Vitamin D has been called the “buzz” vitamin of 2008. It’s early 2009 and current medical research demonstrating the benefits of optimal vitamin D supplementation is still coming in. Vitamin D has now been found to help diminish age-related mental decline, and vitamin D deficiency is linked to erythropoietic protoporphyria photosensitivity, a metabolic disorder characterized by a deficiency of a particular enzyme in the blood, which causes excessive amounts of the chemical compound protoporphyrin to accumulate in the bone marrow, blood plasma, and red blood cells. The major symptom of this disorder is hypersensitivity of the skin to sunlight and some types of artificial light. After exposure to light, the skin may become itchy and red. Affected individuals may also experience a burning sensation on their skin. The January 2009 Life Extension printed an eloquent article by Bill Faloon citing the research and giving a myriad of reasons to supplement with Vitamin D.
A quiet announcement by the government’s Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently announced the members of the next Vitamin D Food and Nutrition Board (FNB). This committee will set recommendations for both adequate intake and upper limits for the next decade. According to the founder of the Vitamin D Council, John J. Cannell, MD, “Unfortunately, the scientists who have led the vitamin D revolution for the last ten years are all excluded.” Dr. Cannell’s list of excluded vitamin D experts is long: Drs. Vieth, Giovannucci, Garland, Hollis, Heaney, Wagner, Norman, Hankinson, Whitting, and Hanley, among others. Many of the excluded experts have used strong language to criticize the Institute of Medicine.
The Food and Nutrition Board believes that adequate intake of vitamin D is the same for the largest pregnant women as for the smallest premature infant, a notion that is patently absurd. Keep in mind that animal studies have demonstrated vitamin D deficiency cause neuronal injury and autistic-like changes in the brains of their offspring.
According to Dr. Cannell, “Current research indicates that vitamin D deficiency plays a role in causing 17 varieties of cancer as well as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, and periodontal disease.” Colleen Hayes, PhD of U of Wisconsin, who has done ground-breaking research on MS and Vitamin D, states that residents at the equator, where vitamin D deficiency is unknown, get the equivalent of 5000 IU of vitamin D daily. (Consult a knowledgeable physician to determine by a blood test whether you need vitamin D supplementation.)
We deserve to hear from our nation’s experts about vitamin D. Click here to send a letter to your Congressional Representative and Senator to insure that all experts are consulted by the government about an important nutrient, vitamin D, to keep you healthy. And that the government inform the public about the revolution in vitamin D research. Imagine for a moment that vitamin D were a new drug. The government (along with drug companies) would shout from the rooftops about it.