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  • From: EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] Vitamin D, your health and mine
  • Date: Sat, 03 Oct 2009 11:03:46 -0400

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





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