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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

Thanks Lynn.  I signed up for the newsletter, too.  I was on there years 
ago.
I guess it is a bit early for me to really start celebrating, but of all 
the supplements I have taken and tried on trials, this is working the 
best, at least I can tell an appreciable difference early.  It really 
might be my magic bullet.Just three generations ago, my family lived off 
cold water fish, and while I like it today, I just don't get the same 
amount as my ancestors did.  My grandfather emigrated to the US, but 
even he was a commercial fisherman out of Pac NW and Alaska.  He ate 
lots of fish, too.  Things are coming together-it is working, AND it all 
makes sense to me.
I think there are LOTS of anecdotal lessons in my case for a lot of 
people.  People who were born and/or who are ethnically from one 
latitude who now live in a far different latitude are susceptible to 
disease that stems from nutritional problems.  That would affect 
children adopted from other countries, too.(I'm adopted and I'd bet that 
no one in my biological father's family has ever lived as far south as I 
do. The same is true for my biological mother, although the latitude 
difference isn't as great. I am a fish out of water, metaphorically 
speaking, because I live in an area where more UVB rays come through, 
and I don't follow the same diet that my ancestors did.  My body is just 
not programmed to deal with what the conditions I expose myself to.

Bev

Lynn Wigglesworth wrote:
> Bev; I get an email newsletter from Dr. Mercola, and by coincidence, today's 
> article had a link to an older article about vitamin D testing:
> http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2002/02/23/vitamin-d-deficiency-part-one.aspx
>
> The video portion says basically the same thing as the text portion, so if 
> you can't download it, you aren't missing anything.
>
> Lynn Wigglesworth
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "EarthNSky" <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>
> To: "Homestead List" <homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org>
> Sent: Saturday, October 03, 2009 1:32 AM
> Subject: [Homestead] Vitamin D, your health and mine
>
>
> > I've got something to report, and I hope my experience will help someone
> > else.  I know I can't be the only one.  An edited version of this post
> > will appear on my blog.     http://erthnsky.blogspot.com/
> > I've written before that I thought I was Vitamin D deficient.  There
> > were a few symptoms that I had, but nothing too serious, or so I
> > thought.  On my own, I started taking fish oil, then switched to cold
> > liver oil because it contained more Vitamin D.  I've always craved oily
> > fish and chicken livers and eggs and other foods that are notoriously
> > high in Vitamin D.  I eat plenty of dairy and milk, too.
> > Back in July, I wrote about Vitamin D on my blog. (July 17)  It was
> > around that time that I decided to start a trial of taking Vit D
> > supplements in the form of Cod Liver oil.  This page gives a quick 
> > overview:
> > http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp
> >
> > I did some reading and discovered that there is quite a controversy over
> > the RDA for Vitamin D.  We need more as we get older.  The relationship
> > between Vitamin D, cholesterol, and the melanin pigment in our skin is
> > important to understand.  Basically, the short story is that the sun's
> > UVB rays turn cholesterol into Vitamin D.  If you have a lot of melanin
> > pigmentation, that blocks the UVB rays and you may be deficient.
> > Africans have a lot of pigment, but they also live where UVB rays are
> > strongest year around.  Black people in the US inherited their genetic
> > race from ancestors that lived in Africa, but now, these people live in
> > a more northern place where UVB radiation is less and only makes it
> > through the atmosphere near the noon hour.   Dark skinned people in the
> > US could be deficient from not enough sunlight/UVB rays to convert the
> > cholesterol to Vitamin D.  That might also explain why blacks often
> > suffer from high serum cholesterol issues.  For fair skinned people like
> > me whose ancestors are from the far north, we have very little melanin
> > to block UVB, because north of the Arctic Circle, there is very little
> > UVB making it to the ground and our bodies don't need to block it.
> > However, here in the US, I have the possibility of more sun, more UVB
> > than Finland, and yet I don't have the melanin to protect me.  It is the
> > opposite of an African's problem, but the result is the same.  Because I
> > am so fair, I don't get enough exposure year around to produce enough
> > Vitamin D from my cholesterol.
> > So anyway, I started taking about 1500 IU's of cod liver oil a day as
> > well as a multivitamin with an additional 400 IU's, and after a few
> > weeks, I could swear that I felt a bit less achy from my arthritis pain.
> >  I seemed to have more energy and was more able to think clearly.
> > About that time, I had an appointment with my rheumatologist and I told
> > her of my suspicion that I was Vitamin D deficient.  She ordered a test,
> > as well as a test for bone density since I had had a stress fracture a
> > few months prior.  The other problem I've had for a few months is gum
> > inflammation.  I had my teeth cleaned in March and in early April, my
> > gums started to bleed.  There was a lot of blood, not just pink in the
> > sink.  I increased my brushing time, rinsed with fluoride washes and
> > tried all kinds of stuff, but still, my gums were bleeding at the drop
> > of a hat.  I could also tell that they were receding a bit around my
> > bridge.  Things seemed to be changing fast, yet I had no pain or
> > tenderness.  I went to the dentist, but he had no answer other than it
> > could be Vitamin D related but usually gum bleeding was gingivitis
> > related.  Well, as it turned out, the bloodwork revealed that I was
> > indeed Vitamin D deficient.  Very much so, even though I had been taking
> > the Cod Liver Oil.  Normal was 31-100 and my result was 14.    Some docs
> > think 'normal' should be 20, I've learned, but even with that I was
> > deficient.    My first thought was no wonder my arms feel like they are
> > about to break when I do something like unload the washing machine!  No
> > wonder the dentist is telling me that I have bone loss and gum
> > inflammation!  So, my rheumatologist prescribed a Vitamin D supplement
> > that I take once a week.  It is a little blue gel pill of 50,000 IU of
> > Vitamin D.  WOW!  The RDA is 400 IU and daily supplements are usually up
> > to 2000 IU a day.
> > I have now taken two of them, the most recent being on Wednesday.
> > Yesterday, Thursday, for the first time since April, my gums did not
> > bleed when I brushed my teeth.  Not a speck of blood, when just a few
> > days ago I had to rinse 5 or 6 times just to not taste the blood
> > anymore.  Better yet, in the last week, I have had less arthritic
> > issues, less overall aches and pains, and I seem to be more optimistic
> > and more focused in my thinking.  I'm now looking forward to seeing how
> > good I will feel in a few months.  The best part of this...these little
> > Vitamin D pills were only $6 for a month's supply, 4 pills.
> >
> > I'm hoping that I will at least be able to reduce my NSAIDS and pain
> > meds, and hopefully, hopefully, I will be one of the lucky ones who
> > might be 'healed' to the point that I would not need biologics like
> > Enbrel.  This morning, I found this UK article, which supports the
> > notion that RA might be curable after all.
> >
> > http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-508283/Could-vitamin-D-really-cure-arthritis.html
> >
> >
> > Jerry and Leslie, we have talked off list about various RA diets and
> > treatments.  This article makes a lot of sense as to why diets might
> > work for some and not for others.  It mentions alkaline diets where you
> > reduce acids, too.  Dieting could even work for a while and then not
> > work again. If you are Vitamin deficient, anything can happen.    Also
> > Jerry, I recall that your wife is of African heritage, so she may  need
> > to rethink her own Vitamin D situation and get tested.  I've forgotten
> > where you live.  There are just so many variables, and it is really up
> > to us to figure out what might be going on.
> >
> > I can't believe that this might have been the precipitating factor for a
> > lot of my health issues, for a long time, too.  And it seems to have
> > such a simple, and inexpensive solution.  I've tried turmeric and milk
> > thistle and other supplements and herbs but the biggest difference in
> > pain relief and general well-being has been with Vitamin D
> > supplementation.  Last year, I went to the ER with a kidney stone.  I'd
> > never even had a kidney infection or a bladder infection, and out of the
> > blue I get a kidney stone.  Well, I read that Vitamin D deficiency can
> > cause "increased excretion of calcium from renal tubules".  If you are
> > going to the doc for bloodwork anyway, get them to check your Vitamin D
> > levels.  You might be surprised.  It might keep you from getting cancer
> > or even from getting the flu or other viruses.
> >
> > This page lists some risk groups(including vegetarians) and talks about
> > how certain meds can affect your Vitamin D level.
> > http://www.the-vitamin-and-supplement-guide.com/vitaminDdeficiencysymptoms.html
> >
> > I hope everyone takes a few minutes to read these articles.  It just
> > might save your life or prevent you from having osteoporosis or other
> > bone issues later in life.
> >
> > Bev
> >
> > --
> > Sleep well tonight, for somewhere in the ocean's depths, MY son is
> > protecting your freedom on the USS Key West, currently deployed
> > somewhere in the Pacific and/or Indian Ocean.  Go Navy!
> > EarthNSky Farm, NW Georgia, USA
> >
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--
Sleep well tonight, for somewhere in the ocean's depths, MY son is 
protecting your freedom on the USS Key West, currently deployed 
somewhere in the Pacific and/or Indian Ocean.  Go Navy!
EarthNSky Farm, NW Georgia, USA