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Dr. Mercola
March 08 2008
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Is Vitamin D the "Nutrient of the Decade?"

sunbathe, vitamin D, sun exposure, sunlightVitamin D, also known as the “sunshine vitamin,” has been associated with so many health benefits that it may become the “nutrient of the decade.”

While federal officials have resisted increasing the daily recommended level of vitamin D out of fears of overdose toxicity, increasing evidence suggests that the currently recommended intake levels are not adequate to prevent the serious diseases linked to low vitamin D levels.

Vitamin D has been found to;
  • Strengthen bones
  • Reduce tumor growth
  • Lower your risk of cancer
  • Reduce your risk of multiple sclerosis
  • Lower your risk of diabetes
Through most of human history, sunlight was the primary source of vitamin D. Based on how much time you spend in the sun, you may also need additional sources, such as from foods (vitamin D is found in oily fish like salmon, mackerel, bluefish, catfish, sardines and tuna) or vitamin D3 supplements.

Researchers like Bruce W. Hollis believe that the current top recommended daily level of 2,000 I.U. for vitamin D is far too low. Dr. Hollis has been giving pregnant women 4,000 I.U. a day, and nursing women 6,000, with no adverse effects.

Dr. Mercola Dr. Mercola's Comments:
If you live in the United States in an area where, in the winter, you are regularly digging out from snow, unable to go outside without a heavy sweater or coat, or find yourself looking up at yet another gray, cloudy sky, your vitamin D levels are probably too low.

In fact, it is even more likely that you are deficient.

The late winter average of vitamin D levels in the United States is only about 15-18 ng/ml -- and any levels below 20 ng/ml are considered serious deficiency states that will increase your risk of breast and prostate cancers and autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Ideally, when you have your vitamin D levels tested -- something I advise everyone to do, especially if you’re taking a vitamin D supplement or have never had it done before -- the OPTIMAL value that you’re looking for is 50-55 ng/ml.

Be sure when you do so that you ask your doctor for the correct test, which is 25(OH)D, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D.

Now is the Time to Get Your Vitamin D Levels Where They Need to Be

Folks, it’s late winter, and it will be several weeks or more before it’s warm enough to get adequate sun exposure in many areas of the United States. This is, of course, your best choice to get vitamin D. All you need to do is expose your skin to the sun, and it will do the rest for you, producing exactly the amount of vitamin D that your body needs to stay healthy.

The challenge, though, is that many of you have been cooped up inside, and your vitamin D stores from summer (IF you even had any) will have long since been used up. This is because vitamin D is stored in your blood for a few weeks and in your fat for just a few months.

According to one of the leading vitamin D researchers in the world, William B. Grant, Ph.D., vitamin D levels generally drop by 20 percent to 30 percent during winter in mid attitudes and the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency increases markedly during this time.

So right now, many Americans are running on fumes when it comes to vitamin D.

These low winter/springtime vitamin D levels are associated with the development of a number of autoimmune diseases such as autism and type 1 diabetes, and schizophrenia -- and cancer detection also increases in the winter/spring as well, according to Grant’s research.

To put it simply, if you ignore this advice and choose not to make sure your vitamin D levels are where they should be, you could easily be increasing your risk for serious chronic diseases.

Nutrient of the Decade? How About Nutrient of the Century?

I believe the latter would be much more fitting. I can’t think of another nutrient that so many people are deficient in, yet that has the potential to prevent diseases that claim nearly 1 million lives throughout the world each year -- including 600,000 cases of breast and colorectal cancers!

Meanwhile, this is a nutrient that you can get for FREE, simply by doing something that inherently feels great to most of us: letting the sun shine on your bare skin.

I have detailed everything you need to know to get your vitamin D levels up to par in my new book, Dark Deception, which will be coming out soon.

In the meantime, while I don’t normally recommend you run out to see your doctor, do run out and get your vitamin D levels tested.

When you get your results, if they’re not in the optimal range (50-55 ng/ml) then make it your priority to get them there by:
  • Getting plenty of safe sun exposure when the weather warms up (just don’t get burned!)
  • Considering the use of a safe tanning bed (one that has the X-rays and electromagnetic field emissions removed)
  • Taking a vitamin D3 supplement (if you opt for this route, keep in mind that you should continue to get your vitamin D levels tested so that you don’t overdose)
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Community Comments ( 43 )
 		Comment on this Article
  
  
foxtroter_203
 [ Joined on 09/06 ] [ Posted on February 20, 2008 ]
32 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
But, but, but, I thought that hiding from the sun and using sun blockers was a good natural thing to be doing.  

Lets see now, our medically, governmentally dominated pseudo health care system has over the years recommended:
1) low fat diet
2) high carbohydrate diet
3) aerobic exercise
4) no use of supplements of any kind
5) sun blockers
6) soy products are health food

and on and on.  Yet the pseudo medical system still stands tall on its pedestal in the eyes of most of the uninformed public.  We here at VV see an "emperor in his new clothes."
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
Russ Bianchi
 [ Joined on 09/06 ]  [ Posted on February 20, 2008]
11 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
And those 'new clothes' look "just fine" from K Street, in Washington, DC.

"Now if you join 'US', we can fit you with your own pair of jewel encrusted underpants, Black Label Armani or Prada...?"  "Doc you'll love PRADA, just like our boss THE DEVIL wears..."
Mercola
  
Charisse
 [ Joined on 10/07 ]  [ Posted on February 21, 2008]
11 Points        
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola
Adroitly put foxtrotter....At least the emporer is getting his D3!Tee Hee
  
  
shaneperrone
 [ Joined on 11/07 ] [ Posted on February 21, 2008 ]
9 Points        
   
 
Apprentice User
Vitamin D is a free wonder drug.
 [ Reply ]
  
  
mama bear
 [ Joined on 06/06 ] [ Posted on February 21, 2008 ]
4 Points        
   
 
Apprentice User
I remember Dr Mercola promoting "naked at noon"  being outside during peak sun WITHOUT sunscreen.  I follow his recommendation as much as possible between April-Sept when the sun is strongest in the northern hemisphere.  I am excited for  warm weather to get here  already.  It is 9 degrees right now .  At least the sun is actually shining.
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
Aaltrude
 [ Joined on 04/07 ]  [ Posted on February 21, 2008]
1 Points        
   
Moderator User
  Mercola
Maybe mad dogs and englishmen are not so mad after all. I try to do the same mama bear. Every day when the sun is out I try to find the time to spend 15 to 20 minutes lying outside under the midday sun.
Mercola
  
Beccadog
 [ Joined on 10/07 ]  [ Posted on March 8, 2008]
1 Points        
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola

That's a good way to acquire skin cancer!  My neighbor gardened outside for years without a hat to cover her face, and had skin cancer all over, which eventually killed her.  

Everything should be in moderation.  I'm outside swimming in the summer before 10:00 a.m. and after 3:00 p.m. when the sun is lower in the sky.

In the cooler times of the year, I consume about vitamin D in my multi-mineral tablets.

I'm concerned about taking cod liver oil, because most cod comes from very polluted waters are the Baltic.  There are high levels of PCBs in both the salmon and the cod from that region of the world.

Mercola
  
Aaltrude
 [ Joined on 04/07 ]  [ Posted on March 9, 2008]
5 Points        
   
Moderator User
  Mercola

Beccadog, 15 to 20 minutes in the sun is in moderation. It is not even enough for my skin to turn pink. Your neighbour probably spent hours in the sun. When the sun is low in the sky, you will not produce much vitmin D if any. This is one of the reasons why your vitmin D level drops in the winter - the sun is low and has to penetrate more of the atmosphere to reach you which reduces the amount of rays that can produce the vitamin D. Following the policy I do at the moment of making the most of the midday sun in summer my vitamin D levels are good. When I was working in a job that meant the only sun exposure I could get in the summer was when the suns rays were low, my vitamin D was deficient. My chances of living a healthy life are greater when my vitamin D levels are good therefore I am prepared to take the chance in the sun.
  
  
mmc88121
 [ Joined on 11/06 ] [ Posted on February 20, 2008 ]
4 Points        
   
 
Moderator User
The article still stopped short of saying you need to get out in the sun more.  And they said D3 was more effective than D2, for some reason I thought that D2 was more bioavailable than D3.  Could some one correct me if I am incorrect.

Mary
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
foxtroter_203
 [ Joined on 09/06 ]  [ Posted on February 20, 2008]
14 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Vit D3 (Cholecalciferol) is the form that the human body uses and is made directly with sunlight. Also is in Cod Liver Oil.  Vit D2 (ergocalciferol) is the plant based form of Vit D that the body must convert into Vit D3 to use.
Mercola
  
Matthew C
 [ Joined on 06/06 ]  [ Posted on February 21, 2008]
9 Points        
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola
Obviously virtually everyone here will agree that natural sunlight is the best source of vitamin D3, but what are people's thoughts on the second best source - i.e. a tanning bed/unit with electronic ballasts (providing an artificial source but one which is absorbed through the skin) vs. a natural food source of vitamin D3 such as wild salmon or sardines?
How safe really are artificial sources of UV light, even using electronic ballasts? Does anyone know of any research on this? I cannot seem to find any research into the safety of electronic ballasts in sunbeds.
Mercola
  
foxtroter_203
 [ Joined on 09/06 ]  [ Posted on February 21, 2008]
9 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
Matthew....here is the link to Mercola's thoughts on the subject.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/06/02/tanning-beds-part-two.aspx
Mercola
  
Matthew C
 [ Joined on 06/06 ]  [ Posted on February 21, 2008]
1 Points        
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola
OK thanks foxtroter.
  
  
bamboobug
 [ Joined on 12/07 ] [ Posted on March 8, 2008 ]
3 Points        
   
 
Novice User

"Shiitake mushrooms can be an exceptional source of vitamin D, as noted in research published in Paul Stamets’ book, Mycelium Running. Shiitake mushrooms grown and dried indoors have only 110 IU of vitamin D per 100 grams. But when the shiitakes were dried in the sun, the vitamin D content rose to 21,400 IUs per 100 grams. Even more surprising, when the mushrooms were dried with their gills facing up toward the sun, their content rose to 46,000 IU!"

www.motherearthnews.com/.../Vitamin-D-Sunshine-Supplements.aspx

books.google.com/books

 [ Reply ]
  
  
nutritionpower
 [ Joined on 06/06 ] [ Posted on March 8, 2008 ]
3 Points        
   
 
Apprentice User

For Beccadog and others: Dr. Mercola recommends 15 minutes in the Sun I think with no sunscreen. Your neighbor was probably like my father who spent hours out in the worst sun of the day because he thought tanning was healthy. He lived to be 83 but he had about 200 skin cancers removed, including 2 melanomas.  

Also regarding cod liver oil, you can buy purified sources from nordic naturals brand or garden of life brand. They do have pharmaceutical grade cod liver oil without all the contaminants.

 [ Reply ]
  
  
Gabrielle1941
 [ Joined on 12/07 ] [ Posted on March 7, 2008 ]
3 Points        
   
 
Novice User

We have a difficult time here in Alaska getting fifteen minutes of sun exposure in the winter. Actually, in the Northern part where I spend a great deal of time, there is no sun. It should be peeking a smidgen in late march. So, we make sure we have lots of Cod Liver Oil. In Anchorage, yesterday, there actually was sunshine. It was wonderful, and even at 22 degrees, we were out there! Sometimes it's a toss-up! Can we get our Vit.D before we get hypothermia????

 [ Reply ]
  
  
Beccadog
 [ Joined on 10/07 ] [ Posted on March 8, 2008 ]
2 Points        
   
 
Apprentice User

Consuming too much vitamin D (vitamin D2) can cause the reactions as if it were used to kill rats and other rodents.

In humans **ingestion poisonings,symptoms include anorexia, nausea, vomiting, and weight loss. Many of the other effects of chronic vitamin D toxicity are due to induced hypercalcemia....[Symptoms similar to hypercalcemia are seen and include anorexia, fatigue, headache, itching, and weakness.]  Polyneuropathy may be seen.

ACUTE:

Mild persistent hypertension has been reported in children with vitamin D intoxication.

Cardiac arrhythmias and myocardial infarction may be seen with chronically high ingestion. Changes in rat coronary arteries have been observed.

Other effects include: Anorexia, nausea, vomiting, constipation and diarrhea. Extreme depression, apathy, confusion, and fatigue. In humans, aortic stenosis was associated with high doses of vitamin D in pregnancy.

http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/  search word <vitamin D>

Symptoms of aortic stenosis include: shortness of breath, chest pain, and fainting. In severe cases: reduction of blood flow to the brain and heart valve infection.  www.cardiologychannel.com/.../symptoms.shtml  

BOTTOM LINE: Follow directions and everything in moderation. Supplements are more concentrated than food sources.  Also, these studies are on vitamin D alone.  They are not on the toxic organochlorines which accumulate and concentrate in fatty fish!

 [ Reply ]
  
  
bagarino
 [ Joined on 01/07 ] [ Posted on March 8, 2008 ]
2 Points