The Vitamin D Cure Blog

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

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.

Happy Holidays and Welcome to the Vitamin D Blog/Newsletter! I will attempt to keep you up on what I feel to be the most interesting vitamin D research. I have a very busy clinic in adult and pediatric rheumatology at The Arthritis Institute of Michigan in Brighton, Michigan, so my time available to post new blogs is limited to once a week. My interests in medicine extend far beyond vitamin D and I hope to share some of that with you in future books. I also supply blog information to eVitamins.com. I receive no compensation from them, only exposure.

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 week I asked her for a dessert recipe. It still complies with our Paleolithic principles. So, enjoy a little something sweet for the holidays.

Pear Berry Cinnamon Nut Crisp
Fruit filling
5 to 6 cups sliced pears–peeled, (2.5 to 3 pounds)
1 to 2 cups berries of your choice, fresh or frozen
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 T. ground flaxseed
1 to 2 tablespoons sugar
Crisp Topping
¾ cup chopped nuts of your choice
¼ cup ground flaxseed
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons brown sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
2 to 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400*F

Place the fruit in a medium-sized bowl, and toss with the lemon juice. Sprinkle in the flaxseed and sugar and toss until evenly coated, then transfer the mixture to an ungreased 9- or 10-inch pie pan. Don’t clean the bowl.

Use the same bowl to make the crisp topping. Combine the dry ingredients; use your fingers, if necessary, to mix in the brown sugar. Add the oil and mix with a fork and/or your hands until uniformly moistened. Carefully crumble the topping mixture over the fruit, and pat it into place. Place the pan on a baking tray, and bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes, or until brown on top. Cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.
Serves: 4 to 6
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes to bake

Vitamin D in the News
This week past there was a series of articles published in the International Journal of Endocrinology. This article was most interesting to me. This journal is open access, so you can read the full text of these papers. There are some good reviews of information we discuss in The Vitamin D Cure.

Vitamin d levels and lipid response to atorvastatin.
Int J Endocrinol. 2010;2010:320721. Epub 2009 Aug 19.
Department Internal Medicine, Rio Hortega Universitary Hospital, C/ Dulzaina 2,
University of Valladolid, 47012 Valladolid, Spain.

Objectives: Adequate vitamin D levels are necessary for good vascular health. 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol activates CYP3A4, an enzyme of the cytochrome P450 system, which metabolizes atorvastatin to its main metabolites. The objective of this study was to evaluate the response of cholesterol and triglycerides to atorvastatin according to vitamin D levels. Design and Methods: Sixty-three patients with acute myocardial infarction treated with low and high doses of atorvastatin were included. Levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol were measured at baseline and at 12 months of follow-up. Baseline levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) were classified as deficient (<30 nmol/L),insufficient (30-50 nmol/L), and normal (>50 nmol/L). Results: In patients with 25-OHD <30nmol/L, there were no significant changes in levels of total cholesterol (173 +/-47 mg/dL versus 164 +/- 51 mg/dL), triglycerides (151 +/- 49 mg/dL versus 177 +/-94 mg/dL), and LDL cholesterol (111 +/- 48 mg/dL versus 92 45 +/- mg/dL); hereas patients with insufficient (30-50 nmol/L) and normal vitamin D (>50 nmol/L) had a good response to atorvastatin. Conclusions: We suggest that vitamin D concentrations >30nmol/L may be required for atorvastatin to reduce lipid levels in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Comment: In short “Statins” (Lipitor, Zocor, etc…) appear to require a minimum amount of vitamin D (25(OH)D3) substrate (>12 ng/mL or 30 nmol/L) to produce their lipid lowering effects. And, this effect was dose dependent with more dramatic lipid lowering effects at vitamin D levels above 20 ng/mL or 50 nmol/L. More interesting than their lipid lowering effects is their effect on inflammation. We now know that coronary heart disease is an inflammatory disease. Vitamin D is essential for a normal and controlled inflammatory response. We also know that low levels of vitamin D are associated with increased cardiovascular mortality and all cause mortality. Does vitamin D deficiency impair the anti-inflammatory response to statins as well?

Quality of diet and potential renal acid load as risk factors for reduced bone
density in elderly women.
Bone. 2009 Dec 11.
Area di Geriatria, Università Campus Biomedico. Roma, Italy; Fondazione Alberto
Sordi Onlus. Roma, Italy.

BACKGROUND: Bone mineral density (BMD) may be influenced by the general dietary pattern and the potential renal acid load (PRAL). METHODS: We compared the
dietary intake (estimated using the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and nutrition questionnaire) of 497 community-living women (60 years of age and older) grouped according to tertiles of baseline total, trabecular and cortical BMD estimated using tibial peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT), and of BMD variation over 6 years. RESULTS: None of the other nutrients taken into account nor PRAL was associated with total BMD, with the exception that the intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was slightly higher among women with the highest total BMD. Similar results were found for trabecular BMD. Cortical BMD was associated with serum 25-OH vitamin D (38.8, 43.2, and 49.5nmol/L in the first, second, and third tertiles, respectively; P=0.042). In the longitudinal analysis, a lower BMI was associated with greater loss of total BMD, while lower serum 25-OH vitamin D at baseline was associated with smaller loss of cortical BMD. CONCLUSIONS: We found no relationship between dietary acid load and BMD. We also confirmed the role of well-recognized risk factor for osteoporosis.

Comment: This study confirms the association between vitamin D levels and both cortical and trabecular bone over time. The higher the vitamin D level was between 15 and 25 ng/mL, the higher the bone mass. This study also confirms the bone protective effect of polyunsaturated fats in the diet that is well described in animal studies. In other words, omega-3 fats make for stronger bones. There was no relationship between dietary acidosis and bone mass. This contradicts previous epidemiological data.

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 Doctor Dowd:

Thank you for your response! … My rheumatologist gave me no hope and told me the only thing I could do to keep down the inflammation is to take Tylenol or ibuprofen around the clock for the rest of my life (and have my kidneys checked yearly). If I had a flare-up, they would give me colchicine or if it got really bad, a cortisone shot. I showed her your book and one of the case studies that sounded exactly like me and she pooh-poohed it. I had worried about ending up like my grandmother who had rheumatoid arthritis and was almost totally crippled from it.

I’ve since visited a naturopath, and–against my endocrinologist’s and regular doctor’s advice–have begun taking 5,000 IU of vitamin D. My D3 level was 28 at that time. A re-test after 1.5 months showed I had improved to 46, and for the first time in years my C-reactive protein was normal–NOT high…

My knees feel better since I got a cortisone shot and had them drained (20 ccs each) in August. The shot has worn off and some pain returned, but not to the previous levels, and no noticeable swelling. I notice less swelling in my fingers, too, and am totally off ibuprofen.

By the way, our UV level is 1 today, even though it’s clear and bright (not raining!) in Seattle.

Thanks, again.

Susan

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

When the leaves change colors the availability of ultraviolet light to make vitamin D (UVB) disappears till next spring. Your vitamin D level then 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.

Mother 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.

Moderate to intense physical activity also stimulates fat burning and will liberate vitamin D from fat stores. Maintaining a routine of this type of activity 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.

Remember low vitamin D levels in the winter depress your mood and your immune system. So beat those winter blues and stop all those flu viruses with 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 .

Broiled Spiced Salmon with Roasted Winter Squash & Fennel
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

Vitamin D has profound and multiple effects on the immune system. This is particularly true when it comes to your response to infections. We know how it affects our response to tuberculosis. The effects of vitamin D on our response to viruses like the flu are a bit less clear. Here is an excellent review of the data that is our there.

Vitamin D for treatment and prevention of infectious diseases: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Endocr Pract. 2009 Jul-Aug;15(5):438-49.
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30030, USA.
OBJECTIVE: To review the existing human controlled intervention studies of vitamin D as adjunctive therapy in settings of infection and provide recommendations for design and implementation of future studies in this field on the basis of the evidence reviewed. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of randomized controlled clinical trials that studied vitamin D for treatment or prevention of infectious diseases in humans. Studies from 1948 through 2009 were identified through search terms in PubMed and Ovid MEDLINE. RESULTS: Thirteen published controlled trials were identified by our search criteria. Ten trials were placebo controlled, and 9 of the 10 were conducted in a rigorous double-blind design. The selected clinical trials demonstrated substantial heterogeneity in baseline patient demographics, sample size, and vitamin D intervention strategies. Serious adverse events attributable to vitamin D supplementation were rare across all studies. On the basis of studies reviewed to date, the strongest evidence supports further research into adjunctive vitamin D therapy for tuberculosis, influenza, and viral upper respiratory tract illnesses. In the selected studies, certain aspects of study design are highlighted to help guide future clinical research in the field. CONCLUSION: More rigorously designed clinical trials are needed for further evaluation of the relationship between vitamin D status and the immune response to infection as well as for delineation of necessary changes in clinical practice and medical care of patients with
Vitamin D deficiency in infectious disease settings.

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.

Hi,
I am a Registered Nurse working in the City of London. As I live in rural Essex, I commute daily in to London. Reading my newspaper on the train a few weeks ago I came across an article on Vit. D. This seemed interesting so I ordered Dr. Dowd’s book.

On reading this book I realized that I ticked all the boxes of symptoms being Vitamin D deficient. I have weak muscles/aches/not much strength, and always struggle when I went to a Gym. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia around 10 years ago, which settled but I always feel fatigued etc… I lead a very busy life working full time in London as a Registered Nurse. You wouldn’t know that I have discomfort as I just get on with it.

A colleague took some blood and my level of Vit. D was 31 nmol/L range from out lab is 75 - 200 nmol/L. Magnesium level is 0.84 range from our lab is 0.65 - 1.05. I put myself on ‘Life Extention’ 1000iu x 2 daily from Victoria Health and Magnesium. I am trying to change my diet which was mostly vegetarian.

By the way I am Scottish….so not much sun in my life when I was growing up. I am going to keep to this regime and will let you know the outcome. So glad I came across the article and the book which will be useful for my colleagues and patients. I have ordered a couple of copies of the book to give to a couple of my doctor colleagues.

Regards,
Lorna.

Should I eat my vegetables raw or cooked? If I am taking an acid suppressing drug for my stomach, how does this affect digestion? These are some recurring questions I have been asked over the last year.

Let’s ask Mother Nature. Ruminant or grazing animals have lots of large flat teeth for chewing and grinding vegetable matter. Humans on the other hand have relatively few large teeth for grinding. Ruminant animals also have very large guts to process all the cellulose from vegetable matter like grasses. They have 3-4 compartments that make up their stomach as opposed to the human stomach which is a single compartment. Unlike the human stomach, ruminants ferment the food bolus with micro-organisms in their stomach. Their stomach is a bioreactor that produces the volatile organic acids (similar to vinegar) from which they obtain nutrition. The human stomach secretes acid to begin digestion primarily of protein.

Since our gut does not process our vegetables as in cattle, it helps to provide some of this processing before consumption. Cooking is only one of these methods of pre-processing vegetable matter for consumption. Chopping vegetables into small pieces enhances nutrient acquisition. Pureeing vegetable matter takes this one step further. Mixing vegetable matter with volatile organic acids such as vinegar will not only help kill unwanted bacterial but will enhance nutrient acquisition. Similarly the addition of oil to dressings increases the amounts of fat soluble nutrients available for absorption such as vitamins A, E, K and D.

Cooking vegetables increases some nutrients and decreases other nutrients. Fat soluble vitamins and minerals like magnesium are more available from cooked vegetables than from raw vegetables. Anti-oxidants and some water soluble nutrients like vitamin C decay the longer they are exposed to heat and the higher the heat applied. So ideally you should eat both cooked and raw vegetables. Steaming, programmed microwaving, and lightly sautéing in oil are the preferred methods of cooking. You can make raw purees with oil and vinegar and use as dressing on lightly cooked vegetables and cooked meats, thus combining these methods.

The addition of vinegar or citrus acids like lemon juice will enhance the absorption of minerals such as calcium, iron, and magnesium from food. This is a particularly useful technique for individuals who have had gastric bypass, or gastric surgery that reduces the capacity of their stomach to produce acid. Patients taking acid suppressing drugs due to heart burn should eliminate grain and dairy from their diet. This may allow them to discontinue their acid suppressing agent. Starches from grain and potatoes are prime culprits in producing reflux and heart burn.

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 .

Cilantro and Chile stuffed Jumbo Shrimp
Serves 4

Ingredients:• 8 jumbo shrimp, in the shell (about 1 1/4 pounds)
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped
• Juice of 2 limes (about 1/4 cup)
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus additional for seasoning
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 large jalapeno, with seeds
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:
Prepare the grill to medium-high. Without removing the shells, slit about 3/4 of the way through the shrimp down the ridged back and remove the vein that runs down the center. Rinse and pat the shrimp dry.

Next, whisk the thyme leaves, lime juice, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and black pepper, to taste, in a shallow bowl. Lay the shrimp cut side down in the lime mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

In a food processor, pulse the garlic, jalapeno, scallions, remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt to make a coarse paste. Add the cilantro and pulse just enough to incorporate into the mixture. Spoon the mixture into the opening in the shrimp and close the shrimp.

Grill the shrimp shell side down (to keep filling from falling out) for 3 minutes. Turn to the other shell side, cover, and grill another 2 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink and are slightly firm to the touch. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

*Great served over a spinach salad with red onions, heirloom tomatoes, toasted pinenuts and a cilantro-lime vinaigrette.

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,

Congratulations on your book, one of only a few written by physicians using vitamin D in their practice. I have been taking vitamin D for about three years and my 25OHD3 level was 71ng/ml the last time it was tested, using the local Labcorp facility, thru services provided by Life Extension. I have gradually increased by daily dosage over the last few years, starting at a level of about 50 and gradually increasing it to where it is today by taking 8000 IU per day. I am 89 years old and play tennis twice a week. I am sure that the vitamin D is responsible for my ability to keep going. I also would like to mention that I have been using only potassium chloride as a table salt for the last three years and my K levels have always stayed within limits over the three years. Keep up the good work!

M Ferguson
Indio, Ca