Vitamin D

This is a difficult question because it relies on so many personal factors. Everyone’s situation is either a lot, or at least a little, different. How much vitamin D you need varies with age, body weight, percent of body fat, latitude, skin coloration, season of the year, use of sunblock, individual variation in sun exposure, and—probably—how ill you are. As a general rule, old people need more than young people, big people need more that little people, heavier people need more than skinny people, northern people need more than southern people, dark-skinned people need more than fair-skinned people, winter people need more than summer people, sunblock lovers need more than sunblock haters, sun-phobes need more than sun worshipers, and ill people may need more than well people.

Quite a few factors are involved, as you can see. However, don’t feel bad, no one understands it. Vitamin D is used by the body—metabolically cleared—both to maintain wellness and to treat disease. If you get an infection, how much vitamin D does your body use up fighting the infection? If you have cancer, how much vitamin D does your body use up fighting the cancer? If you have heart disease, how much vitamin D does your body use up fighting the heart disease? If you are a child with autism, how much vitamin D does your brain need to turn on the genes that autism has turned off? If you are an athlete, how much vitamin D does your body use to make you stronger and quicker? Nobody knows the answer to these questions.

Recommendation: If you use suntan parlors once a week or if you live in Florida and sunbathe once a week, year-round, do nothing. However, if you have little UVB exposure, my advice is as follows: healthy children under the age of 1 years should take 1,000 IU vitamin D3 per day—over the age of 1, 1,000 IU vitamin D3 per every 25 pounds of body weight per day. Well adults and adolescents should take 5,000 IU vitamin D3 per day. Around 2–3 months later have a 25-hydroxyvitamin D blood test, either through ZRT or your doctor.

Start supplementing with the vitamin D before you have the blood test. Then adjust your dose so your 25(OH)D level is between 50–80 ng/ml (125–200 nmol/L), summer and winter. But remember, these are conservative dosage recommendations. Most people who avoid the sun—and virtually all dark-skinned people—will have to increase their dose once they find their blood level is still low, even after two months of the above dosage, especially in the winter. Some people may feel more comfortable ordering the blood test before they start adequate doses of vitamin D. We understand. Test as often as you feel the need to, just remember, no one can get toxic on the doses recommended above and some people will need even more.

Share on Facebook

With all the talk about how to reduce the risk of osteoporosis, many companies jump on the bandwagon to market foods, vitamins, or other consumables that contain Calcium or Vitamin D. Unfortunately, many of the foods that contain these ‘osteoporosis risk-reducing’ qualities, are made in such a way that does not provide the natural sources. Of course, the word ‘natural’ is used so loosely that this needs clarification too. The point is that these “foods” are fortified, which means that either one or both Calcium and/or Vitamin D were added.

Now if you want to get the best source of either of these two, then a diet that includes items that already contain either is the way to go. Why? Because what you get from a food that has been “fortified” is just the exact chemical structure to what is found in nature. On the surface this may sound ok. You may be thinking, ‘what’s so bad about that?’ Well, in this author’s opinion, and even those like Dr. Mercola and thousands of others, getting your nutrition from the source is much better than getting one piece, and one that is man-made. That is to say, there are hundreds of nutrients that work together in foods like milk, fruits, vegetables, and even meat and non-meat protein sources like beans and legumes.

These nutrients all work together and provide much better ‘results’ in the support of good health to the body. It’s no different than thinking you can take Vitamin C without having the need to eat an orange or apple for example. There are many more nutrients in natural foods that contain Vitamin C that not only are beneficial to the body, but most likely work together and provide an exponentially greater benefit than just one by itself. The same goes for any fruit and vegetable – all contain many nutrients that we don’t know by name, like Vitamin B1 or others, yet serve the same purpose in supporting the health of the body.

According to the FDA’s new rules for health claims on the relationship between calcium and vitamin D and a reduced risk of osteoporosis, foods that are excellent sources of calcium and foods that are excellent sources of calcium and vitamin D can now bear claims about the relationship between these nutrients and a reduced risk of osteoporosis. Examples of claims that can be used are included in the editor’s note.*

These new health claims will help communicate the benefits of calcium and vitamin D in bone health to Americans, many of whom are falling short in consuming the recommended amounts of these key nutrients and more than 10 million of whom are already living with osteoporosis. By the year 020, half of all Americans over age 50 will have weak bones.

The claims can be used on the packages of reduced-fat, low-fat and fat-free milk and yogurt varieties, as well as other food products that ualify as excellent sources (20% or more of recommended Daily Value) of calcium or calcium and vitamin D per standard serving, respectively. More…

Bottom line: go for the foods that have not been “tampered” with before those that have been processed – cooked, prepared, mixed, fortified, baked, fried, dried, etc. Foods like fruits and vegetables are the first on the list that make the most sense (and even those that are organic are going to be better). Next, are the healthy choice breads, then fish, and lean protein sources like beans, and even milk. Milk is a doozie because of the limited choices, but organic is preferred. Never mind the cost, it’s worth it if you’re consuming it regularly. And even whole milk that has been untouched (this gets lots of bad press but has many supporters and is worth the research to decide) is going to be superior. Your health comes down to the choices you make for your diet, and there’s a lot more that shouldn’t be consumed than there are items that are healthy. Choose wisely!

HWI

NOTE: It is the opinion of The Health and Wellness Institute that dairy and red meat contribute to heart disease and cardiovascular problems, based on current research.

Share on Facebook

A member of my family had a TIA last night, called a transient ischemic attack and sometimes associated with a stroke (although the two are different but closely related)…but fortunately it was a mild case. TIA, or transient ischemic attack is caused by temporary disturbance of blood supply to an area of the brain, which results in a sudden, brief decrease in brain function although the symptoms may only last for a short time. (On the other hand, a stroke will normally show clinical signs like slurring speach, loss of control of a portion of the body, etc – more can be read on the subject here.)

What is interesting is the information that we found on how some vitamins may reduce the likelihood of death from a stroke. While we recommend adding a nutritional supplement made from whole foods for added nutrients, it is not a suggestion that any supplement could reduce the likelihood of death in the event of a stroke. However, it turns out that some research is showing evidence that Vitamin D may help reduce the risk of dying from a stroke – by as much as 50 percent! Here’s more –

Having a stroke is a definite life crisis. But what if you could reduce the chances that it’ll deadly? Enter vitamin D. New research is suggesting that vitamin D may help reduce a person’s risk of dying from a stroke — by as much as 50 percent!

Vitamin Powerhouse
More research is needed to confirm the link, but a Finnish study that followed about 6,000 people for more than 25 years showed that those with the highest D intake were significantly less likely to die of either stroke or heart disease, compared with the people with the lowest D intake. Those could be really big health benefits from one little pill. Read this doctor blog for advice on how to take your D.

Are You Getting Enough?
About 30–40 percent of people may be deficient in vitamin D. RealAge’s Scientific Advisory Board recommends that anyone 60 or younger get 1,000 international units (IU) per day. Up that amount to 1,200 IU daily if you’re over 60 years of age. You’ve got three choices for accomplishing that: sunlight, food, and a supplement. Use this online tool to see what foods are rich in vitamin D.

Are you getting all the nutrients out of your food? This article explains how to squeeze out more.  Actively patrolling your health can make your RealAge as much as 12 years younger. (source)

 Bottom Line: Vitamin D is becoming more and more of requirement for a daily supplement, or at least to get the minimum required in a healthy diet (which may be more than what is stated by the FDA).  Is it really hard to believe that good nutrition, vitamins, nutrients, plenty of ripe whole food fruits and vegetables could be responsible for reducing health problems, or even decreasing the chance of death? It shouldn’t be. The amount of knowledge and information that we are discovering about the systems of our body, all the way down to the DNA and what’s inside DNA is growing so fast that we may be able to solve some of our biggest and most common health problems. Let’s see if we can solve the problem of making the right choice for what to eat and drink, and what to avoid!

The Health & Wellness Institute, DC PC

The information provided is not intended to diagnosis any condition or disease, nor is it meant for the treatment or cure for any condition or disease. Please consult your physician for any health issues or before making any changes to your diet.

Take the RealAge Test

Share on Facebook

We all need vitamins, but we need minerals, and the hundreds of micronutrients that exist in whole foods. How do we get those vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients? By eating fruits and vegetables. Most people do not, which is the primary reason we recommend adding a nutritional supplement so that you will get nutrients from a variety of whole food fruits, vegetables, and berries.  But more research is showing that taking Vitamin D to help with weight loss. I got news for you: eating a healthy diet will help with weight loss.  So will adding some exercise each day.  And now, we are finding excellent results on Vitamin D regarding weight loss –

A recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Minnesota found that overweight people have better success in losing weight when their vitamin D levels are increased. Dr. Shalamar Sibley, the researcher who headed the study, placed 38 obese men and women on a diet program and discovered that those whose vitamin D levels were increased lost up to a half pound more than those who followed the diet plan only.

When combined with a reduced-calorie diet, it appears that supplementation with vitamin D helps to promote increased weight loss among those whose levels are low to begin with. For each nanogram per milliliter increase in vitamin D precursor in the blood, it was observed that an extra half pound loss in weight was able to be achieved while on a diet plan.

A study published earlier this year in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that 75 percent or more of American teens and adults are deficient in vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is linked to all sorts of serious illnesses including cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Researchers in the weight loss study are unsure whether vitamin D deficiency causes obesity or if obesity causes vitamin D deficiency. Nevertheless, there is a clear connection between the two. (read on…)

Bottom Line: At the end of the tunnel of studies on what vitamins may be deficient where some disease or ailment is present, we will discover that a diet rich in a variety of fruits and vegetables is going to be responsible for weight loss and optimal health. Of course, that healthy diet includes other things, but the foundation starts with plenty of those healthy whole foods, while avoiding those high fat, high salt, or high sugar foods and drinks (mostly responsible for our overall health levels spiralling downward).  Making a few simple changes to one’s diet is the best and easiest approach for healthy and lasting weight loss.

Share on Facebook

While good nutrition is the best approach to a healthy diet, and should include plenty of fruits and vegetables, we don’t always get the amount we need each day. That is why we recommend a nutritional supplement with whole food nutrition from a variety of fruits and vegetables – check out our nutritional supplement recommendations. However, certain individual vitamins are being shown to have much benefit to our health. Specifically, Vitamin D. Here’s more from Healthnewsdigest.com –

Vitamin D may be the superhero of vitamins. Dr. Zoltan Rona in his new book, VITAMIN D The Sunshine Vitamin, refers to it as the “anti-death vitamin. Studies show that the risk of death from all causes can be decreased 26% with vitamin D supplementation. Readers benefit two-fold. They can take immediate steps to improve their own health. And they can again feel safe enjoying the sun.

Sun phobia, sunscreens, and spending too much time indoors has resulted in at least 70% of North Americans being deficient in Vitamin D. This deficiency is one of the root causes of a number of chronic conditions, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and a host of autoimmune diseases. Completely referenced, Dr. Zona cites cases and studies that demonstrate how vitamin D supplementation can aid in the healing of these major illnesses and other common health conditions and can help prevent occurrence.

Direct sunlight is still the best source. Fears of sun exposure contributing to skin cancer can be laid to rest. The latest research shows that survival rates from melanoma can actually be improved with safe exposure to the sun. Additional topics addressed include:

1. misconceptions about the right time of day for sun exposure;
2. what supplements afford the best protection;
3. the pros and cons of sunscreens;
4. how vitamin D interacts with prescription drugs;
5. why the recommended dosage of vitamin D is increasing.

Vitamin D shows us that being able to improve our health safely and naturally is now a much more viable option. (read on…)

Comments: While a supplement of Vitamin D may prove to be beneficial to your health in the long run – and some sunshine on a regular basis – it is still important to get a diet that is rich in whole food, raw fruits and vegetables. If you need to lose weight, you most likely need to adjust your diet and make a transition to a healthy lifestyle.

HWI

Share on Facebook

There are plenty of studies showing the benefits of Vitamin D, or at least the risk of not having enough Vitamin D in your diet. But there are also many reasons that we should be getting our nutrition from whole food fruits and vegetables, and if we do need to supplement our diet why we should avoid synthetics vitamins…almost all of the time. Even Dr. Mercola agrees that synthetic vitamins are a waste of money –

If you shop for your supplements at discount stores you may be seriously shortchanging yourself because those products typically use cheap synthetic isolates. Millions gorge themselves on synthetic vitamins, only to acquire and die from degenerative diseases. You see, isolated vitamins are partial vitamins, combined with other chemicals. They’re a low-end alternative to whole, real complete food. When you remove a part from the whole, you get ‘Synthetic,’ ‘Isolated,’ or ‘Fractionated’ pieces of the whole, but it’s simply not the same.

There are four problems with synthetic vitamins…

1.Nature intended for you to consume food in WHOLE form because all the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and enzymes are together in one package. They work synergistically to give your body the nutrition it requires for optimal health.
2.Your body only absorbs a small percentage of an isolate form of vitamins and minerals – and it utilizes even less. You get the best bioavailability in whole food form.
3.Synthetic vitamins often give you massive quantities of some nutrients (usually the most inexpensive ones) and insufficient quantities of others, not balance.
4.You can experience side effects of synthetic isolates from the additives and the unnatural state of the synthetic supplement. (source)

Comments: You’ve heard it before… Fast food and a sedentary lifestyle can be a disaster for your health. Don’t let your multivitamin add to the collateral damage. In fact, you want to be sure that your supplement makes a real and significant contribution to your health, especially if you’re already living a healthy lifestyle.

Another Reason to Consider A Whole Food Nutritional Supplement  – check out www.HWI-news.com for recommendations. A number of carefully controlled studies have provided startling evidence that by the time the food reaches your table, serious nutrient content could already be lost. Some estimates report the nutrient value lost at over 50%! This is largely the result of conventional farming methods that rely heavily on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which deplete the soil of nutrients… nutrients that must be absorbed by plants in order to be passed on to you.  And it does not necessarily end there.

In many cases, it’s likely you unknowingly further deplete the nutrients in your food — just by the way you prepare it. For most food, cooking it will seriously impair its nutritional value. So, realizing that you cannot always obtain the whole unprocessed foods you need — and knowing how easy it is for valuable nutrients to be destroyed — you now know adding a whole food nutritional supplement to your diet is a good move.

The Health & Wellness Institute, PC

Share on Facebook

While a nutritional supplement or any whole food nutritional supplement is no longer a luxury but a necessity if you’re not eating enough fruits and vegetables, there is one vitamin among vitamins that has seen plenty of research that supports a daily supplement of it. And that is Vitamin D.  While you may find your nutritional supplement provides nutrients from a variety of fruits and vegetables, taking a single Vitamin D supplement may not be such a bad thing. But here’s one reason why you should carefully consider the amount you supplement daily –

In the era before vitamins and cod-liver oil, children suffering from rickets got the “sunshine cure” to rid them of the deforming condition caused by soft, weak bones. It was also the treatment for tuberculosis.

Deficiency in Vitamin D, which is key to maintaining bone health, has been linked to other disorders, including diabetes, cancers of the breast, colon and prostate, and cardiovascular disease.  Now, an international study co-authored by McGill University researcher Brent Richards explains why sunshine and certain foods aren’t always enough to ward off a Vitamin D deficiency.

Science has been aware for a while that environment and diet play crucial roles, said Richards, of the Lady Davis Institute for medical research of the Jewish General Hospital, but the genetic role wasn’t clear.

“About 50 per cent of our Vitamin D levels are determined by genetic factors – that was known,” he said.

But the new study, considered the largest of its kind, found variants in three genes responsible for low Vitamin D levels. The genes are involved with the synthesis, breakdown ortransportof Vitamin D.

Richards and co-author ThomasJ. Wangof Massachusetts General Hospital, with colleagues in Britain, the United States, the Netherlands, Sweden and Finland, assessed 34,000 white people of European descent and found the variations increased the risk of Vitamin D insufficiency by more than double.

Published in the Lancet, the report by the SUNLIGHT consortium (Study of Underlying Genetic Determinants of Vitamin D and Highly Related Traits) notes the condition may affect up to half of all healthy adults in the developed world.  The study may help explain why people who should get enough through foods and sun exposure still seem to have low levels of Vitamin D.

“We were surprised at what a large effect these genes have,” Richards said. “Some of these genes are very common, and usually common genes have a small effect. But these have such a large effect that 50 per cent of Caucasians would carry one copy of the risk gene. And the effect of having a good copy of this gene is similar to using Vitamin D supplementation.”

But people should not run out and start popping vitamins, Richards cautioned.

“This in no way lets us understand whether people should take large doses of Vitamin D, only what genes influence vitamin levels,” he said. “We’re doing follow-up studies to determine whether or not people who have these risk genes need higher doses of Vitamin D.”

Researchers are also looking at whether individuals with certain gene variations would respond better to vitamin supplements. In March, Statistics Canada reported that 10 per cent of Canadians -about 3 million people -had inadequatelevelsof Vitamin D in their blood for optimal bone health, and fully 1.1 million were Vitamin D deficient.

There’s speculation that people who live in areas with a lack of sunlight -for example, Canada’s northern climes -have an increased riskof Vitamin D deficiency.

Most Vitamin D is made by the body as a natural by-product of the skin’s exposure to sunlight. It can also be absorbed by eating Vitamin D-rich foods like egg yolks, saltwater fish and liver, fortified foods or via Vitamin D supplements.  There are no definitive studies on the optimal daily Vitamin D dose.

Health Canada recommends daily intake of 200 IU (international units) for people age 50 or less, 400 IU for ages 51 to 70, and 600 IU for those older than 70.  Two cups of milk provide 200IUof VitaminD. (source…)

Comments: The best source of Vitamin D is sunshine and specific foods. There are plenty of sources that support taking an individual vitamin D supplement to ensure you get plenty of it, although we still support whole food nutrition for optimal benefits to you and your health.  And if you’re not getting plenty of fruits and vegetables, you may want to add a whole food nutritional supplement to your diet.

The Health & Wellness Institute, PC

Share on Facebook

This information and research here comes from a Pediatrics journal that is associated with the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Vitamin D may be associated with a lower risk of developing stress fractures in preadolescent and adolescent girls, especially among those very active in high-impact activities, according to a report published Online First by Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Stress fractures, a relatively common sports-related injury, occur when stresses on a bone exceed its capacity to withstand and heal from those forces. But while consumption of calcium and calcium-rich dairy products is routinely encouraged for optimal bone health, researchers note in their study background that the evidence for this recommendation has been challenged.

Kendrin R. Sonneville, Sc.D., R.D., of Children’s Hospital Boston, and colleagues conducted a study to identify whether calcium, vitamin D and/or the intake of dairy were prospectively associated with stress fracture risk among girls. The study included 6,712 preadolescent and adolescent girls (age 9 to 15 at baseline) in the Growing Up Today Study.

During seven years of follow-up, 3.9 percent of the girls developed a stress fracture. Dairy and calcium intakes were unrelated to risk of developing a stress fracture. However, vitamin D intake was associated with a lower risk of developing a stress fracture, particularly among those girls who participate in at least one hour a day of high-impact activity.

“In contrast, there was no evidence that calcium and dairy intakes were protective against developing a stress fracture or that soda intake was predictive of an increased risk of stress fracture or confounded the association between dairy, calcium or vitamin D intakes and fracture risk,” the authors comment.

The authors also note that in a stratified analysis that high calcium intake was associated with a greater risk of developing a stress fracture, although they suggest that “unexpected finding” warrants more study.

The authors conclude their findings support the Institute of Medicine’s recent increase in the recommended dietary allowance for vitamin D for adolescents from 400 IU/d to 600 IU/d.

“Further studies are needed to ascertain whether vitamin D intake from supplements confers a similarly protective effect as vitamin D consumed through dietary intake,” they comment.

Comments: Although there is a LOT of research that points to Vitamin D being very important to our health, it should not be forgotten that we can’t derive the benefits from such vitamin when we take it out of the natural form from which we normally get it – i.e. foods and/or sunshine.  By consuming a synthetically made vitamin, we will miss the other nutrients that come with it or the other systems of the body that come into play when we are in the sun. Many people may ask, “what about the dangers of the sun?”.  This you can read about in other posts – not to worry, say most researchers.

Bottom line: get plenty of good whole foods for optimal health, and in this case maybe some regular doses of sunshine!  Tell your boss you’ve got to go to your health appointment…then proceed to sit out in the sun

The Health & Wellness Institute

Share on Facebook

Amazingly enough, there seems to be evidence that vitamins are important even for some of the more difficult diseases to address. While whole food nutrition from fruits and vegetables are the best source of nutrients for the body, there are cases where concentrated high doses of vitamins can provide benefit.  Supplementing with a whole food nutritional supplement that provides nutrients from a variety of whole foods, is the best way to add nutrition IF you won’t or can’t eat enough of those foods.  For those of you who are interested in getting more nutrients for prevention of sickness,  check out Moms Nutrition to help you in that regard.  But in the case of those dealing with HIV, research shows that Vitamin D is helpful. Here’s more –

Taking high doses of vitamin D may slow the disease progression and reduce the risk of death in people with HIV, a new study published in the Jan 2010 issue of PLoS One suggests.

The study led by Mehta S at Harvard School of Public Health showed HIV carriers with high serum vitamin D levels were at low risk of disease progression, mortality and severe anemia.

Vitamin D has been known to be involved in the immune system. In the study, the researchers  wanted to know if vitamin D plays a role in slowing HIV disease progression and preventing mortality.

Mehta et al. analysed data on 884 HIV-infected pregnant women who were enrolled in a trial of multivitamin supplementation in Tanzania. The subjects were followed up for an average of 69 months.

Those who had lower than 32 ng/mL of serum vitamin D were 25 percent more likely to experience disease progression to WHO HIV disease stage III or greater, compared to those who had high levels.

Women with low vitamin D were also 47 percent more likely to develop severe anemia during the follow-up compared to those with adequate vitamin D levels. Read more…

Comments: Vitamin D continues to get more attention as more research and published studies are showing the benefits. However, it is more important to eat a well balanced diet that includes plenty of plant-based foods. You will find more nutrients when you consume a variety of RIPE and raw whole food fruits and vegetables. Don’t forget to exercise and get plenty of water, and rest.

The Health & Wellness Institute

Share on Facebook

How the Body Processes Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble prohormone that can be obtained from foods—either the few foods in which it is naturally present, such as fish, or fortified foods—as well as from dietary supplements. It is also produced endogenously when ultraviolet rays from the sun react with 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin, converting it into the vitamin.

Vitamin D Metabolism
The forms of vitamin D that are obtained from foods and supplements (D2 and D3), as well as endogenously upon sun exposure (D3), are biologically inert. Two hydroxylation reactions are necessary to convert the vitamin to its active form. The first reaction occurs in the liver and converts the vitamin to an intermediate known as 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25D), or calcidiol. The second reaction occurs primarily in the kidneys, and results in the vitamin’s active form, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25D), or calcitriol.

Share on Facebook

It turns out that the cholesterol content in eggs is not as harmful as once thought. Now that farmers are feeding their hens and chickens healthier sources, the cholesterol content is lower than it was previously. Of course, the vitamin D content in eggs makes them a good source of nutrition too. And, it turns out that there is more Vitamin D than previously thought too. Here’s more –

The USDA announced today that eggs are significantly lower in cholesterol than previously thought. And, by the way, they are also quite a bit higher in Vitamin D.

All by itself, this is potentially important news, with wide implications for the American diet. The newly released 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, for instance, recommend a limit of 300mg of cholesterol per day for healthy adults, and 200mg per day for adults with, or at high risk for heart disease. The new, lower cholesterol content of eggs means that these guidelines could be met if healthy adults average between one and two eggs per day, while even adults with heart disease can come in under the guideline consuming an egg daily. (By the way, the reason eggs are now lower in cholesterol is not entirely clear, but likely relates to changes in the diets of hens. We are what we eat, and so are chickens … and their eggs.)

But I consider news about less cholesterol to be just one entry among several that collectively go a long way toward full … eggsoneration.

First, we were probably wrong about the harms of dietary cholesterol in the first place. Over the past decade or so, numerous studies — both observational studies in large populations, and intervention trials in smaller ones — have suggested that dietary cholesterol in general, and eggs in particular, do not contribute meaningfully to blood cholesterol levels, or cardiac risk. My own lab has contributed two such studies to the literature- one in which we saw no harms from two eggs daily in healthy adults; and another in which we saw no harm from two eggs daily in adults with high blood cholesterol.

We are currently running a trial to assess the effects of two eggs daily on health markers in adults with coronary heart disease, and are hypothesizing there will once again be no harms.

My interest in all this, by the way, does not derive from the fact that I have three egg-laying hens living in my backyard! (I do.) Rather, I am interested in being right about means of optimizing health through optimizing diet.  Read more…

Comments: Vitamin D is one of the most researched and talked about of the vitamins these days. There are many conditions where testing finds the patient to have inadequate levels of vitamin D.  So many conditions, in fact, that more and more health care professionals are recommending supplementing your diet with additional vitamin D. While it is recommended that you use a whole food nutritional supplement when you can, this is one case where you can use a synthetic form.

Share on Facebook