Monthly Archives: September 2011

Baby – Vitamin D!

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In last post, I berated the researchers for only using 400 IU of vitamin D as an amount to study.  My reasoning was your body can make this amount in only a couple of minutes in the midday summer sun.  However, the reason this amount has been used; it is the amount required for a baby to not get rickets.  Think about a ten pound baby needing 400 IU or about 40 IU per pound of  body weight per day.  Since vitamin D is used throughout the body then the more your body weight the more you need.  Ratio of body weight to the amount required should be carried out as the baby increases with weight.

I just rechecked the amount suggested by the governments NIH dietary fact sheet.   This states that an infant 0-1 year old should get 400 IU per day for health.  It then says that a lactating mother needs only 600 IU per day.  So I guess they think that the mother can pass on 400 IU per day if she gets 600 IU?  The idiots!  Where is Dr. House when you need him?  If we follow the rule of thumb, then a one hundred twenty five pound mother should be getting – 125 lb x 40 IU = 5000 IU per day of D3.  At this level the mother may be able to pass along close to the requirement of the baby at 400 IU per day.  Actually Dr. Bruce Hollis actually states that a lactating mother should be getting at least 6400 IU to assure that the baby gets the required 400 IU.

The NIH guidelines are made up out of the minds of the IOM Food and Nutrition Board.  The tolerable upper limits for a baby is 1000 IU per day until six months and for the next six months the upper limit is 1500 IU per day.  If we follow our rule of thumb, then the tolerable upper limit for a lactating mother would then be 12500 IU per day. This seems right to me.  However, the guidelines state that the tolerable upper limit is 4000IU per day.  This number is used for anyone over nine years old.  It is like the government thinks when we hit nine, our body does not use anymore vitamin D with increased size – WOW!  I think the researcher’s brains just stopped growing when they reached nine.

My daughter consistently took 7500 IU of D3 per day during lactation.  She took five thousand IU’s one day and the next she would take 10,000 IU.  The baby thrived.  When she weaned the baby, she did not check to be sure the baby was getting vitamin D.  The baby started to have colds.  After two trips to the doctor, I convinced her to give the child supplements to assure the baby was getting between 400 to 1000 IU per day.  When that happened the child got well and once again thrived.  To accomplish this, she used vitamin D drops and put it in whatever liquid the child was consuming.

Always be sure that your baby is getting at least 400 IU per day throughout the first year of life.  Or better, be sure the baby gets at least 40 IU per pound of body weight per day throughout its life.  – pandemic survivor

How Much Vitamin D during Pregnancy

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The proper question to ask is not how much vitamin D during pregnancy, but what is the proper serum level of vitamin D during pregnancy.  The reason for this is that every woman responds differently with serum level versus the amount of vitamin D they are getting from all sources.  This has to do with the response of the body to various life processes that are ongoing.

Dr. Hollis in one study on pregnancy and vitamin D reported that a woman taking 6400 IU of D3 per day had a measured serum level of vitamin D of 20 ng/ml instead of the expected result;  more than 50 ng/ml.  The woman came down with the flu the next day.  Whether it is a highly active need for vitamin D or a more long term need the body uses vitamin D at different rates.  The only way to tell for sure is to have your serum level tested.  The work of Dr. Hollis and Carol Wagner at MUSC has shown that in general pregnant women need around 4000 IU D3 per day to have a healthy baby and reduced complications.

What is the proper serum level?  This has become the sticky issue.  The IOM says that a level of 20 ng/ml is enough for 25(OH)D or the storage from of vitamin D in the body.  The Society of Endocrinology has stated that everyone should have a minimum of 30 ng/ml.  Grassroots Health has stated that the best level should be between 40 to 60 ng/ml.   Dr. John Cannell of the Vitamin D Council says that the level should be above 60 ng/ml to get the best health effects.  Are you confused yet?

The long established normal range for serum vitamin D, 25(OH)D, has long been used as 20 to 100 ng/ml.  This is what is expected from the general population.  People in a sunny country typically have a value in the range of 54 to 90 ng/ml (Grant and Holick).  I suspect that the best that you can do for your body and maintain health is to be as if you lived in a sunny country.  The studies that used only 400 IU of vitamin D and those that recommend this amount as adequate are well, quite frankly in the words of Dr. House –TV character, idiots.  The value of 400 IU D3 only represents about two minutes in the sun and most likely will not affect your health one way or another.  It disturbs me that we have spent huge amounts of money to study this amount of intake – we have been played by the researchers just so they have research money from the government.

Henry Lahore who has spent a great deal of time trying to put the facts together about vitamin D, has develop this web page specifically for mom’s and baby’s needs.  This is really a great resource – thanks Henry!  Overview Moms babies and vitamin D = Vitamin D: Before, During, and After Pregnancy    Also the home page index so that you may explore other vitamin D specifics – VitamindWiki Home Page  or www.vitamindwiki.com

Hormonal balance is the key to a happy pregnancy.  Adequate vitamin D3 is the key to this balance.  I love to be around women that are pregnant with a proper hormonal balance because they are so happy and full of love – the primary ingredient needed for health –  pandemic survivor

Vitamin D Safety in Pregnancy

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The act of allowing a fetus to develop in the womb is wonderful and a blessing to and by humanity.  To the give the baby the best start in the world I suspect love is the most important ingredient.  However, giving the baby enough of the correct nutrients is also critical.  I have several friends that are pregnant and are concerned about whether the mother is getting enough of the correct nutrients.  So let’s look at the several things that modern medicine is ignoring that could have significant impact on a developing fetus and the mother and the safety.

It seems that modern medicine struggles with the two most important nutrients – vitamin D and iodine.  Vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin D, and iodine work in a synergistic manager to allow the total expression of the genetic map.  The World Health Organization says that iodine deficiency is now accepted as the most common cause of preventable brain damage in the world.  I suspect most cases of postpartum depression are iodine deficiency because the baby took all that the mother had.  It is not just this nutrient or that nutrient; it is the combination of all nutrients working together.  Some day medicine will discover that using analysis of the variants is flawed and allows for too much misadventure.  The change to analysis of the means will give a much better picture of the influence of a substance and more importantly the interactions.

My daughter took an average of 7500 IU of D3 per day and had a wonderful experience as I described in this post: Pregnancy and Lactating Mothers.  The only misfortunate thing that happened was she had to change doctors because of incompetence of the doctor.

The best start to this exploration is to listen to Carole Baggerly of Grassroots Health interview Dr. Carol Wagner.  They discuss a recent study on the safety of vitamin D and pregnancy.  The study used 4000 IU per day of vitamin D3 as this is an amount that the IOM says is safe to use for supplementation without discussing it with your doctor.  D*Facts Pregnancy is really interesting as the women are giddy with the results showing reduction in complications.  I share their excitement.  Here is the video –D*Facts Pregnancy.

An act of love results as a blessing – pandemic survivor.

Venus Williams Poor Understanding of Nutrition Leads to Sjogren’s

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I love tennis.  It is my sport of choice when I am not playing golf.  This year I have had an exciting time watching John Isner rising to the top of the tennis ranks.  What an athlete! – have you seen him shoot a basketball?  I love Isnerball – a unique approach to tennis that can only be used by a six foot ten inch athlete with an exceptional serve.  Now I am sad that another of my favorites, Venus Williams, has had to retire from the US Open because of Sjogren’s (pronounced sow-grins) syndrome.

The physical nature of tennis is extreme.  Nutritional conditioning of the tennis professional is of prime importance, especially those things that affect the energy systems as vitamin D, magnesium, and iodine.  The reason that I list these as primary is the vitamin D is not fully accepted by medical practice and the magnesium and iodine are difficult to measure and thus not used as markers for poor nutrition.

So how can I make this claim about Venus and her diagnosis of Sjogren’s syndrome?  It has been well established by research that the majority of autoimmune diseases are a reflection of the lack of the body’s primary weapon for immunity – vitamin D3.  Here is a paper that was published in 1990 from research in Denmark: “Abnormal Vitamin D metabolism in patients with Sjogren’s syndrome” -K Muller .  The really good thing about this study was that the levels of 25(OH)D3 and 25(OH)D2 were both measured.  Discovered was the patients with the autoimmune disease had a significantly lower level of 25(OH)D3.  In fact, 25(OH)D3 could not even be measured in nine of the patients.  At the end of the discussion the author’s make this statement – “It is unclear whether the changed vitamin D3 metabolism is related to the immunopathology of this disease or is merely an epiphenomenon.”  Based on research in the twenty one years since this publication, it is clear that low vitamin D3 levels are the culprit.

How could a person who spends a significant amount of time in the sun be vitamin D deficient?  Dark skin tone and the use of sunscreen?  This is the issue and the IOM would say that she is not if her level of the storage form is 20 ng/ml or more.  Venus is just one of millions that are now in their twenties and thirties that are showing chronic disease from the fear of the sun touted for the last fifty years.  We now know that for health and great sport performance that 25(OH) D3 needs to be above 60 ng/ml.  I sincerely hope that Venus connects with a professional medical person like Dr. John Cannell, Vitamin D Council, and develops an understanding of the nutrition that she needs to come back to the sport.  I believe Dr. Cannell has an up and coming book on vitamin D sports nutrition.  If Venus does this, then we can expect to see her at the Australian Open in January.

If she gives in to the normal line of treatment, then who knows what the results will be.  The first course of action is a drug that is used to treat malaria, hydroxychloroquine.  I find this just sad because of the side effects.  Venus, take some vitamin D3 and drink some quinine or tonic water, supplement with magnesium and iodine and get back on the courts.

John Isner, if you are reading this then get your vitamin D level tested.  I look forward to you winning a couple of majors real soon.  I love Isnerball! – pandemic survivor.