abdominal pain, mild> high blood pressure, and high blood calcium but made an uneventful recovery> once the correct diagnosis was made.> > > > So, we still don't know how much it takes to murder a husband. The authors> say 21 mg/kg is the lethal dose. If the same is true in humans, a 220-lb> death deserving husband would require about 200,000 pills. Ladies, to get> that much down him you'll have to start lacing his beer early in the day.> > > > However, this child got quite sick taking one-fifth that amount (4 mg/kg).> His calcium peaked at 15 mg/dl, high enough to be concerning. Vitamin D> kills rats by causing high blood calcium. A 110-lb adult would have to take> 200 bottles (20,000 of the 400 unit capsules) to match the child's intake.> > > > So, don't take 200 bottles at a time; don't take 50 bottles at a time; don't> take 25 bottles at a time. I would say don't take 15 bottles at a time but:> > > > 1. This month doctors at the University of New South Wales reported giving> 50 elderly patients the equivalent of 15 bottles (600,000 units) in a single> injection and concluded it was a good idea to do it every year.> > > > a) True> > > > False> > > > True. Due to sun scare, vitamin D deficiency is sunny Australia is now quite> a problem, so the authors were looking for an easy, cheap way to maintain> blood levels for an entire year. It worked pretty well but I wouldn't do it.> It is not physiologic.> > Med J Aust. 2005 Jul 4;183(1):10-2.> > > > Remember, a 25-hydroxy-vitamin D is the blood test you should have at least> twice a year - spring and fall. Take enough cholecalciferol to maintain> normal levels of around 50 ng/ml (125 nmol/L), year-round. It will take> about 5,000 units/day from all sources (sun, supplements, and diet) to do> so.> > > > 2. Professor Kay Colston, of St. s Hospital Medical School in London,> was the coauthor of two remarkable vitamin D papers over the last few> months.> > > > a) True> > > > False> > > > True. Dr. Colston was senior author on that dramatic paper that showed> breast cancer was five times more frequent in the women with the lowest> blood levels.> > Eur J Cancer. 2005 May;41(8):1164-9. Epub 2005 Apr 14.> > > > Dr. Colston helped Dr. Townsend, of the University of Birmingham,> write a review of the ability of cancerous tissues to make activated vitamin> D or calcitriol. Calcitriol is a remarkable anticancer agent, but no one> knows for sure if higher levels of vitamin D in the blood will increase> calcitriol levels in tumors. The take away point is that some tumors still> have the ability to make calcitriol while other tumors may get calcitriol> from nearby cells, especially immune cells. The amount of calcitriol in your> tumor may depend on the amount of vitamin D in your blood.> > J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2005 Aug 1; [Epub ahead of print]> > > > We don't yet know if vitamin D will help fight cancer. It looks as if will> help. Until we know more, the real question is: Should oncologists allow> their cancer patients to die vitamin D deficient? Most do.> > Endocr Pract. 2004 May-Jun;10(3):292-3.> > > > Some cancer patients tell me they are taking 10,000 units of vitamin D a day> in hope it will retard their cancer's growth. If you e-mail me, asking me if> vitamin D will help your cancer, I will e-mail you back saying I don't know.> 10,000 units a day has never been shown to cause high blood calcium in> healthy people, lifeguards get about that much every day. There is no known> reason to take more. If you have cancer and take vitamin D, remember to get> your calcium checked periodically as a few cancers can activate too much> vitamin D and cause high blood calcium.> > > > 3. In July, researchers at the University of Quebec showed that breast> density (associated with malignancy) is lower in women with higher vitamin D> intakes.> > > > a) True> > > > False.> > > > True. The authors speculated that even 400 units of vitamin D, when taken> with calcium, reduce breast cancer risk more than Tamoxifen.> Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2005 Jul;14(7):1653-9.> > > > 4. Researchers recently reported patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma live> longer if they are diagnosed in sunny weather.> > > > a) True> > > > False> > > > True. The authors implied it is time to stop testing the expensive vitamin D> analogs in cancer patients and start testing plain old vitamin D. So we add> Hodgkin's' lymphoma and colon cancer to lung cancer, breast cancer and> prostate cancer, all of which have a better prognosis if diagnosed when> vitamin D blood levels are the highest. These papers are important because> they strongly imply a treatment effect with vitamin D.> > Br J Cancer. 2005 Sep 5;93(5):571-4.> > J Photochem Photobiol B. 2005 Mar 1;78(3):189-93.> > > 5. One makes quite of bit of vitamin D in the shade.> > a) True> > > > False> > > > True. At least in the subtropics, vitamin D producing UVB light was only 50%> less under umbrellas or shade trees owing to the fact that a lot of UVB> light is reflected. This study was conducted at latitude 27 degrees, and the> authors were quick to point out the amount made in the shade at higher> latitudes, such as U.S. and Europe, will be less.> > J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2005 Jul 5; [Epub ahead of print]> > > > 6. You are much more likely to die from a heart attack in the winter than> the summer.> > > > a) True> > > > False> > > True. The dramatic decrease in deaths from myocardial infarction over the> last 20 years is only partially explained by improved medical care and> remains something of a mystery. The reason for the large seasonal variations> in death rates (you are much more likely to die from a heart attack in the> winter) is more of a mystery, although many experts believe that colder> temperatures cause heart attacks. If cold weather causes heart attacks, then> people who live at higher altitudes, where it is generally colder, will be> more likely to die from heart attacks. Let's see if this is so.> > QJM. 2003 Jan;96(1):45-52.> > > > 7. Greek researchers recently confirmed that those who live at higher> altitudes are much less likely to die from heart disease.> > > > a) True> > > > False> > > > True. Both the men and women living at 950 meters, where vitamin D producing> UVB light is much more intense, had significantly lower total and cardiac> mortality than their lowland cousins. The lowland men were more than twice> as likely to die from a heart attack in spite of having lower blood pressure> and lower cholesterol.> > J Epidemiol Community Health. 2005 Apr;59(4):274-8.> > > > Three epidemiological facts about heart attacks cry out for a simple> explanation, a single theory that explains all the facts. The three facts:> heart attacks are less common closer to the equator, less common in the> summer, and less common at higher altitudes. Three more facts: vitamin D> producing UVB light is higher closer to the equator, higher in the summer,> and higher at higher altitudes.> > > 8. After getting 50,000 units of ergocalciferol twice a week for eight weeks> (800,000 units), 100% of vitamin D deficient patients with cystic fibrosis> remained vitamin D deficient.> > a) True> > > > False> > > > True. Unfortunately, ergocalciferol is not vitamin D and we will never know> if these patients with poor absorption would have absorbed real vitamin D,> probably not. 50,000 units of ergocalciferol a week for 8 weeks is common> treatment of vitamin D deficiency in the USA because ergocalciferol is the> only vitamin D like drug available in prescription strength. Real vitamin D,> cholecalciferol, is not available in prescription strength.> > Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2005 Jul 15;172(2):212-7. Epub 2005 Apr> > > 9. Researchers have repeatedly found lower 25(OH)D levels in demented> patients.> > a) True> > > > False> > > > True. At least four studies have incidentally found that demented patients> have lower 25(OH)D levels. The obvious explanation is that demented patients> don't go outside as much. However, Dhesi found associations between 25(OH)D> and cognition within a narrow range of cognition, harder to explain by> outdoor behavior. Flicker found the association, even after adjusting for> outdoor exposure.> > J Am Geriatr Soc. 1995 Oct;43(10):1088-91.> > J Bone Miner Res. 2002 May;17(5):891-7.> > J Am Geriatr Soc. 2003 Nov;51(11):1533-8.> > Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2005 Mar;86(3):576-81.> > > > Recently the Australians showed that multiple areas of the human brain> contain both the vitamin D receptor and the ability to activate vitamin D> into the powerful steroid hormone, calcitriol. This has implications for a> wide variety of neurological and psychiatric illnesses.> > J Chem Neuroanat. 2005 Jan;29(1):21-30.> > > > Of course all this is more interesting after Irish researchers announced> last month that vitamin D reverses the inflammation associated with age> related dementia. Should we add dementia to the list of diseases caused by> vitamin D deficiency?> > Biochem Soc Trans. 2005 Aug;33(Pt 4):573-7.> > > 10. Researchers gave African Americans women 2,000 units of cholecalciferol> a day for a year and found no effect on bone mineral density.> > a) True> > > > False> > > > True. A New York group treated 81 healthy African American women with 800> units/day for two years and then with 2,000 units/day for another year. They> found no effect on bone loss. Examination of their data showed that more> than ninety-five percent of the women were still vitamin D deficient (<40> ng/ml) at the end of three months of treatment with 2,000 units. It looked> as if forty percent still had levels less than 32 ng/ml at the end of the> three years. That said, this was a good study.> > Arch Intern Med. 2005 Jul 25;165(14):1618-23.> > > > Some authors have suggested African Americans have developed decreased> sensitivity to vitamin D. For example, low blood levels were strongly> associated with diabetes (one-fourth the risk with the highest levels) in> whites, but not in African Americans.> > Diabetes Care. 2004 Dec;27(12):2813-8.> > > > Perhaps adequate doses (4,000 units a day) would have had an effect on> African American women - we will never know because the researchers followed> the archaic guidelines from the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The 1997 IOM> guidelines state anything over 2,000 units may be toxic. Those same IOM> guidelines for daily supplementation recommend 200 units/day for those less> than 50 years old, 400 units/day between 50 and 70, and 600/day units above> age 70.> > > > Not only have these guidelines kept undeserving husbands alive, they have> hindered research by forcing scientists to use inadequate doses of vitamin D> in scientific studies. More importantly, they are inadequate to maintain> healthy blood levels. To paraphrase Professor Heaney, the 1997 IOM> recommendations are both irrelevant and inadequate. Every month, the> scientific literature makes the IOM recommendations look more and more> dangerous to your health. The longer it takes the IOM to correct their> mistake, the grosser their error becomes.> > > > Cannell, MD> > 9100 San Gregorio Road> > Atascadero, CA 93422> > The Vitamin D Council> > > > > > This is a periodic newsletter from the Vitamin D Council, a non-profit> trying to end the epidemic of vitamin D deficiency. If you don't want to> get the newsletter, hit reply and let us know. This newsletter is not> copyrighted. Please feel free to reproduce it or post it on internet sites.> > > > Haven't signed up for the newsletter yet? Go to the Vitamin D Council's> website.> > > > > > > --> No virus found in this outgoing message.> Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.> Version: 7.0.344 / Virus Database: 267.10.21/96 - Release Date: 10/09/2005