This Week In The HSI Forum "Just remember how great you feel in the summer after getting a full exposure of Vit-D! A great vitamin!" That warm, summertime thought comes from a member named Jeff, and it's posted in an HSI Forum thread titled "Vitamin D." The thread starts off with this comment and question from a member named Rob: Dr. Wright (Jonathan V. Wright, M.D.) recommends that people over 40 get at least 2000 IU of D (via supplementation) daily and up to as much as 4000 IU. When I went to my local health food store yesterday, I was told that anything over 1000 IU per day is toxic and will draw calcium from your bones. Anyone have any personal experience with vitamin D dosing?" First, lets look at the benefits of taking high doses of vitamin D. In the February 2002 issue of Nutrition and Healing newsletter, Dr. Wright states, "It's very likely that if you're over 40 and supplement your diet with a generous amount of vitamin D, you can lower your risk of prostate, breast, and bowel cancer, along with your risk of 'essential' hypertension, osteoporosis, and tuberculosis." To that, Jeff adds: "If the season is winter, then follow Dr Wright. During warmer weather, get more natural D from sunlight. If you want to absorb calcium, you must have adequate D and also magnesium and other trace minerals such as boron." But if you do supplement with vitamin D, you need to pay close attention to which type you're taking. A member named Lae offers these interesting details about dosage and vitamin types: "In 1999, Dr. Reinhold Vieth, perhaps the world's leading expert on vitamin D toxicity and metabolism, wrote a systematic review of the world's literature debunking the hysteria surrounding fears of vitamin D toxicity. Two years later, Heaney, et al, demonstrated the safety of doses up to 10,000 IU a day. However, there are a few things you should probably understand before taking large quantities vitamin D supplements. The first thing is that there are two types of vitamin D supplements: vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) that comes from fish oil, eggs, organ meats, animal fat, and plant sources, and D2 (ergocalciferol). The synthetic form (D2) is the one that has been shown to have toxicity at the higher dose ranges." This thread is full of useful information about vitamin D supplementation, dietary sources of the vitamin, and speculation about sun exposure that makes a good case for golf being a perfect activity for vitamin D intake. Other topics on the HSI Forum this week include: - Grapefruit
- Mercury threat
- Hernia - Surgery the only answer?
- Homocysteine
- Plastic water bottles
- Any natural anti-fungals?
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