Lately, I’ve been getting people writing in asking if they should worry if they Store Vitamin D. Now, I’m not sure where people have got the idea that storing vitamin d is something that is worrisome or something harmful, but let me set the record straight that you should not worry if you store vitamin d.

Vitamin d is a FAT SOLUBLE vitamin and you do not excrete it through the sweat, urine or stool as you would if it were a Water Soluble vitamin. Vitamins and minerals such as the B vitamins, magnesium and Vitamin C Supplements must be taken on a daily basis because they get excreted if you do not use them in a short period of time (a few hours to a few days depending upon the vitamin). But the fat soluble vitamins like vitamin d are not excreted this way. In fact it is a GOOD thing that you store vitamin d because this was how humans were designed!

When we evolved as humans, we did not always have consistent sunlight- and for most populations, sunlight was the only way to obtain vitamin d. Only populations, such as the Inuit and Sami people of the far Northern parts of the world have access to abundant year round vitamin d food sources- and ‘NO’, milk in its natural form is NOT a food source of vitamin d, it has had synthetic vitamin d supplements added artificially.

Since Vitamin D and Sun is an inconsistent way to obtain vitamin d, nature designed us to be EXTREMELY efficient at collecting the vitamin d that we do get when we get it. And the way that we do that is to Store Vitamin D when there is an excess of it. And we DO store vitamin d in our fat and it gets sort of ‘time- released’ as we need it. In fact the ‘half-life’ of natural vitamin d from sun or from Vitamin D3 Supplements is a long 3 WEEKS in order to get us through monsoon season or a long and snowy winter.

In fact, to illustrate this point, Dr. Robert Heaney, one of the foremost Vitamin D Researchers, found that if you take 2,200 IU per day, you only have about 12 days supply of vitamin D in your body. “What this indicates,” he explained, “… is that fat reserves of the vitamin are essentially running on empty.” So, according to Dr. Heaney, storing only 12 DAYS of vitamin d is inadequate to really meet your needs.

Sometimes doctors will give extremely large-sounding dosages, up to as much as 600,000 IU’s all at once, and some forums out there are saying, “Oh no, that’s bad because you store the Vitamin D”, there is just simply no worry about this. To store vitamin d when it’s in excess is what our bodies do. While certainly too high of dosages for too long can lead to Vitamin D Toxicity, but that is NOT the same thing as storing vitamin d. Too much is TOXIC, but storing vitamin d is a natural healthy body process that no one should ‘Worry’ about.

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System

The Journal of the American Medical Association reported the results of a study that says that the Elderly With Chronic Pain Fall More. This is NOT news at all, and while they claim, “Despite a growing body of scientific evidence supporting associations between a number of risk factors and falls, efforts to translate these findings into effective fall prevention strategies have been limited.”

Are they just not reading the literature? There is a LARGE body of evidence from peer-reviewed double blind placebo controlled trials that Vitamin D Helps to Relieve Pain in those who are Vitamin D Deficient- which is nearly ALL elderly, and also that Vitamin D Prevents Falls.

While that sounds CRAZY that these older people who have pain and are falling could be helped by the administration of Vitamin D, it is absolutely true and doctors are simply ignoring the evidence. In fact, This Study Reported in JAMA was an analysis of 5 studies on the subject of Vitamin D and Falls in the elderly. They ONLY included high quality studies that met peer reviewed criteria. And their conclusion was ” Vitamin D supplementation appears to reduce the risk of falls among ambulatory or institutionalized older individuals with stable health by more than 20%.”.

So, we ALREADY have an effective way to reduce fall risk in the elderly by 20% AND the same intervention could reduce pain in many of them, but no one really cares. They would rather continue to spend money on studies, give narcotic pain relievers and try to get throw rugs out of their houses than to actually get down to the REASON why these elderly people are in pain and are falling.

ONE simple intervention could fix both of these problems at once. Are you listening out there. The elderly are Vitamin D Deficient and are in pain and falling because of it. Is anybody really out there. Does anybody really care?

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Easy Immune Health.com

When you think of ‘Prescription Strength’, most of us will think, somehow, that it is automatically better or stronger than a similar ‘Over the Counter’ variety. But with prescription vitamin D supplements, this is far from the case. In fact, these prescription vitamin D supplements are Completely inferior to the vitamin D3 supplements that you can buy in any health food store in many ways. They are less potent, have more potential for toxicity, don’t have the ‘active’ component that regular vitamin d does and they have a shorter shelf life. Do you STILL want prescription strength vitamin D?

Vitamin D has become somewhat famous lately, with tons of studies showing that millions of otherwise ‘healthy’ people are vitamin D deficient, in many cases SEVERELY so, and that the consequences are diseases like cancer, heart disease and multiple sclerosis. As clinicians become more aware of the problems associated with vitamin D deficiency, more are testing for and treating it. And while awareness of vitamin D is GREATl, it will also bring more prescription vitamin D supplements- which may NOT be so great.

The most common form of prescription vitamin D is in the form of Vitamin D2, also called Ergocalciferol. This is also the same type of vitamin D that is used for the ‘fortification’ of most milk and cereal products. But the ‘over the counter’ formulation of vitamin D in the form of Vitamin D3, also called Cholecalciferol, is far superior to the prescription formula that is routinely prescribed. First of all, prescription vitamin D is at least one-half as effective as vitamin D3 and possibly even up to one-tenth as effective. In ‘The case against ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) as a vitamin supplement’, the authors state, “50 000 IU vitamin D2 should be considered equivalent to 15000 IU vitamin D3, and likely closer to 5000 IU vitamin D3″. That’s One-Tenth as effective as vitamin d that you can buy in stores. When these differences were discovered in the 1950′s, Germany reformulated their prescription vitamin D to vitamin D3, but almost 60 years later, the United States is still using prescription vitamin D that doesn’t work.

And it really doesn’t work. One consequence of vitamin D deficiency is an increase in parathyroid hormone levels which alters calcium metabolism and preventing calcium from building bones. Studies measure the effectiveness of vitamin D treatment by measuring vitamin D levels increasing AND parathyroid hormone levels decreasing. In studies that compare the two different types of supplements, vitamin D3 supplements decreased parathyroid hormone while vitamin D2 didn’t. Another extremely important function of vitamin D, one that can’t be understated, is vitamin D’s ability to bind to ‘Vitamin D Receptors’ in the body. These receptors, also called VDR, are present in almost every tissue in the body and are one possible explanation for the extremely diverse health effects of the vitamin. When VDR’s are bound with an active form of vitamin D, it can help to prevent the expression of a mind boggling array of disease causing genes. Yet, vitamin D2 produces an active hormone that has 40% less binding ability to VDR’s than does the hormone produced from vitamin D3. This makes vitamin D2 much less ‘Biologically Active’ than a Vitamin D3 Supplement and leads to the possibility that prescription vitamin D doesn’t even prevent the diseases and problems that treatment of vitamin D deficiency is supposed to alleviate!

Another disadvantage of prescription vitamin D , is that it has a shorter half life in the body. Water soluble vitamins need to be replenished continually; for instance B vitamins and vitamin C are best metabolized in small doses throughout the day. But fat soluble vitamins like vitamin D do NOT need to be taken every day. In fact the half life of vitamin D3 supplements is 3 weeks. This means that 3 weeks after you take one dose, one half of that dose is still left in your body. This is true whether you get it from the sun, food or supplements. But prescription vitamin d has a much shorter half life, which means that you not only need more of the vitamin to prevent or treat deficiency, but you also need to take that higher dose more OFTEN.

But these higher doses could cause more problems. Researchers since the 1930′s have found higher potential for toxicity, more impurities and less consistent formulations in vitamin D2 preparations than in Vitamin D3 Supplements . In fact, researchers interpreting studies on vitamin D find that the studies done using vitamin D2 have less consistent results and recommend that all vitamin d research be done using vitamin D3 supplements for its more consistent results, better method of action in the body, lower toxicity levels and its improved shelf stability.

So while progress is being made in the awareness of the widespread problem of vitamin d deficiency, doctors who actually test for and treat vitamin D deficiency most often choose to ignore the advice of vitamin D researchers Dr’s Houghton and Vieth who state, “… vitamin D2, or ergocalciferol, should not be regarded as a nutrient suitable for supplementation…”. It seems that patients would be better served if their doctors, instead, recommend their patients go to the local health food store to treat their vitamin D deficiency.

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Health Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner

I have been Vitamin D deficient now for almost a year. They have had me on 50,000 units once a week until recently and have now bumped me up to 50,000 twice a week.

However, I am still deficient. I am always tired, have to force myself to do things most days, and have major mood swings… My body hurts all over, so they said, “oh you have Fibromalagia.” Now this new Doctor says it’s all caused from the lack of vitamin D…..

Do you have any suggestions, or help for me? I am at my wits end!

Sincerely,
K
Dallas, Texas

Answer:

Hi K,

Wow, that sounds like it hasn’t been a very fun year. At least your doctors were aware enough to check for Vitamin D Deficiency, but it sounds like they are missing a few things.

First, a possible solution

Since you live in Dallas, you might be able to remedy this situation in a few weeks by GOING OUT IN THE SUN! Get outside in a bikini, or nothing at all if you have some privacy and are inclined to do so- and get as much sun as you can every day to the point of BEFORE you get burned.

Sun is the way that we were MEANT to get vitamin D. So, if that is at all a possibility, then do that. You can protect your face with sunscreen and a big hat, but otherwise, let your entire body get as much sun as you possibly can- just don’t burn.

You can make up to 20,000 IU’s of Vitamin D per day by exposing your skin in this very efficient Vitamin D Deficiency Treatment.

What your doctor is doing wrong

So, one of the things that your doctors are not doing right is giving you a PRESCRIPTION for your Vitamin D. Prescription Vitamin D is in the form of Vitamin D2 and researchers have stated, “Vitamin D2, or ergocalciferol, should not be regarded as a nutrient suitable for supplementation”. So, print out this study, sit down with a highlighter pen and highlight any questions that you may have for your doctor and ask him why he chose to use Vitamin D2 to treat you instead of the far superior form of Vitamin D3 that he can’t write a prescription for, but nonetheless is widely available and inexpensive.

Why You Might be Deficient

So, one of the reasons that you may still be deficient is that you are taking Vitamin D2 which has up to one-tenth the bioavailability to the body. The other reason that you may be deficient is that you are not ABSORBING the vitamin D that you ARE getting, and THAT is a critical component of illness that doctors almost always completely overlook.

You see, under certain circumstances (and I’ll talk about those in a minute), it’s possible for people to develop a condition called Increased Intestinal Permeability or “Leaky Gut Syndrome”. Doctors seem to think that this condition is something that alternative practitioners made up, but there are THOUSANDS of references to increased intestinal permeability in the literature and several different easy to do tests to test for this.

It is very real and can cause you not to be absorbing nutrients.

Also, if you have been unable to absorb vitamin D, what ELSE have you not been absorbing? Doctors seem to think that if they find vitamin D deficiency, then they have found “The Answer”, because they haven’t been able to find anything else wrong with you. But really, that should provoke a lot more questions- like WHY you are not absorbing your vitamin D and what else are you deficient in. Your doctor says that your problems are all because of the vitamin D, but has he tested your Vitamin B12 level? How about your Carnitine level, coenzyme q10, folic acid, RBC Magnesium and other nutrients?

So, you might want to ask him why he hasn’t tested you for any of those, even though you can test all of those and many more in an inexpensive in-home urine test called The Organix Profile. This is not some “woo-woo” test, although your doctor will make you believe that it is. It is based on years of research on substances called Organic Acids that are produced and excreted in urine in differing amounts depending upon what is going on in the body. This test is has published PEER-REVIEWED studies as to its accuracy, and yet your doctor just simply will not do it because he has not been told about it.

But you ABSOLUTELY need to insist that your doctor test you for Vitamin B12 deficiency using a test called a METHYLMALONIC ACID TEST, or MMA. HE will WANT to get a “Vitamin B12 Level”, but don’t let him. That is NOT the test that you want to get, you want an MMA. It is much more accurate and many studies show that it is MUCH more sensitive for vitamin B12 deficiency than is a “Vitamin B12 Level”.

What is Causing this Malabsorption

So, if you get back your MMA and it is HIGH (HIGH MMA is indicative of LOW Vitamin B12), then you are not ABSORBING properly. Why wouldn’t you be absorbing nutrients? Well, a couple of possible reasons.

1) You might have Undiagnosed Celiac Disease. Undiagnosed Celiac Disease is a HUGE problem, even though your doctor will think that it is “RARE”. It is NOT rare, it is common- possibly up to 1 in every 33 people! So, if your MMA is high, you should INSIST on being tested for Celiac Disease, and here are Some Research Studies for you to print out and take to your doctor.

2) You might also have the H Pylori Bacteria causing inflammation and malabsorption in your stomach- EVEN IF you have no stomach problems!! Doctors seem to think that you MUST have stomach problems for H pylori to be a problem, but research just doesn’t show this to be the case. People with ASYMPTOMATIC H pylori can have inflammation and malabsorption.

So, there is SO much more that I could tell you, but that is a start. So, here is your action plan:

1) Print out the study, “The Case Against Vitamin D2′ and ask your doctor WHY he is choosing to use it when researchers say that he shouldn’t be.

2) Insist on getting tested for MMA or Methylmalonic Acid. Your fatigue is certainly a justifiable reason to test for Vitamin B12, as if your malabsorption of Vitamin D.

Good luck,

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Health Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Easy Immune Health.com

When we speak of disease and health, we often think that people who are healthy are ‘lucky’ and people who are unhealthy as ‘unlucky’. But the debate is beginning to tip towards the fact that environmental factors influence genetics more than we can ever imagine, and luck of the genes has less to do with health than environmental factors. Vitamin D as an environmental factor in our health is not debated, only HOW MUCH of a factor in our health is what is debated.

Vitamin D deficiency has long been associated with osteoporosis, but most of us think of osteoporosis as starting in older age. Since women are particularly affected, it’s often that vitamin d and calcium supplementation is begun after menopause to help prevent the associated fractures of osteoporosis. But women in their pre reproductive and reproductive years need to be supplemented too, less for themselves, but more for the health of their offspring. Several studies have shown that Levels of Vitamin D During Pregnancy can determine bone mass and risk of fracture as an adult! Disturbingly, Deficiency of vitamin d and pregnancy is rampant among pregnant women and it could be having devastating consequences on the youngest generations.

Bone strength isn’t the only health issue that seems to be already determined by our mother’s intake of vitamin D and pregnancy, our mental health is also affected. Schizophrenia has long been associated with vitamin d levels due to its odd characteristic of occurring more frequently in those born in winter or early spring. This association is not just coincidental; vitamin D levels in the womb affect the health of the baby, even much later in life. Even a child’s lungs are affected by a mother’s vitamin D levels. Asthma, a common childhood problem, has been linked to Low Vitamin D and Pregnancy. The Journal ‘Clinical and Experimental Allergy’ published an article entitled, ‘Childhood asthma is a fat-soluble vitamin deficiency disease.’ which outlines this strong link between vitamin D and childhood asthma.

An even larger health problem in the younger generations could also be the result of maternal vitamin D deficiency or Deficiency of Vitamin D and Breastfeeding. ‘Syndrome X’ is a collection of signs that include:

Increased insulin resistance
High cholesterol
High blood pressure
Central obesity

Together, these problems give sufferers an increased risk of acquiring diabetes and heart attacks later in life. Children are acquiring Syndrome X at such an alarming rate and at younger and younger ages, that public health policies and awareness campaigns are being put into place in many areas to deal with this dangerous problem. None of these, however, mention vitamin D supplementation as a possible solution to this growing problem.

These diseases are only the beginning of the conditions that researchers have put forward as problems of Low Vitamin D and pregnancy. Multiple sclerosis, diabetes, breast cancer, colon cancer, autism and autoimmune disorders have all been associated with vitamin d deficiency and are candidates for future long term studies of how vitamin d deficiency in infants could affect their incidences in later life.

Unfortunately, these long term studies, even if started immediately, wouldn’t yield conclusive results for decades. In the meantime, women are simply not getting enough vitamin D during pregnancy. With current recommendations in the US for pregnant women at only 800 IU’s per day, this is in stark contrast to many studies that urgently recommend dosages of between 4000 IU’s to 6500 IU’s a day for pregnant and lactating women. This suggests that a woman needs Vitamin D Supplements in an amount eight times higher than she is getting in order to prevent vitamin d deficiency in infants and herself to prevent many of these chronic illnesses that plague so many of us, and that are growing by leaps and bounds in ever younger and younger children.

With all of the research that is coming out about vitamin D and so many other diseases, it’s likely that the link between vitamin d and pregnancy and diseases such as diabetes and cancer later in life is much stronger than we know. But without swift policy changes by medical associations and governments the spread of these vitamin D related diseases will continue to rise, even as these incredibly inexpensive Vitamin D Supplements are literally just a click away.

Resources

Vitamin D Supplements for Adults – Now in a clinically useful 5000 IU Supplement
Sunshine Mist Vitamin D Spray- Infants and children need Vitamin D too. This spray is GREAT for kids. No pills to swallow.

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Health Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Easy Immune Health.com

Question:

Why is 50,000 prescribed once a week,instead

of 7000 units per day?

Does the body store

the surplus and release it daily into the

body?

Answer:

Vitamin D is a Fat soluble Vitamin and it does, indeed, store it up and ‘time release’ the Vitamin D into the body.

HOWEVER, the Vitamin D that your doctor is prescribing you is Vitamin D 2 and not the superior form of Vitamin D that you can get at your drugstore, Vitamin D3! Researchers have stated, “Vitamin D2 should
not be regarded as a nutrient suitable for supplementation or
fortification.”

But if you are taking Vitamin D3 (NOT Prescription Vitamin D), you do not even need to take Vitamin D as often as once a week. Many studies have been done on vitamin D showing that giving at much as 300,000 IU’s and up to 600,000 IU’s of Vitamin D at a time ONLY ONCE is sufficient for 3 to 6 months of treatment! In many places, they will give 600,000 IU’s of Vitamin D once YEARLY to the elderly in nursing homes to simply PREVENT vitamin D deficiency.

So, while I’m happy that you are being treated for your Vitamin D deficiency, you may want to speak to your doctor about getting on Vitamin D 3 Supplements instead of your Prescription Vitamin D2 Supplements that your doctor gave you!

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Health Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Easy Immune Health.com

Kids get so little Vitamin D these days, that Rickets- a disease that was thought to be virtually eradicated over 50 years ago in developed countries- is back again. Rickets,  with it’s characteristic bowed legs from improper bone hardening, is caused by a simple nutritional deficiency. Yet children right here in the US are getting this easily preventable disease in numbers never thought possible.

Vitamin D, which is naturally present in few foods except for Fatty Fish like Sardines and Salmon is made naturally when the skin is exposed to sunlight.

But Rickets became prevalent during the Industrial Revolution in England when the already weak British sun’s rays were blocked entirely by the incredible pollution in the air. Scientists were able to make a synthetic form of Vitamin D and quickly began fortifying milk products, solving the rickets problem for good- or so they thought.

But now, rickets is back…

Dr. Laura Tosi, bone health chief at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington says, “I am now treating rickets in a way that I never treated it 20 years ago,” Possibly even more alarming is a new epidemic where bone formation in children appears normal, but is actually much softer than it should be.

As such, girls today break their arms 56% more often than their peers did 40 years ago- and boys break them 32% more often!

A  long term Bone Health Study of US Children is now being done in response to this phenomenon- and researchers are concerned that widespread osteoporosis may be waiting for this younger generation in adulthood.

But why is this happening?

There is no one answer to that question. But the recommendation of most dermatologists to keep children out of the sun for fear of skin cancer is one reason. The widespread use of sunscreen that effectively blocks the UV rays that allow the skin to make Vitamin D is another. Children’s increased time indoors watching television, playing video games and computer usage is another reason.

Not only does being indoors keep children out of the Vitamin D making rays of the sun, but it also keeps them from doing the essential weight-bearing exercises like running and jumping that encourage young bones to grow denser and stronger.

“Physical activity increases growth in width and mineral content of bones in girls and adolescent females, particularly when it is initiated before puberty,” concluded one study.

Other studies estimate that children and teens, due to poor dietary choices, get 20% less calcium than is recommended.

So the problem is compounded by the perfect storm of:

Not enough Vitamin D
Not enough Magnesium
Not enough Fat Soluble Vitamins
and
Not enough Exercise

Very Long-Term Effects

While these studies are focusing on the possible osteoporosis that these children may be getting later in life, other researchers are concerned about other, less well known effects that low Vitamin D levels may have on these children later in life.

Dr. Cedric Garland, who  has been researching Vitamin D for over 20 years, states, “We estimate that we could prevent 75%of cancers by getting everyone’s Vitamin D Blood Level into the 40 -60 (ng/ml) level.”

There has also been much research into Vitamin D for diabetes and heart disease prevention. An analysis of several studies even claims that sufficient Vitamin D levels can reduce “All cause mortality”, a claim that is somewhat like the “holy grail” as drug research is endlessly in the quest of a patentable drug that can make this claim.

While Dr. Garland and other researchers like Dr. Robert Heaney and Dr. John Cannell have been urging higher Vitamin D levels for years, governments have been slow to respond.

With the Official Recommended Daily Intake  of Vitamin D unchanged in over 50 years despite the mounds of evidence of the benefits of higher Vitamin D intake -our youngest generation may be the ones who are going to be suffering from our governments turning a deaf ear to the cries of researchers worldwide.

What you can do…

Get enough sun and/or Take enough Supplemental Vitamin D to keep your level within the recommended 40-60 ng/ml range outlined by Dr. Cedric Garland and an entire team of Vitamin D researchers.

Kerri Knox, RN -The Immune Queen

Functional Medicine Practitioner

http://www.easy-immune-health.com

With March being National Deep Vein Thrombosis Awareness Month (I’m not making this up!), you would think that  This Study would have garnered more attention than it did. But for most of National Deep Vein Thrombosis Awareness Month, Big Pharma had it’s showcase, trotting out examples of people who have died from DVT and how THEIR drugs would have saved them.
 
 

Blood clots in the legs, also known as Deep Vein Thrombosis- or DVT’s- are most often acquired by people who are inactive for long periods of time, women who smoke and take birth control pills and hospitalized and post surgical patients. DVT’s in and of themselves are generally not dangerous and will often resolve on their own. But the BIG risk is that the clot in the leg will break off and go into the lungs causing a life threatening situation called a Pulmonary Embolism- or PE.

For people who are at high risk, anti clotting drugs are often given- sometimes for long periods of time. But the above study shows that a completely drug free- and in fact ENTIRELY FREE – option exists for the prevention of up to 30% of DVT’s- moderate sun exposure.
 
 

Researchers concluded that Vitamin D is the reason behind the preventative effects of the sun exposure.
 
 

Vitamin D seems to be nearly constantly in the news lately, with this being the newest study in the glut of news coverage about this amazing Vitamin. While new Vitamin D research continues to get almost weekly news coverage in its amazing ability to prevent and treat a vast array of diseases from Multiple Sclerosis to Periodontal Disease, it is still being pretty much ignored by the medical industry. Doctors, who should be on the forefront of implementing this research in order to protect the public, remain virtually clueless about the importance of testing Vitamin D levels and giving patients the proper dosage.
 

With nearly 80% of the population Vitamin D deficient, you would think that the myriad effects of Vitamin D on the prevention of diseases would have the medical world hopping. But sadly, few seem to care and insurance companies are often slow to pay for anything that is not  ‘standard medical treatment’. So the various ‘modern illnesses’ that could be prevented with proper Vitamin D Supplementation are continuing unabated despite the knowledge being out there for those who care to look for it. For those who want to take advantage of cutting edge Vitamin D research in the search for the best health possible, I offer

and help with determining your proper dosage of Vitamin D based on the most current recommendations of those in the forefront of Vitamin D research.
 
 

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune System Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Immune System

PS: If you found this website helpful, please consider using the
Easy Immune Health Product Store the next time you purchase your supplements online. Your support allows me to keep this site running and educating as many people as possible. Thank you!

Here’s an interesting little fact. Studies show that statins, the class of drugs widely prescribed to lower cholesterol levels, have the effect of INCREASING vitamin d levels.

Now, there is plenty of evidence that Vitamin D decreases risk of heart problems and that the vast majority of people- including heart patients- are Vitamin D deficient. So, there are some researchers speculating that the small reduction in heart attack risk that has been shown with statins, could very well be simply from  improved Vitamin D status!

This is not idle speculation either. An interesting parallel between Vitamin D and statins is that both of them reduce C- reactive protein (CRP) levels in the blood.

C reactive protein is a marker for inflammation in the body.

While it is a ‘general’ marker and not specific to heart disease, the vast majority of heart patients have elevated CRP levels and it is considered a risk factor for heart disease. In fact there are some doctors who believe that inflammation is the REAL boogey man and that Cholesterol Problems are All Just a Big Lie!

However, researchers STILL don’t know WHERE the inflammation is coming from in patients with heart disease.

Some experts speculate that one source could be periodontal disease.

Periodontal disease is a well known risk factor for heart disease, and there is a strong link between Vitamin D deficiency and periodontal disease.

Are you seeing the connection?
In reality, it may be much cheaper and safer to prevent heart disease by taking Vitamin D and getting good dental care than taking statins. Yet doctors are still not recommending EITHER of these simple approaches to prevent heart disease, instead they immediately recommend statin drugs that come with a whole HOST of problems of their own- diabetes, liver failure and muscle wasting among some of the more common.

Do your due diligence if your doctor asks that you take a statin drug. There ARE measures that you can take to reduce your risk of heart disease that don’t require taking pharmaceuticals. So, before you get on Statin Drugs for the rest of your life, you really owe it to yourself to read What Dr. Lundell Has To Say About Cholesterol Reducing Drugs.

Kerri Knox, RN- The Immune Health Queen
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Easy Immune Health.com

While this may not seem to be big news to you, Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to a wide variety of ‘diseases of modern civilization’ while showing a remarkably low level of toxicity- much less than doctors and the media would have you believe.
So, Wisconsin has decided- based on current Vitamin D research- to encourage people to take doses twice to quadruple the amount of Vitamin D recommended by the US RDA!

This really IS groundbreaking. It shows that there ARE doctors and institutions out there that ARE looking at the overwhelming amount of Vitamin D research out there and are willing to take action despite the INACTION of our government agencies.
Kerri Knox, RN

Functional Medicine Practitioner

http://www.easy-immune-health.com

“Helping you overcome your health problems”