Health Advice/Discussion

Tu_triky wrote:Word. The lastest research buzz in the world of nutritional research concerns vitamin D. It's quickly emerging that current recommendations are woefully low, dangerously low in some populations that are likely deficient already, to a large degree in fact.

www.vitamindcouncil.org

People just need to get out in the sun and catch some rays... :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D

bmwracer wrote:
People just need to get out in the sun and catch some rays... :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D

Well that's just it nobody does...so it's likely even in a place like L.A. ppl are deficient in Vitamin D....if you live at higher latitudes forget it you are certain to be deficient, especially in the winter months. Unless you work as a lifeguard or something, you're dreaming if you think you have enough vitamin D. And drving in your car doesn't count....the specific wavelength of light triggers which vitamin D production is UV B radiation....that gets blocked out even by clear glass found in car windows or windows at home or in the office.

I was reading this monograph of about vitamin D and this one doctor who working in Guam, which is very close to the equator and consequently gets more sun, said that when he tested his patients for vitamin D levels, the overhwelming MAJORITY of them were deficient in vitamin D...and those fools should be baked by the sun given the geographical location.

Incidentally, they mentioned on TV today that 60% of Americans have a deficiency in Vitamin D.

Wynter wrote:Incidentally, they mentioned on TV today that 60% of Americans have a deficiency in Vitamin D.

Easily 60%. I'm sure in winter it's even higher than that....everybody does everything indoor these days and when there is sun ppl slather chemicals to block out all rays, including UVB....

The key is - as with everything - moderation and common sense.

I was reading this really disgusting story on how certain industrial bakeries legally "cheat" (because they state the ingredients) with wholegrain bread. They use white flour and add a few grains, color the dough dark and market it as healthy :bleh: :bleh: :bleh:

EstherM wrote:The key is - as with everything - moderation and common sense.

I was reading this really disgusting story on how certain industrial bakeries legally "cheat" (because they state the ingredients) with wholegrain bread. They use white flour and add a few grains, color the dough dark and market it as healthy :bleh: :bleh: :bleh:

At least it wasn't as bad as that pork bun story from China where they were using cardboard dissolved in acid to pass as meat filling for the buns.

Tu_triky wrote:

At least it wasn't as bad as that pork bun story from China where they were using cardboard dissolved in acid to pass as meat filling for the buns.

:beaten: :bleh:
I guess we are lucky ...

EstherM wrote:

:beaten: :bleh:
I guess we are lucky ...

I'm STILL picking cardboard out of my teeth.

Wynter wrote:

I'm STILL picking cardboard out of my teeth.

Oh no! But I hear it has some nutritive value :victory:

EstherM wrote:Oh no! But I hear it has some nutritive value :victory:

I guess you could consider cardboard as soluble fiber. :beaten:

EstherM wrote:

Oh no! But I hear it has some nutritive value :victory:

I'm pretty sure the acid took care of that. :sweat: :rofl:

Millions of American men at undue risk for a heart attack - a problem remedied by 3000 units of supplemental vitamin D per day
By Bill Sardi


If a study of 18,225 American men (health professionals) age 40-75 years is reflective of the entire population of middle-aged males, three-quarters of adult males in the U.S. face a doubling of their risk for a heart attack due to low vitamin D levels. A vitamin D deficiency is far more predictive of a future heart attack than cholesterol, says a report due to be published in the Archives of Internal Medicine on Monday, June 9, 2008. Vitamin D deficiency is almost totally preventable with dietary supplementation.

High cholesterol combined with a vitamin D deficiency served to increase the risk of a heart attack by about 2.4 times, but a vitamin D deficiency alone accounted for 2.0 times of that risk, or 83% of the increased risk.

The study compared men with vitamin D levels at or below 15 nanograms of vitamin D per milliliter of blood (37.4 nanomoles per liter) to men with vitamin D levels above 30 nanograms per milliliter (74.8 nanomoles per liter). Men with a low (less than 15 nanograms/milliliter) level of vitamin D would need about 3000 international units (IU) of supplemental vitamin D3 per day to reach a 30 nanogram blood concentration, say study researchers. Most multivitamins provide a paltry 400 IU of vitamin D.

Men in the study group averaged 200-205 total cholesterol, which is considered a healthy range. Most of the decreased risk for a heart attack among men who had higher vitamin D levels was attributed to vitamin D's ability to prevent arterial calcification, not cholesterol plaque.

Researchers at the Institute of Physical Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, cite that vitamin D has widespread health benefits (reduced risk for falls, admission to nursing homes, fractures, cancer prevention, less high blood pressure and even fewer dental cavities), with the most advantageous serum levels at least 30 nanograms per milliliter (75 nanomoles/liter), with a higher optimal range for cancer prevention, 36-48 nanograms/milliliter (90-120 nanomole/liter). [Advances Experimental Medicine Biology 624: 55-71, 2008] This translates to more than the suggested 3000 IU in the Archives of Internal Medicine study.

This study means the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for vitamin D is woefully inadequate, particularly for a population that is being advised to avoid midday sun exposure because of risks for skin cancer. Most natural vitamin D is produced in the skin upon exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation. (It takes about 18 minutes of total-body midday summer sun exposure to produce 3000 IU of natural vitamin D3.) Furthermore, many Americans falsely believe their diet, or fortified milk, provides sufficient amounts of vitamin D.

This study also indicts public health authorities for being remiss in re-establishing a higher RDA for vitamin D, an essential vitamin discovered by Professor Edward Mellanby in 1922.

The millions of lives lost due to a common vitamin D deficiency are indefensible. Anytime in the past 8 decades this increased risk could have been identified. Instead, modern medicine chose to combat heart attacks with near useless statin drugs. According to Dr. John Abramson of Harvard Medical School, statin drugs have not been shown to reduce the risk for a mortal heart attack. [Lancet 2007 Jan 20; 369(9557):168-9] The Therapeutics Letter says only statin drugs like Lipitor prevent only 1 non-mortal heart attack for every 70 healthy adults taking a statin drug for prevention. [Therapeutics Letter 2003; 48:1-2]

Source: Giovannucci E, Liu Y, Hollis BW, Rimm EB, 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Risk of Myocardial Infarction in Men. Archives Internal Medicine 168: 1174-80, June 9, 2008.

Tu_triky wrote:This study means the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for vitamin D is woefully inadequate, particularly for a population that is being advised to avoid midday sun exposure because of risks for skin cancer.

That is hard. How is one supposed to get that much vitamin D if the flipside is you might get skin cancer doing it?

FarOutFreak wrote:

That is hard. How is one supposed to get that much vitamin D if the flipside is you might get skin cancer doing it?

You supplement your reasonable sun exposure with Vitamin D supplements....like me.

Tu_triky wrote:Millions of American men at undue risk for a heart attack - a problem remedied by 3000 units of supplemental vitamin D per day
By Bill Sardi

Most multivitamins provide a paltry 400 IU of vitamin D.

Guess I'd better head over to Costco soon. :sweat:

bmwracer wrote:
Guess I'd better head over to Costco soon. :sweat:

Conceivably you can get the necessary vitamin d thru sunlight alone but most ppl simply don't spend enough time outdoors....and vitamin d is woefully lacking in the SAD (Standard American Diet)

Tu_triky wrote:Conceivably you can get the necessary vitamin d thru sunlight alone but most ppl simply don't spend enough time outdoors....

I'll put in a requisition for a patio chair and table at work. :mrgreen:

From what I understand, half a cup of mushrooms that have been exposed to UV light after harvesting can provide like 3000 IU of Vitamin D.

bmwracer wrote:
I'll put in a requisition for a patio chair and table at work. :mrgreen:

That'd be nice. :mrgreen:

phlargo wrote:From what I understand, half a cup of mushrooms that have been exposed to UV light after harvesting can provide like 3000 IU of Vitamin D.

I think I saw an article about that just recently... In the LA Times Food Section... :headscratch: