When The Leaves are Falling Vitamin D Levels are Falling

Posted on by

Look for the New Revised Edition of The Vitamin D Cure in bookstores and online this November! It has 15 new recipes and an all new 2 week menu along with revised chapters on the immune system, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. It will make a great Holiday gift for your loved ones.

When The Leaves are Falling Vitamin D’s are Falling

When the leaves change colors the availability of ultraviolet light (UVB) to make vitamin D disappears till next spring. Your vitamin D level begins to fall along with all the leaves on the deciduous trees. Ten weeks after peak fall colors your vitamin D level is about half what it was at the end of summer. For me hear in Michigan (42° N) that is about Christmas time or New Year’s. For those of you who live in the southern part of the United States or below 35° N your vitamin D may never fall by half because your winter is not 10 weeks long. The only sources of vitamin D during winter are fat stores and supplements.

Nature intended for us to burn most of our fat stores over the winter due to less food availability. Our Western lifestyles have us typically eating more food through the end of year holidays. So rather than liberating stored vitamin D by burning fat, we are increasing fat volume and retaining vitamin D in fat. If there were ever an appropriate use of fasting it would be from Thanksgiving through Easter. We should eat less in these winter months not more. Try fasting one day a week or consider doing a “cleanse” once a month during the winter.

Moderate to intense physical activity also stimulates fat burning and will liberate vitamin D from storage in fat. Routine physical activity that breaks a sweat has been shown in CDC data to translate into significantly higher vitamin D levels. So follow the diet in the Vitamin D Cure year round and establish a daily routine of moderate physical activity.

Recipe of the Month
Remember our recipes are courtesy of Chef Kelly . Kelly has provided 15 new recipes for the upcoming revised edition of The Vitamin D Cure due out in November 2011. Look for it in bookstores and on Amazon.

This month’s recipe is one of my favorites.

Broiled Spiced Salmon with Roasted Winter Squash & Fennel (replay)
Serves 4

For the vegetables:
• 1-1 ½ pound butternut squash, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, halved crosswise, then cut lengthwise into 3/4-inch-wide wedges
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cut lengthwise into 1-inch-wide wedges
• 1 large onion, root end left intact, then cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch-wide wedges
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

For the Salmon:
• 4 Salmon fillets (4-6 oz. each)
• 1 Tbsp. reserved spice mixture from vegetables
• Salt & Pepper
• Olive oil

1. Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 450°F.
2. Combine squash, fennel, and onion on heavy large rimmed baking sheet. Add oil and toss to coat. Mix all spices in small bowl to blend, reserve 1 Tbsp. for Salmon. Sprinkle spice mixture over vegetables and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and generous amount of pepper.
3. Roast until vegetables are tender and browned, turning once, about 45 minutes. Turn oven to broil.
4. For the salmon, foil line and spray a broil pan with nonstick spray.
5. Place salmon fillets on pan and drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper and evenly sprinkle 4 fillets with reserved spice mixture.
6. Broil for 5 to 7 minutes or until fish flakes easily.
7. Serve over top roasted vegetables.

Vitamin D in the News

The Endocrine Society published their guidelines for vitamin D testing and replacement in July 2011. These recommendations are very different from those of the Institute of Medicine. Let’s take a look at these more reasonable guidelines for screening and replacement.

Here are some key differences between IOM recommendations and Endocrine Society guidelines:

1. Normal vitamin D is ≥ 30 ng/mL or 75 nmol/L and ≤ 100 ng/mL or 250 nmol/L. (IOM – normal vitamin D ≥ 20 ng/mL)
2. Individuals with a variety of medical problems or in high risk groups should have their vitamin D levels measured and brought to normal. African Americans, Latinos, Asians, pregnant women, breast fed infants, and elderly are all among the groups in which measurement should be performed. (IOM – Testing only in patients with bone disease)
3. Recommended vitamin D supplementation amounts are more robust: 400-1000 IU daily for infants, 600-1000 IU daily for children, and 1500-2000 IU daily for adults and pregnant women. Although any size dose required, to maintain a normal level is appropriate. (IOM –400 IU for infants, 600 IU for children and adults, 800 IU for adults over 70)
4. Upper Limit of Safety was raised to 2000 IU for infants, 4000 IU for children and 10,000 IU for adults, (IOM – Upper safety limit 1000-1500 IU for infants, 2500-3000 IU for children and 4000 IU for adults)
5. Vitamin D levels should be measured no more frequently than every 3 months.

These are consistent with the recommendations The Vitamin D Cure presented in 2008. The book recommends weight based dosing rather than flat dosing because it is more accurate and requires less monitoring to reach normal.

The Vitamin D Cure details a complete lifestyle that maximizes vitamin D levels and vitamin D function beyond simple supplementation. Supplementation alone is not enough you need a lifestyle that puts vitamin D to work.

See my mini webpage on the new American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine website.

Vitamin D Success Story
Please share your successes at success@thevitamindcure.com or online at Amazon. Your success story has a powerful impact on motivating others to change their lifestyle.

Dear Dr. Dowd,

You have changed my life and we haven’t even met.

I am almost crying tears of relief as I write this. I have suffered with chronic pain and fatigue for 25 years now. I have tried every supplement and spent over $5000 trying natural treatments and seeing the doctor but nothing has helped. I have had some things that help me for a while but nothing lasts and I always slip back into a pain flare or I am so exhausted I can’t function.

Lately I have been having terrible pain flares again so I have been on the hunt for the solution. The other day I saw your book and when I saw the subtitle about healing my pain I grabbed a copy , raced home and have been reading and implementing it ever since. I have been following a paleo diet for years now and that has brought me a lot of relief but it wasn’t quite enough. It wasn’t the complete picture. Vitamin D was the missing link.

I have been on 8-10,000 I.U. for 4 days now and am having amazing results. My ankle pain is nearly gone; my stiffness is going away; my leg muscles have more strength, coordination and endurance. I am so excited and have so much energy. I was up at 2 am washing laundry and doing dishes. (I will take a nap I promise) I just can’t tell you how grateful I am for your book and for how you have changed my life already.

I am so looking forward to walking and getting rid of the excess weight that I have gained since being Vitamin D deficient. Living in Maine it is no surprise that I am deficient but I am just shocked that no Doctor has ever suggested this to me before. I was even tested last summer and my level was only 32 in August so I know I was low but until reading your book I never realized how important this is for health.

Again, thank you for changing my life

Sincerely, Debbie
Bowdoinham, Maine

New Vitamin D Recommendations Miss the Mark

Posted on by

The Institute of Medicine released its updated recommended daily intakes of calcium and vitamin D on November 30th. In summary they INCREASED the required vitamin D intake, DECREASED the required calcium intake, and RAISED the maximum safe intake of vitamin D. There recommendations are complicated because they are different for infants, children, adults, and older adults. And, unfortunately these changes fall short of public need.

The free online version of the IOM report is almost impossible to read using their outdated image technology without printing or purchasing the report. There are many errors and misinterpretations of the data by this committee. The committee was constructed of scientists who have a limited knowledge of vitamin D and certainly have not been the major researchers in the field over the last 40 years. I will lay out the data as I see it and as was detailed in The Vitamin D Cure. This will be organized as errors in the logic of the IOM.

ERROR #1: What is the blood level definition of vitamin D deficiency? This is the primary debate. The IOM has set the lowest normal value and the definition of deficiency at < 20 ng/mL. Their conclusions that North Americans for the most part get enough vitamin D are based on choosing this very low level as normal. The presence of disease and calcium, vitamin D, and bone physiology/anatomy define the lower limit; and it’s not 20 ng/mL. Let’s take a closer look.

The IOM’s primary argument for 20 ng/mL is based on clinical disease measurements (rickets, osteoporosis, bone density). The weakness of using this approach to define the lower limit is the heterogeneous origin of all clinical disease states and the insensitivity of clinical symptoms. All clinical symptoms appear late in the course of disease. The heart attack occurs after 30 years of low grade inflammation and plaque formation from unhealthy living. Even the diagnostic tests we use to identify ‘early’ disease represent late findings. The low bone mass on bone density and the osteoporotic fracture that results occurs after decade(s) of abnormal bone metabolism. This is true of lab tests as well.

Let’s look at rickets. Nutritional rickets is defined as a disease of abnormal bone formation that results from vitamin D deficiency and some element of inadequate protein or calcium intake. Similarly, osteomalacia is abnormal bone formation and structural failure related to these same conditions in adults. The symptoms of these diseases result from months to years in children and years to decades in adults of nutritional deficiency and abnormal bone biology.

What is the level of vitamin D that defines patients with these diagnoses? As it turns out there is no agreed upon threshold of vitamin D deficiency associated with nutritional rickets or osteomalacia. Some studies document vitamin D levels just shy of 35 ng/mL in children WITH clinical rickets; just as you can see children with vitamin D levels less than 10 ng/mL without clinically evident rickets. This is true of all the data for osteomalacia as well. Dietary calcium and protein intakes alter the vitamin D threshold for clinical bone disease. Low dietary calcium and low dietary protein intake make rickets more likely at higher vitamin D levels. However, I do not know of any reports of rickets or osteomalacia at vitamin D levels at or above 35 ng/mL. I wonder why?

A recent breakthrough study looking for changes of osteomalacia in bone biopsies helps us understand the disease beyond these late clinical findings. This study was published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research in February 2010 and was misinterpreted when reviewed by the IOM. In this study, 675 iliac crest bone biopsies from autopsies of adult men and women from Northern Europe were studied and correlated with vitamin D levels from the biopsy subjects. In a biopsy the scientists can measure the ratio of non-mineralized bone volume to total bone volume. This ratio is increased above 1.2-2% when there is a mineralization defect, such as from vitamin D deficiency or osteomalacia. They did not find any increase in this ratio in subjects with vitamin D levels above 75 nmol/L or 30 ng/mL whether they chose 1.2% or a more conservative 2% cut off. This study avoids the delayed and subjective nature of disease symptoms and the late findings of x-ray studies and simply correlates bone pathology at the microscopic level with vitamin D levels. This study indisputably argues for an optimal vitamin D level of equal to or more than 30 ng/mL. This study ENDS the debate on defining vitamin D deficiency. The pathologic definition of vitamin D deficiency is a blood level <30 ng/mL.

ERROR #2: The IOM reviewed data on a host of diseases. The bulk of epidemiological data was for bone disease (osteoporosis, rickets). The poor sensitivity and late findings of bone densitometry and fractures artificially lower the vitamin D level at which you see clinical disease. The 30 ng/mL cut off for normal is consistent with several lines of physiological evidence. Vitamin D levels much above 30 ng/mL do not lead to further decline in parathyroid hormone levels.

Vitamin D levels below 30 ng/mL are associated with a fall in the absorption of calcium from the intestine. Maximum fractional absorption of calcium from the diet is about 35% at a vitamin D level at or above 35 ng/mL when all other conditions are normal. Calcium absorption from the gut remains stable up to and beyond vitamin D levels of 100 ng/mL. This fractional absorption drops by half at a vitamin D level of 20 ng/mL. Severe calcium deficiency may increase absorption fraction but only if vitamin D levels are above 30 ng/mL. In other words calcium balance is optimized at vitamin D levels above 30 ng/mL.

ERROR #3: The IOM focuses on clinical diseases for which there is controversial data to argue for a lower cut off. The 30 ng/mL or greater level for optimal health is consistent with all the large epidemiological databases. The incidence of type II diabetes, colon cancer, and all-cause mortality all correlate with this same 30 ng/mL threshold for optimal vitamin D function. Click on the highlighted diseases to see the research studies.
Type II Diabetes
Colon Cancer
Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality

ERROR #4: Exercising caution with the supplementation of vitamin D is often justified by comparing it to the failure of studies supplementing vitamin A for cancer prevention and the historic use of estrogens to reduce all-cause mortality in post menopausal women. Let’s look at these two examples.

All the studies looking at vitamin A show that adult Americans not only get adequate vitamin A in their diet but they have normal vitamin A levels in their blood with room to spare. It makes no sense to do a study of supplementation of a nutrient in a population of patients with levels above the lower threshold of normal. You will not see any favorable results. Moreover, Hector DeLuca has shown that vitamin A antagonizes vitamin D function. Vitamin A supplements will further suppress vitamin D metabolism in an already deficient population increasing the risk of malignancy. This is the likely mechanism of increased lung cancer in smokers taking beta-carotene supplements without normalizing vitamin D first.

The second example is estrogen replacement. Estrogen replacement was never a good idea. Think about it. Nature evolves to produce the senescence of ovarian function to protect the woman from the risks of a pregnancy in late adult life and reduce the risk of cancer. Then modern medicine replaces estrogen in post menopausal women thinking it’s the fountain of youth, only to find an increased risk of breast cancer and cardiovascular complications.

Vitamin D replacement is suggested in patients with levels less than 30 ng/mL with a target of 40-65 ng/mL as would be found in wild primates and in life guards and non-mechanized farmers who work in the sun. Nobody is suggesting replacing vitamin D in people with normal levels. Based on data complied by Dr. Reinhold Vieth, there are no credible reports of toxicity in adults with levels under 200 ng/mL. The safety window for vitamin D is seven times greater than the threshold of normal. We are vitamin D deficient because we spend no time outside in the sun unprotected by clothing or sun screen, like our Paleolithic ancestors. Moreover, we do not eat the wild animal protein, wild seafood, and particularly organ meat that we evolved on, which was high in vitamin D.

Vitamin D supplementation is required by most Americans because we are rarely exposed to sun and our diets are filled with grain-based carbohydrates that are devoid of nutrition. Moreover, vitamin D is stored in fat and only liberated with moderate or intense exercise, something that most Americans do not do. Our lifestyle is a perfect storm for vitamin D deficiency.

ERROR #5: The IOM is focusing on deficiency when it should be focusing on optimal health values for vitamin D. The scientific community continues to argue about the lower limit of normal when we now have definitive pathologic data showing that an optimal vitamin D level is at or above 30 ng/mL. Moreover, if no credible toxicity has been reported for vitamin D levels below 200 ng/mL, why are we obsessing over whether our vitamin D level should be 20 ng/mL or 30 ng/mL? This is like arguing over whether your cholesterol should be 220 mg/dL or 200 mg/dL. I personally would like to have a cholesterol of 160 rather than either 220 or 200. Likewise I would rather have a blood pressure in the middle of the normal range not on the cusp of abnormal. Why can’t we focus on what is relevant and design public health recommendations with common sense? I guess common sense rarely comes out of government sponsored committees. Moreover, why wouldn’t you select committee members from the scientists who have been doing the research on vitamin D for the last 50 years.

You decide. I have made up my mind and outlined the logic behind my decision and recommendations; you can read more details in The Vitamin D Cure. Don’t let the government that gave us the food pyramid with three servings of dairy a day and a 55% carbohydrate diet decide your health future. Bureaucrats have a lousy track record at producing good health.

Recipe of the Month

The winter solstice is a celebration of the year’s bounty. I asked Kelly to give us a recipe for something sweet to celebrate. The pork tenderloin provides a contrast to the traditional poultry, ham, and beef roast of the season. The sweet plums, nectarines, and honey are a bright contrast to the herbs of the tenderloin. Buy your ingredients locally and enjoy!

Remember our recipes are courtesy of Chef Kelly (kellychez@gmail.com). If you have recipes you would like to share or convert to follow the rules of The Vitamin D Cure send them to contact@thevitamindcure.com .

Roasted Pork Loin with Orange-Herb Sauce & Roasted Baby Carrots
Serves 4

3 Tbsp. Oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ lb. boneless pork loin
1 cup orange juice, a local fruit juice can be substituted (preferably fresh)
½ cup chicken stock or broth
½ cup white wine (of your choice)
4 black peppercorns
1 rosemary sprig
1 oregano sprig
1 parsley sprig
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
1 ½ lbs. (5-inch) long baby carrots, washed & greens cut
1 red onion, peeled, cut into 8 wedges
2 Tbsp. oil
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped
Garlic Powder
Salt and Pepper

Pork
In a large bowl combine 2 Tbsp. oil with the garlic and coat pork; let stand for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and in a medium skillet (ovenproof) heat the remaining oil.
Season the pork with S & P and add to the skillet, fat side down. Cook over medium high heat until golden brown (approx. 4 minutes.)
Brown all sides and then turn it fat side up.
Add the OJ, stock or broth, wine, peppercorns and herb sprigs; bring to a boil.
Transfer to the top shelf of the oven and roast for about 35 minutes or until the internal temperature is 145 degrees.
Remove from oven and let rest for at least 10 minutes.
Strain the cooking liquid from the pork into a saucepan and boil until reduced to ½ cup, about 15 minutes.
Season and stir in chopped parsley.

Carve the pork and serve with orange sauce and roasted carrots.

Carrots
Gently toss together the carrots, red onion, rosemary to coat with the olive oil.
Lay out on a rimmed baking pan. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Roast for 30 to 40 minutes on middle rack or bottom rack (with pork in the oven too), until well browned.

Honey Roasted Fruit with Streusel Topping
Serves 8

• 4 whole Ripe Nectarines
• 4 whole Ripe Red or Purple Plums
• 2 tsp. Honey
• ¼ cup Old Fashioned Oats
• 2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar or Honey
• ¼ cup chopped nuts (Pecans, Walnuts, anything you like)
• ¼ cup Oat Bran
• 2 Tbsp. Canola Oil
• 2 Tbsp. dried fruit (cranberries, raisins, cherries, chopped dates, etc.)

Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch pan.
Cut each piece of fruit in half and remove the seed or pit.
In the greased baking dish place the fruit flesh-side up, nestling all the fruit together tightly to fit in the pan.
Drizzle the fruit with about 1-2 teaspoons honey.
Roast fruit for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile make the streusel by combining the oats, honey, chopped nuts, oat bran, dried fruit and canola oil; mix well.
Remove fruit from oven and sprinkle fruit with streusel topping; roast for another 15 minutes until the fruit is hot and tender.
Test the fruit by poking it with a fork to see if it comes out easily.

Vitamin D in the News

This international summary of the public health issue of vitamin D deficiency was put together by scientists and clinicians who have spent the better part of the last forty years researching vitamin D. This differs from the IOM committee which was composed of scientist and clinicians with little or no research exposure to vitamin D. This paper should serve as your guide rather than the IOM report. Enjoy!

Vitamin D Cure Success Story

Please share your successes at success@thevitamindcure.com or online at Amazon. Your success story has a powerful impact on motivating others to change their lifestyle.

In October I spent a day at Dole Foods headquarters in the Los Angeles area to film an interview promoting the consumption of fruits and vegetables. This video will soon be available on their web site.

In November I was in San Diego for the 11th Annual Science and Clinical Application of Integrative Holistic Medicine sponsored by the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine and Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine . It was a terrific opportunity to interact with many like minds at the leading edge of change in the promotion of optimal health rather than the symptom management of disease.

Happy Holidays! And Happy New Year!

Vitamin D, Dementia, and Parkinson Disease – A September to Remember

Posted on by

Vitamin D plays an important role in the formation, function, and protection of the nervous system. Extremely low vitamin D levels are associated with depressed mood, chronic pain from osteomalacia, lower seizure thresholds, and dementia. In the September blog we present more observational data from large cohorts confirming some of these relationships.

It is important to understand the take home message of The Vitamin D Cure (last chapter). Vitamin D is not the answer to all health problems. It is a reflection of an unhealthy lifestyle. The book addresses this lifestyle by focusing on increased sun exposure, supplementation of vitamin D and some other targeted nutrients, dramatic dietary changes, and daily exercise to optimize vitamin D function and lower the risk of all the diseases associated with its deficiency. I cannot emphasize enough, the importance of embracing the entire package of change.

When I wake up at 6 am I do a 30 minute workout. This includes 15 pull ups (whole body), therapeutic band upper body work out, 40 pushups, 100 balance-extension lunges on each leg, recumbent air cycling with leg weights, 40 sit ups, 40 back ups (back extensions lying face down), and stretches. I drink a small pot of Japanese green tea, and then it’s off to work. NO breakfast or lunch 4 days a week. I work straight through the day with no breaks. I drink 2-3 glasses of water through the day. Three days a week I come home from the office and change into my running gear and run 2-3 miles. After my run I have a large meal of lean animal/marine protein and lots of green veggies. Typically I have 1-2 glasses of wine with this and 2 glasses of water. I take my supplements with this meal. My supplements include vitamin D, omega 3, magnesium, niacin, and probiotics.

My grandfather had dementia late in life. My grandmother died at 67 from a heart attack and my father has cardiovascular disease with only a low HDL as a risk factor. I am creating a lifestyle that I believe will prevent the outcomes I see in my family. I am sharing my personal lifestyle with the public because I think that all of us can benefit from these changes. I celebrated my birthday last month and I hope to celebrate many more, without cardiovascular disease and with a brain that works as it was designed to. I offer you the same lifestyle in The Vitamin D Cure.

Recipe of the Month
Remember our recipes are courtesy of Chef Kelly (kellychez@gmail.com). If you have recipes you would like to share or convert to follow the rules of The Vitamin D Cure send them to contact@thevitamindcure.com .

Salmon Citrus Salad

Serves 4

12 ounce salmon fillet with skin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 cups canned chickpeas
2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
3 cups sliced cucumber
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
2 T. chopped basil
1/4 cup orange juice
3 tbs. white wine vinegar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tsp. brown sugar or a tablespoon of local honey
1 tsp. dijon
1 tsp. fresh orange zest
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper
4 cups mixed greens (collards, kale, spinach and/or romaine)

Preheat broiler. Place salmon skin-side down on a nonstick broiler pan. Sprinkle with pepper. Place 4 inches from heat and broil 6-8 or until fish just flakes when tested with a fork. Drizzle lemon juice over salmon.

Meanwhile, combine beans, tomatoes, cucumber, scallions, basil and dressing in a large bowl; toss to coat.

Combine orange juice through garlic in a jar and shake until combined; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Next, cut salmon into 1-inch chunks and add to the bowl; toss gently to combine.

Transfer mixture to 4 individual plates, placing on top of mixed greens.

Vitamin D in the News

Serum vitamin D and the risk of Parkinson disease. Arch Neurol. 2010 Jul;67(7):808-11.

This study was based on the Mini-Finland Health Survey, which was conducted from 1978 to 1980, with Parkinson disease occurrence follow-up through the end of 2007. During the 29-year follow-up period, 50 Parkinson disease cases occurred. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level was determined from frozen samples stored at baseline. 3173 men and women, aged 50 to 79 years and free of Parkinson disease at baseline were included. RESULTS: There was a 67% reduction in risk for Parkinson disease with the highest vitamin D levels compared to the lowest after adjustment for sex, age, marital status, education, alcohol consumption, leisure-time physical activity, smoking, body mass index, and month of blood draw (≤ 11.2 ng/mL vs. ≥22.8 ng/mL in men. ≤10 ng/mL vs. ≥20 ng/mL in women).

Vitamin D and risk of cognitive decline in elderly persons. Arch Intern Med. 2010 Jul 12;170(13):1135-41. Public Health and Epidemiology Group, Peninsula Medical School, University of Exeter, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, Exeter EX2 5DW, England.

The InCHIANTI population-based study conducted in Italy between 1998 and 2006 with follow-up assessments every 3 years looked at 858 adults 65 years or older who completed interviews, cognitive assessments, and medical examinations and provided blood samples. Cognitive decline was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and substantial decline was defined as 3 or more points. The Trail-Making Tests A and B were also used. RESULTS: The multivariate adjusted relative risk (95% confidence interval [CI]) of substantial cognitive decline on the MMSE in participants who were severely serum 25(OH)D deficient (levels <25 nmol/L) in comparison with those with sufficient levels of 25(OH)D (>/=75 nmol/L) was 1.60 (95% CI, 1.19-2.00). Multivariate adjusted random-effects models demonstrated that the scores of participants who were severely 25(OH)D deficient declined by an additional 0.3 MMSE points per year more than those with sufficient levels of 25(OH)D. The relative risk for substantial decline on Trail-Making Test B was 1.31 (95% CI, 1.03-1.51) among those who were severely 25(OH)D deficient compared with those with sufficient levels of 25(OH)D. No significant association was observed for Trail-Making Test A. CONCLUSION: Low levels of vitamin D were associated with substantial cognitive decline in the elderly population studied over a 6-year period, which raises important new possibilities for treatment and prevention.

Vitamin D Success Story
Please share your successes at success@thevitamindcure.com or online at Amazon. Your success story has a powerful impact on motivating others to change their lifestyle.

The Vitamin D Cure will soon appear in the Korean language published by William Books. The book will be marketed to Korean physicians.

See an interview with Dr. Dowd by the Detroit Free Press at

How much sunshine should I get to make enough Vitamin D?

Posted on by

The Vitamin D Cure is a breakthrough self-help book that takes the most recent scientific ideas and provides a practical program to promote the reader’s health. Here is some of what the Vitamin D Cure provides:

• Explains how vitamin D works in health and how deficiency causes disease.
• Recommends routine measurement of vitamin D levels for health screening.
• Tables help calculate accurate vitamin D replacement using your weight.
• Provides a single table to estimate safe unprotected sun exposure using the UV index.
• Promotes a Paleolithic diet that balances acid-base by emphasizing adequate lean protein from animals and fish combined with generous vegetable matter. (Tables and worksheets)
• Targets supplementation of vitamin D, omega 3 fats, and magnesium.
• Describes exercises to optimize vitamin D metabolism, weight loss, and quality of life.

The Vitamin D Cure introduces the importance of vitamin D and diet as EPIGENETIC influences on the risk for disease as an older child and adult.

The Vitamin D Cure is the first book that emphasizes the importance of vitamin D and diet in altering the development of our MICROBIOTA. These are the bacteria in our colon that shape our growth and development.

I encourage the reader to explore all the nooks and crannies in this book. Take out your highlighter and mark it up and write in the margins. That’s what paper books are for. You will find that this book is packed with information. The references online are organized by chapter and many are linked to full text through PubMed. Take advantage of these links, they are your tax dollars at work.

Recipe of the Month
Remember our recipes are courtesy of Chef Kelly (kellychez@gmail.com). If you have recipes you would like to share or convert to follow the rules of The Vitamin D Cure send them to contact@thevitamindcure.com or post them as comments on the blog.

Mixed Herb Greens with Grilled Chicken, Fresh Raspberries, Pistachios and Balsamic Vinaigrette
Serves 4

4 chicken breasts (about 4 oz. each)
Fresh lemon slices & Pepper
8 cups mixed greens with herbs
1 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 cup pistachios, chopped
1 small red onion, sliced thin
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. honey
3/4 cup olive or canola oil

Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Season chicken breasts with fresh squeezed lemon juice and pepper and grill about 4 minutes a side or until juices run clear. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes then slice.

In a large serving bowl put the mixed greens. Next evenly sprinkle the raspberries, pistachios, and red onion. Top salad with sliced chicken.

In a small food processor place the balsamic vinegar, garlic, Dijon and honey; pulse a few times. With the machine running, slowly drizzle in the olive or canola oil until it has all been incorporated. Season with lemon juice and pepper. Drizzle over salad and serve.

Vitamin D in the News

Is casual exposure to summer sunlight effective at maintaining adequate vitamin D
status? No

A study from the UK shows that current advice about modest sun exposure during the summer months does little in the way of boosting overall 25(OH)D levels. Moreover, they comment that failure to understand the nature of human exposure to sunlight leads to misguided advice concerning the sun exposure necessary for an adequate vitamin D status. See the sun exposure tool on The Vitamin D Cure website to calculate accurate exposure times based on real time UV index data.

Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed. 2010 Aug;26(4):172-6.

A study published last month verified this by exposing volunteers to 1.3 erythemal dose of simulated sun apparently only 13 minutes of exposure three times a week during the winter at 53 degrees north latitude. After 6 weeks of this exposure 74% of the volunteers were still deficient. Only 26% of the volunteers had vitamin D levels above 32 ng/mL, which is the cut off for normal.

This tells us that 13 minutes of sun wearing T-shirt and shorts 3 times a week is not enough sun exposure to raise vitamin D levels into the normal range. As we recommend in the Vitamin D Cure, 50% of skin exposure or more is necessary and now more than 3 exposures a week appear to be necessary for sunlight to normalize vitamin D levels in the short summer of the UK. Over exposure becomes a concern with longer times and more frequent exposures. The Vitamin D Cure provides an alternative to struggling for enough sun exposure. Supplementation is an easy and safe way to normalize your vitamin D levels. When combined with dietary and exercise recommendations in the Vitamin D Cure, your vitamin D system is sure to be optimized.

J Invest Dermatol. 2010 May;130(5):1411-8. Epub 2010 Jan 14. Photobiology Unit, Dermatological Sciences, School of Translational Medicine, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Hospital, Manchester, UK.

Vitamin D Success Story
Please share your successes at success@thevitamindcure.com or online at Amazon.
Your success story has a powerful impact on motivating others to change their lifestyle.

See my recent interview in the Detroit News.

Boneing Up on Osteoporosis

Posted on by

I recently touched base with a colleague, Dr. Howard Schubiner who has helped me understand chronic pain as it relates to stress. We collaborated on a study looking at cognitive behavioral techniques to facilitate the ‘unlearning’ of pain pathways. He has a new book out titled, Unlearn Your Pain: A 28 day process to reprogram your brain, available through his website, www.unlearnyourpain.com . If you’re suffering from chronic pain and you do not feel better after normalizing your vitamin D, changing your diet, and exercising then you need to check this book out. It could be the answer to your prayers.

There will be an exciting conference in Los Angeles in the Summer of 2011, The Ancestral Health Symposium . Loren Cordain calls it the “Woodstock of Evolutionary Medicine”. Brent Pottenger is organizing the program and there should be a potpourri of presentations by many experts, advocates, and practioners. Brent’s wonderful blog will keep you posted as the event approaches.

There is a new book out, Principles of Evolutionary Medicine by Peter Gluckman, one of the world’s leading researchers in this area. I have my copy ordered. The table of contents looks terrific. It should be an intense read. Peter Gluckman and David Barker are members of a generation of evolutionary biologist who have connected the theory with animal and human disease models. There will be some Nobel prizes handed out to some of these scientists.

Recipe of the Month
Remember our recipes are courtesy of Chef Kelly (kellychez@gmail.com). If you have recipes you would like to share or convert to follow the rules of The Vitamin D Cure send them to contact@thevitamindcure.com .

This month’s recipe is Gourmet Mushrooms & Sausage over Wild Rice

Serves 4
-1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
-1 larger onion, chopped
-12 ounces Italian Sausage, casings removed (try venison or other wild game sausage)
-1 Tbsp. tomato paste
-1/2 cup parsley, chopped
-1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
-2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth OR stock
-1 10-ounce package frozen spinach
- 2 cups of dried gourmet mushrooms rehydrated in water (Portobello, morels, porcini etc…)
-Salt and pepper
-1 cup wild rice
-1 cup cold water

Directions:
(For the stew)
-Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; add onion and cook until soft (about 5 to 7 minutes.)
-Add sausage and cook, crumbling it until browned.
-Add the tomato paste and cook another 2 minutes. Stir in parsley & cilantro and cook 1 more minute.
-Add the broth and rehydrated mushrooms; bring to a boil. Add the frozen spinach and simmer, partially covered, for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
-Stir in salt and pepper to taste.
(For the rice)
-In a saucepan cover rice and water until it comes to a boil. Reduce to low and cook 20 minutes or until the rice is al-dente.

Place rice on the plate and spoon the mushroom and sausage mix over the rice and serve.

Vitamin D in the News

An article came out in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) showing again that single annual high dose vitamin D replacement is not effective at preventing fractures of falls in elderly. This paper published 2007 also showed no benefit to annual dosing.

If you want to effect a change you have to change more than one variable as in the study that came out in Archives of Internal Medicine this month. In this study they replaced vitamin D and had patients participate in physical therapy.

Osteoporosis is NOT a disease of elderly it is a symptom of the elderly; it is a life long disease. Many young girls fail to attain peak bone mass due to poor nutrition (lack of protein and green veggies) and lack of exercise. They then enter late adult life and begin to gradually lose bone mass from a position of weakness. This accelerates after menopause and then they become symptomatic with fractures. It is NOT surprising to see a lack of benefit from relatively short term intervention (1-2 years) of a single variable in a disease influenced by many factors over many decades.

Research by Reinhold Vieth, PhD from University of Toronto showed that monthly dosing of vitamin D produces swings that tended to cause some calcium loss in the urine from high peak levels of D. Weekly and daily dosing did not cause this problem. Moreover, many of the reports of vitamin D toxicity come from Europe where they commonly use IM injections of high dose vitamin D in institutionalized elderly. The absorption of vitamin D from these injections is not consistent from patient to patient. Vitamin D ( 25(OH)D ) in too high of a blood level can induce some over production of the active hormone. High levels of the active hormone will pull calcium out of the bone and increase fracture risk.

Timing is everything. You want normal vitamin D levels during the phase of your life when you are building bone (third trimester of fetal gestation through 20 years of age). This is when it has its greatest benefit to bone. Treating older individuals who have lost bone is not likely to show much difference unless you focus on people with vitamin D levels below 20 and preferably with compensatory hyperparathyroidism; and throw in lots of exercise (stimulus to build bone). The solution is entire Vitamin D Cure program.

Vitamin D Success Story
Please share your successes at success@thevitamindcure.com or online at Amazon. Your success story has a powerful impact on motivating others to change their lifestyle. Check out the latests successes on Amazon.