Sunshine, Vitamin D, and Death by Scientific Consensus

Pajamas Media ^ | Jan 7, 2009 | Patrick Cox

[decimon]

The traditional “Top Ten Breakthroughs of the Decade” lists have been appearing in science-related publications. One breakthrough, however, is conspicuously missing from every list I’ve seen so far. I’m talking about the new understanding of the role and proper dosage of the sunshine vitamin D.

The “scientific consensus” that has held sway for four decades regarding both exposure to the sun and vitamin D has collapsed. What has emerged in place of the old “settled science” is the knowledge that most people in America are seriously vitamin D deficient or insufficient. The same is true for Canada and Europe, and the implications are staggering.

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It is so important biologically that early humans could manufacture D even during famines.

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Holick says that from Los Angeles south, UVB is present in sunshine year round though it is blocked by clouds. Even the palest among us will be unable to get sufficient UVB from sunshine in more northern latitudes. In Boston, for example, UVB is blocked by the angle of the sun November through February. Edmonton, Canada, has no UVB mid-October through mid-April. Young people can store enough D during summer months to make it through the winter. Older people cannot.

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[decimon]

In the United States, latitudes below 34 degrees north (a line between Los Angeles and Columbia, South Carolina) allow for cutaneous production of vitamin D throughout the year [27].”

Southern AZ, high elevation (5000 feet), average an hour a day outside.

The problem I see is that you are in a zone where you can just barely make some vitamin D from sunlight for a part of the year. And that is on a cloudless day, at midday, not in the shade, not behind glass...

And then there is skin color, or tanned skin, and age. Darker skin and the skin of an older person are less efficient at converting sunlight to vitamin D.

[Varda]

I love gardening but my scurvy was causing bruising in my hands. I don’t get that anymore so I’ll be out there as soon as it warms up. I’ve never looked forward to weeds so much in my life.

[CPOSharky]

The problem I see is that you are in a zone where you can just barely make some vitamin D from sunlight for a part of the year.

Wrong. Southern AZ is well below the 34 degree, year round, line. Plus, where I am there is a mile less of atmosphere for the sunlight to penetrate.

[Daisyjane69]

Great post and timely (at least for me). I was mentioning this whole Vitamin D thing to my sweetie over the weekend.

Thanks so much!

[Daisyjane69]

What is it about us Ohio people?

We keep our Ohio FReeper flags up, no matter where (or how many times) we move. heh

(I’m in S. Utah)

:)

[Daisyjane69]

I’m waiting to see if there is a correlation between this (Vit.D) and MS (multiple sclerosis) a debilitating, chronic, and ultimately fatal disease.

When living in Cleveland, both my sister and I, a couple years apart both exhibited symptoms of MS. Thankfully, neither of us had it. But one thing we learned is that MS is virtually unknown in the sunnier and warmer parts of the U.S.

Since I’ve been in S. Utah (six miles from AZ - sunny 300+ days a year), I have seen exactly one person with symptoms that reminded me of MS. And she was a transplant to St. George.

Now there’s a disease I’d like to see cured!

[Daisyjane69]

Your post made me laugh. :)

I also got seed catalogs yesterday, including my favorite, Territorial Seed Company.

Amazing how much “medicine” a seed catalog provides in January!

[Pharmboy]

Boston

[Pharmboy]

Well, Holick is THE authority on D in this country, and one of the top guys in the world. He also told me that he has a book coming out on D this year.

[AlguyA]

I just started taking VD3 and am taking 1(one) tablet with 1000iu. Are you saying I should take more? I’ve always struggled with the ‘winter blues.’ I’ve known for a long time that I had immensely more energy in the summer than the winter and thought the sun had something to do with it. I live in Central Illinois and in the winter get virtually no exposure to the sun at all.

[decimon]

If you do then you’ll save money with the higher dosage capsules. 2000 and even 5000 IU capsules are not that much more expensive than 1000 IU capsules.

If you want fish oil then you can find that with vitamin D. Might be cheaper than buying separate products.

[AlguyA]

So you’re saying I could safely up my dosage from 1000iu daily? What would be a “good” dose?

[decimon]

So you’re saying I could safely up my dosage from 1000iu daily? What would be a “good” dose?

Well, I can't play doctor cuz I'm not one. There are actual physicians here who don't play doctor at this distance.

We get from Pharmboy that Dr. Holick takes 2000 IU a day. Dr. Cannell of the organization pointed to in post #16 talks of 5000 IU a day.

I'm a 64 year old guy and I'm currently taking about 7000 IU a day. I may reduce that in the future.

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp

NIH is not a reliable authority for most things regarding our health. All that in the quote from them sounds “good”, but very few people in this country get enough sun exposure, regardless of latitude. Dark skinned people in general get much less benefit from sun exposure and are more frequently deficient in Vitamin D (truly a hormone, not a vitamin).

I am in Ohio, 50 miles south of Cleveland, and I supplement D3 (10,000 units). I am not in any danger of overdosing. D is essential for many, many bodily functions and is important for the immune system. Lack of D in older people is primarily responsible for osteoporosis (along with magnesium, not calcium, deficiency). D3 is very inexpensive. I use Bio-D-Mulsion Forte from Biotics Research. 1 oz has 750 drops and each drop is 2000 units of D3. Google it if you want to find it online.

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

I am 74, take 10,000 units a day of D3. I am in excellent health, do not get sick. My latitude here is about 40.86 degrees North. I am out in the sun a fair bit in the summer, but still take the 10,000 units daily. About $20 for 150 days worth of D3 at this dosage.

[decimon]

If you haven’t seen it, there’s another thread on this and a battle raging over what is overdosing of vitamin d.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2423344/posts?page=13

[SunkenCiv]

Wait, I just had a brainstorm — “Taking Vitamin D with the Stars”!!! It’s GENIUS.

;’) Thanks decimon.

[neverdem]

thanks, bfl

[neverdem]

This is not the end of the list, though. The big killers and most expensive diseases respond similarly to adequate D. I’m talking about hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and stroke. So do type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes (to a lesser extent), rheumatoid arthritis, peripheral vascular disease, multiple sclerosis, dementia, autoimmune diseases, and apparently even viral diseases such as H1N1 and AIDS.

From page 3 of 4, stem cells were mentioned on page 2. This is one of those stories that I think everyone should read, IMHO.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

BTTT