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Health See other Health Articles Title: Government bureaucracy goofs up vitamin D Be prepared to see the media come out with articles suggesting that Vitamin D does you no good. It follows upon a similar nonsensical scare story about vitamin E a few months ago. You may wonder why these stories emerge from time to time. It is basically because government appointed task forces are composed of medically qualified people who do not have a clue about nutrition or vitamins or alternative health. They are predisposed if not even incentivized to rubbish any claim that nutrients or vitamins can be healing. In their universe, only synthetic prescription drugs have a place in medicine. As a result of their ignorance of nutrition, they devise studies that are seriously flawed. It is a case of rubbish in, rubbish out. Unfortunately, because these task forces have official standing, when they send out a press release, you can be sure the media will take it up and treated as gospel. But at least I and other people who understand nutrition will keep you informed. Vitamin D is an essential supplementary Vitamin, especially for those who live in the northern hemisphere and there is massive evidence that Vitamin D deficiency can cause brittle bones and cancer. My total health supplement includes a relatively small amount of vitamin D , but I will be putting into production a dedicated vitamin D supplement before next winter sets in. A national task force on “preventive” medicine is making dangerous new pronouncements based on profoundly flawed research and thinking. The US Preventive Services Task Force (UPSTF) has issued a draft recommendation to take no vitamin D supplements. In their view, the scientific evidence is “insufficient” to assess the benefits of vitamin D supplementation (with or without calcium) to prevent cancer in adults, nor the benefits of vitamin D and calcium (in combination) to prevent fractures in men or in postmenopausal women. The report recommends against daily supplementation with 400 IU of vitamin D3 and 1,000 mg of calcium carbonate for the prevention of fractures in postmenopausal women, even though the group had previously concluded that vitamin D supplementation is effective in preventing falls in community-dwelling adults aged 65 years or older who are at increased risk for falls. This group’s official recommendation is even more conservative than the Institute of Medicine’s disastrous report from last year. It appears to be driven by a seriously flawed review (a meta-analysis) of vitamin D research, which has skewed the results. The UPSTF was created in 1984 as a federally sponsored national task force in “preventive” medicine to improve the health of Americans. Under the recent healthcare reform legislation, the Agency on Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) was directed to provide further support to the task force. But note how they define preventive medicine: “Evidence-based recommendations about clinical preventive services such as screenings, counseling services, or preventive medications.” This definition does not include diet, supplement, and lifestyle choices to maintain health—in other words, the things that research has shown to be truly preventive. The task force’s research priorities, as listed in their latest newsletter, further emphasize the exclusive focus on screenings, medication and surgery—more of the standard “sick-care” model. With such a strong focus on conventional medicine, it’s not surprising that the task force’s recommendations on vitamin D and calcium supplementation are mostly nonsense. At least the task force got one thing right, even though inadvertently, when they counseled against taking combined D and calcium supplements. Good research tells us to take calcium supplements not only with D, but with other co-factors, especially Vitamin K2, lest the calcium migrate to the wrong part of the body. But how did the task force get it so wrong, telling everyone to take no supplemental D? As the Council for Responsible Nutrition notes, the task force’s original meta-analysis last December ignored many, many important scientific studies, focusing only on nineteen random-controlled trials (RCTs) and twenty-eight observational studies, concluding that vitamin D was effective in reducing cancer risk and fractures among older adults. However, these new draft recommendations look at an even narrower swath of studies. They don’t look at any observational studies, only RCTs. The RCT they focus on the most is the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). Unfortunately, the control group in the WHI study was compromised. That group was not supposed to receive any calcium supplementation at all, yet some in the group took calcium supplements or had more calcium in their diet than the study allowed. So much for random-controlled studies being the “gold standard” of scientific research! Anyway, RCTs are not the best way to study the therapeutic effects of vitamins and minerals. Often, to be effective, vitamins and minerals need to be taken with important co-factors, as noted above, though these are rarely included in the RCTs. It is also true that each individual is unique and therefore might require different levels of supplementation to be effective. But minimal doses cannot be expected to produce results in anyone. The task force acknowledged that the administered dosage of vitamin D in the WHI and other similar clinical studies “may have been too low to cause an effect”—but they still used them as the basis for their conclusions! Last year’s extraordinarily conservative IOM report recommended 600 IU of vitamin D for people between the ages of 1 and 70, while many integrative physicians recommend much higher doses of D3 supplementation. Both Harvard and the Vitamin D Council recommend 1,000 to 5,000 IU a day. Note that the IOM recommended exactly the same amount of D for infants, pregnant mothers, adults in the prime of life, and older people under 70, no matter what age or weight. This makes no sense at all. And how are people going to be sure of getting even 600 IU of D3 per day without supplements? There is very little D in food and many people live in zones where sunlight is too weak or indirect to produce D on our skin, especially in the winter. Someone living in New York can sunbathe in freezing temperatures all winter but they won’t produce any D. Besides, everyone has been told by conventional doctors not to go out in the sun without sunscreen, and applying sunscreen means that you won’t produce vitamin D either. Studies show that 87% of patients are mildly to severely deficient in vitamin D, and a least one-third of Americans are wholly deficient in it—to the great detriment of their overall health and immunity. Vitamin D’s benefits are many. At the right level, it appears to prevent flu and colds by boosting the innate immune response and turning on an antimicrobial protein, among other actions. Vitamin D also balances the immune response, preventing inflammation that can lead to flu-related complications such as bacterial pneumonia or lung infection. On top of that, a few drug companies (Receptor Therapeutics and Chytochroma, to name two) are spending huge sums of money on clinical trials on vitamin D as a cancer cure—which completely undermines the UPSTF’s statement that there is no reason to believe that vitamin D has anti-cancer benefits! So once again, mainstream medicine pooh-poohs the benefit of nutritional supplements to fight diseases, only to use those same supplements to develop drugs to fight the same diseases—albeit at a much higher cost, and at greater danger to the patient. Ben Ong Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
Because I've been on a light dosage of prednizone {a steroid) for 4 years now, I'm approaching bone deteriorization (osteroporosis). This was followup for a liver transplant, that needed immune supression. Now the doctors feel confident that I can get back to normal on Vit.D, and calcium levels. The Vit.D is necessary for correct absorption of the calcium. It also Boosts Immune Systems. "If we don’t adhere to the Constitution on matters as significant as presidential eligibility, then the Constitution ceases to be a meaningful document for guiding our nation."
Be sure to get enough magnesium for proper absorption of calcium. We use the CalAbsorb powder from GreatAmericanProducts.com
Break the Conventions - Keep the Commandments - G.K.Chesterson They've had me on 420mg/twice a day since the transplant. Reviewing that right now based on a bone scan recently. Stopped the prednizone and starting the calcium and Vit. D soon as an endocrinologist reviews. "If we don’t adhere to the Constitution on matters as significant as presidential eligibility, then the Constitution ceases to be a meaningful document for guiding our nation."
To build bone, you also need magnesium citrate, boron and vitamin K2 (for starters). Since they add calcium to everything, you frequently don't need to supplement that but most of us have a magnesium deficiency.
I will second that reccomendation. And the two are best combined as a liquid in a slightly acidic solution. The traditional recipe uses vinegar for the acid although you can also use Lemon Juice. I used to recommend CalMax but they have gotten too expensive. There is another one that comes in a white bottle with a blue label that you mix with boiling water and a dash of acid, but I can't remember the doggone name. I will second that reccomendation. And the two are best combined as a liquid in a slightly acidic solution. The traditional recipe uses vinegar for the acid although you can also use Lemon Juice. I used to recommend CalMax but they have gotten too expensive. There is another one that comes in a white bottle with a blue label that you mix with boiling water and a dash of acid, but I can't remember the doggone name. Here's the product: www.vitaminscatalog.com/1...MAC-LEMON-POWDER-5OZ.html CalMac is sold by the same company that I used to be able to get CalMax© from but they are making their own now and it is about $12 a can cheaper than CalMax©. They also sell the raw Calcium Gluconate and Magnesium Carbonate which you can use to make it from scratch. Making it from scratch is even cheaper. I'll have to dig out the formula though. Okay, I looked it up: To a glass add: 1. 1 level Tablespoon Calcium Gluconate Powder 2. 1/2 level teaspoon Magnesium Carbonate Powder. 3. 1 Tablespoon of Apple cider Vinegar (at least 5% acidity) 4. Stir thoroughly to mix. 5. Now add 1/2 cup boiling water and stir until you have a clear solution. 6. Fill the rest of the glass with lukewarm or cold water. 7. Drink (It is not the best tasting stuff in the world but it is palatable. Some people mix fruit juice with it - apple is good because it is slightly acidic and thus aids the uptake.) The reason the two powders are used in different quantities is that you are establishing a 2:1 ration of elemental calcium and elemental magnesium and the amount actually available in elemental form is different for the two main ingredients. Nutrina, which is where the link takes you, does sell the Calcium Gluconate and Magnesium Carbonate as powders (for making Calmag you want the powders). This not only a good way to get your calcium and magnesium but it is also a natural non drug tranquilizer and I find I sleep much easier and better by having a glass about a half-hour before bedtime. If you are agitated or quitting smoking or drugs it is also useful for easing withdrawl symptoms. |
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