Vitamin D3 Blog

February 18, 2010

By: Pamela Egan

What is one of the cheapest and easiest interventions in medicine that would save the most lives and the most money? It reduces inflammation in your heart, brain & joints. It stops bone loss and protects you from osteoporosis, diabetes & obesity. It strengthens your immune system and helps retard bacterial and viral infections. It helps prevent several different cancers. It helps cure fibromyalgia, depression, and chronic fatigue syndrome. If you’ve read my past health columns, you know that I am referring to natural, active Vtamin D3, not synthetic D2.

Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) is essential for life. You may ask why are Americans so deficient in Vitamin D3? Let’s take a look at evolutionary biology. Our ancestors lived naked in the sun for several million years. Through evolution, sunlight was needed to produce Vitamin D. Then 50,000 years ago, some of us migrated north to places with less sun. Then we put on clothes, started working inside and living in cities where buildings blocked the sun.

We started traveling in cars instead of walking or riding horses and glass blocked even more UVB in the sunlight. Only a few years ago, we started actively avoiding the sun and putting on sun block. All this time we humans have been steadily reducing the tissue levels of the most potent steroid hormone in our bodies, one with powerful anti-cancer properties.

The really significant reductions in sunlight exposure have occurred since the industrial revolution, just the time the “diseases of civilization,” like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer became prominent.

So what can a Vitamin D3 deficiency lead to? At least 17 varieties of cancer including: Breast, Bladder, Colon, Lymphoma, Ovarian, Endometrial, and Prostate. Heart disease, High Blood pressure, Stroke, Autoimmune disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Diabetes Type 1 & 2, Depression, Chronic Pain, Osteoarthritis, Osteoporosis, Muscle Weakness, Obesity, Periodontal Disease, Infectious Disease, & more. Vitamin D3 is a powerful anti-inflammatory and those of us in the Anti-Aging industry that reducing inflammation is half the aging battle won!

The research is astonishing! So how much Vitamin D3 do we need per day?

Ask your primary care provider to check your serum vitamin D3/ 25(OH) level. The optimum range is 80 – 100 ng/ml. No toxicity was seen with D3 levels less than 150 ng/ml.

The optimum dose of Vitamin D3 is 5000 – 15,000IU per day. (I personally take 10,000IU D3 daily to maintain my 25(OH) level between 80 – 100. A weekly dose of 50,000 IU D3 is OK. Fewer supplements are needed if you receive more sun exposure. Maybe they knew something we didn’t know in those nudist colonies.

Pamela Egan, MN, NP, CDE, ABAAHP Diplomat (American Board of Anti-Aging Health Practitioners), is a board certified Adult & Family Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Specialist in Gerontology/Mental Health, & Certified Diabetes Educator. She can be reached at 985-892-3031 or www.pamelaegan.com.

By: Health Columnist Pamela Egan

At the root of many, many chronic diseases and illnesses such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, etc., is inflammation. If one can keep inflammation at bay, that person has successfully won half of the aging battle.

Research shows you can drastically reduce your risk of cancer and countless other chronic diseases by getting safe sun exposure, or taking a high quality Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) supplement. Vitamin D3 deficiency has been associated with Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Diabetes, Colon Cancer, Obesity, High Blood Pressure, Heart Disease, Auto-Immune Disease, Neuro-degenerative Diseases including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis and Lou Gehrig’s Disease, Osteoporosis, Depression, and also Breast Cancer.

Personally, I can always tell when my D3 levels falls lower than 60 because my feet get achy. However, this occurrence is rare as I make a point of regularly obtaining the nutrient through a variety of Vitamin D3 Sources.

New data on nutrition and heart disease presented at a recent symposium and published in the July issue of the American Journal of the Medical Sciences shows that low vitamin D levels are a common problem affecting numerous health conditions, including high blood pressure, heart failure and ischemic heart disease.

I have many patients with auto-immune disease including Rheumatoid Arthritis and Lupus who are off of their medications including steroids and methotrexate with vitamin D3 10,000iu/day plus a course of prescription strength probiotics such as VSL-3.  Many patients with hypertension are managed with Vitamin D3 5000 iu twice a day + Magnesium Glycinate 100mg twice a day.

High-quality vitamin d3 supplements can be found here., for any readers who may be better off taking such a supplement but don’t know where to obtain one that will achieve the desired results.

Pamela Egan, NP, ABAAHP Diplomat (American Board of Anti-Aging Health Practitioners), CDE is a board certified Adult & Family Nurse Practitioner, Fellow of the American Academy of Anti-Aging & Functional Medicine, and Certified Diabetes Educator. She is a health columnist from Covington, LA.

Vitamin D3 Sources: Food and Sunlight

With the world suddenly alerted to the health crisis that is vitamin d deficiency epidemic, the subject of what natural sources contain vitamin d has become quite the hot topic.

First, let us clarify that not all vitamin d is the same. There are two main types of vitamin d3: Ergocalciferol (vitamin d2); and Cholecalciferol (vitamin d3). Cholecalciferol is the superior form of the nutrient. It is the naturally-occurring form of the vitamin, as opposed to D2, which is largely synthetic and found in most vitamin supplements. That said, the remainder of this article will focus on vitamin d3, as it is the one offering the major health benefits due to its superior bioavailability.

There are two primary vitamin d3 sources not including supplements.

Sources of Vitamin D3:

1. Sunlight – Exposing one’s skin to direct sunlight is the most effective and efficient way of obtaining vitamin d3. Exposure to UV rays from direct sunlight triggers vitamin d3 production in the skin. Artificial lighting is not sufficient to initiate vitamin d synthesis in the skin. Some health experts have even gone so far as to recommend sunbathing in the nude as a means of obtaining healthy amounts of d3.
2. Foods – Food generally has very little to offer in terms if vitamin d3 when compared with sunlight. However there are a few foods that provide small-to-moderate amounts of the nutrient:
• Fish: Not including Cod Liver Oil, since we’re not counting supplements, fish containing vitamin d3 include Herring, Salmon, Mackerel, Tuna, Sardines and Eel.
• Milk and Fortified Foods: Milk supplies small amounts of vitamin d, as do fortified cereals and soy products.
• Eggs: Eggs provide roughly 20 iu (International Units) of vitamin d3 per egg. The nutrient is concentrated in the egg yolk, so one need not eat the entire egg if only seeking to obtain the food-based nutrient.
• Beef Liver: Beef liver can provide trace amounts of vitamin d3.
• Mushrooms: Mushrooms can provide some amount of vitamin d, however, typically mushrooms offer vitamin d2 (ergocalciferol) as opposed to the more valuable cholecalciferol.

A blood test to determine calcidiol (25-hydroxy-vitamin D) levels is a common method used to determine whether one’s vitamin d levels are within healthy range, or if a vitamin d3 deficiency is present. For those who are deficient and averse to taking oral supplements, the above-listed foods along with plenty of sunlight can help correct the problem and restore your immune system to full capacity.

Can Vitamin D3 Help Reduce the Rates of Autism, ADHD?

By: Pamela Egan, NP, ABAAHP, CDE

In addition to research that indicates that Vitamin D3 can help drastically reduce your risk of Seasonal Flu and Swine Flu, the super-vitamin also appears to have a role in combating Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) as well as Autism.

More than 4.4 million children have been diagnosed with ADHD. Health officials believe the incidence of autism is 1 in 150. The incidence among boys is even higher: 1 in 94.  Vitamin D’s role in the development of the brain begins when the human brain undergoes its most rapid and complex formation between the last trimester of pregnancy and the first two years of life.  Some of the new literature on vitamin D3 suggests that it may be that a maternal vitamin D3 deficiency sets the stage for autism. When combined with the right genetic propensity, which is linked to a high risk of autoimmune disorders, activating an immune reaction in the brain may trigger the effects on brain development associated with autism.

In this way, daily ingestion of a high-quality vitamin d3 supplement by pregnant mothers may help reduce the rates of ADHD and Autism in future generations.

Pamela Egan, NP, ABAAHP Diplomat (American Board of Anti-Aging Health Practitioners), CDE is a board certified Adult & Family Nurse Practitioner, Fellow of the American Academy of Anti-Aging & Functional Medicine, and Certified Diabetes Educator. She is a  health columnist from Covington, LA. Her website is www.pamelaegan.com.

Nurse Practitioner Egan has written extensively about the topic of vitamin d3. Links to some of her articles about the subject have been included below.

Pam’s Vitamin D3 Articles:

• Vitamin D3 Sources – Article about the various sources through which one can obtain vitamin d3. These include sunlight, egg yolks and cold liver oil.
• Vitamin D3: The Miracle of Sunshine – Comprehensive article covers virtually all angles of discussion regarding the topic of vitamin d3. The article touches upon the differences between vitamins d2 and d3, the role of sunlight in the creation of d3, d3 deficiency and the many, many health benefits associated with consistently healthy levels of the nutrient being present in an individual.
• Vitamin D3: Are You Getting Enough? – Article covering the basics of vitamin d3, emphasizing the importance of the nutrient and warning against the dangers of being d3 deficient. The article recommends sunbathing, in the nude if possible, as a means of countering d3 deficiency.
• Experts Call for Increased Dosage of Vitamin D3 – Article discussing vitamin d3 dosage, and research that suggests that additional health benefits may be obtained by increasing the amount of intake.
• Vitamin D3 May Help Lower Blood Pressure and Cholesterol – Article discussing scientific research that seemingly establishes a relationship between vitamin d3, blood pressure and cholesterol. The study found that as vitamin d levels decreased, blood pressure and cholesterol tended to rise, and vice versa.

Short video of a doctor discussing the health benefits of vitamin d3, particularly as it pertains to the effects of vitamin d3 on the immune system.

The doctor begins be stating that anyone who takes 5,000 iu of vitamin d3 every can attest to the immune benefits offered by the nutrient by confirming that they no longer get sick.

He claims that “any infection disease” be it bacterial, viral or even fungal, that is more common in the wintertime, is “a target” of vitamin d. He claims that vitamin d has a tremendous effect in preventing the common cold and flu, a result of the nutrient’s anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties.

The doctor elaborates on the subject of vitamin d3 deficiency, comparing the rates of infection for various diseases in the normal population versus in those that are vitamin d deficient, citing that rates of infection are several times higher in those that are deficient.

Also discussed is the effect of vitamin d as an anti-inflammatory agent, helping to reduce inflammation and in the process, strengthen the immune system. This may be part of the reason vitamin d3 may help lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and is widely believed to help protect against heart disease.

The doctor goes much farther into detail in the video than I can document in this post. He spends a significant amount of time discussing the relationship between vitamin d deficiency and influenza, including avian flu, the common influenza, as well as H1N1 flu.

Finally, the opinions expressed in the video are those of the doctor depicted in the video, and do not necessarily reflect those of this blog, its author, or any partner sites.

Without further adieu, enjoy the video.