Vitamin D – Page 3 – Infinite Unknown

Vitamin D prevents diabetes, improves insulin sensitivity: Study

December 1, 2009 by Infinite

The sunshine vitamin

In a report recently published in the British Journal of Nutrition, scientists from New Zealand’s Massey University studied 81 South Asian women between the ages of 23 and 68 who were all diagnosed with insulin resistance syndrome, also known as metabolic syndrome. This condition, which is linked to an increased risk of both diabetes and heart disease, describes a cluster of health conditions that includes high blood sugar levels, high triglycerides, low levels of HDL (the “good” cholesterol), and too much fat around the waist.

For this placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical study, the women were randomly assigned to take either 4,000 IU of vitamin D3 or an inactive placebo each day. Then, at the end of six months, the scientists examined the research subjects’ health profiles. The results showed significant improvements in the vitamin D group. Specifically, their insulin resistance dramatically improved with a decrease in their fasting insulin levels. This slashed the risk they would go on to develop diabetes.

When the study began, the women’s vitamin D levels were about 50 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L), close to the average level of vitamin D (60 nmol/l) in US men and women. The researchers found that health effects were optimal when the women’s blood levels of vitamin D reached between 80 to 119 nmol/L — far higher levels than those of the typical American. In fact, the documented low levels of vitamin D in the US population could explain why 70 to 80 million Americans now have pre-diabetic metabolic syndrome, according to National Institutes of Health statistics.

Bee pollen superfood boosts immune system function

November 25, 2009 by Infinite

Bee collecting pollen

(NaturalNews) There are many superfoods that boost immune function, but few do it with as much potency as bee pollen. Through its unique combination of minerals, vitamins, amino acids and enzymes, bee pollen offers one of the most revitalizing natural superfoods in the world (especially when collected from local bees who are in tune with your local environment).

We’ve put together a collection of research for you here, describing the health benefits of bee pollen. NaturalNews reminds everyone to be mindful when consuming bee products due to the very high stresses already placed on honeybees in North America and Europe. Make sure your source practices organic bee farming and does not expose honeybees to high-fructose corn syrup or other chemicals that may be harmful to bee populations.

Bee pollen and your immune system

Bee pollen has been used throughout history as a superfood to restore energy and recuperative powers to the ailing individual. Bee pollen improves allergies in many individuals, and hence may have a regulating effect on the immune system by helping to dampen unnecessary autoimmune attacks which saves immune warriors for the real cancer battle. There is no toxicity to bee pollen. Other bee products with extraordinary healing properties include royal bee jelly and propolis, which is the antibiotic compound used by bees to disinfect their hives before occupation.
– Beating Cancer with Nutrition, book with CD by Patrick Quillin, PhD,RD,CNS

While the effects are not so dramatic for everyone with arthritis, bee pollen is used by natural healthcare practitioners around the world to help alleviate arthritis symptoms. Energy Boost: Bee pollen is a popular supplement among many athletes, who report that it helps them train hard and recover quickly. Many athletes report that it helps increase stamina. Immune Support: Bee pollen is reported to help strengthen the immune system. People susceptible to reoccurring colds and respiratory tract infections may be helped.
– The Natural Physician’s Healing Therapies: Proven Medical Remedies That Medical Doctors Don’t Know About by Mark Stengler, N.D.

Bee pollen has more amino acids and vitamins than other amino-acid-containing products like beef, eggs, or cheese. Bee pollen is one of the few vegetable sources of vitamin B12 (Scheer 1992). A tablespoonful of bee pollen contains about 45 calories and is 15% lecithin (which is required for normal fat metabolism) by weight (Kamen 1991).
– PDR for Herbal Medicines, 4th Edition by Thomson Healthcare, Inc.

Vitamin D prevents heart disease (… and 77% of all cancers)

November 25, 2009November 25, 2009 by Infinite

The sunshine vitamin

(NaturalNews) The fact that vitamin D prevents cancer is now so well known that even some conventional physicians are beginning to recommend it. Vitamin D prevents 77% of all cancers, after all. That’s as close to a “cure” for cancer as you’ll ever get (and it’s free, too, since you can make it yourself!).

But did you also know that vitamin D prevents heart disease? In fact, most people suffering from heart disease are chronically deficient in vitamin D. By correcting their vitamin D levels (through sunlight exposure or by taking vitamin D3 supplements), people can simultaneously halt cancer and prevent heart disease, too.

Here’s a collection of research revealing the amazing power of this “miracle” vitamin to eliminate heart disease. I’d like to add, though, that the previously recommended daily intake of 400 IUs of vitamin D is now considered hazardously low. Most nutritionally-aware doctors and naturopaths are now recommending anywhere from 1,000 – 4000 IUs per day of vitamin D supplementation. Of course, you don’t need any vitamin D supplements if you get sufficient sunlight on your skin on a regular basis.

Vitamin D prevents heart disease

Diabetes, both type-1 and type-2, are profoundly linked to low vitamin D levels. Obesity, heart disease, hypertension and stroke are inversely related to sunlight exposure and vitamin D levels. Psoriasis, eczema, and periodontal disease are lessened by sunlight exposure and high serum vitamin D. Fertility is positively influenced by sunlight exposure and high vitamin D levels. Sunlight enhances immune system function by producing vitamin D. Dozens of disorders other than those mentioned in this summary are related to vitamin D deficiency.
– Solar Power for Optimal Health by Marc Sorenson

Vitamin D supplements are likely to be useful in preventing diabetes in areas where vitamin D deficiency is common. In a 1997 study looking at the links between environmental factors and Type II diabetes, vitamin D levels were assessed in 142 Dutch men aged from 70 to 88 years of age. Thirty-nine per cent were found to have low vitamin D levels and tests showed that low vitamin D levels increased the risk of glucose intolerance. Heart disease: Low vitamin D levels may also increase the risk of atherosclerosis.
– The New Encyclopedia of Vitamins, Minerals, Supplements, and Herbs: How They Are Best Used to Promote Health and Well Being by Nicola Reavley

H1N1 ‘super flu’ plague in Ukraine spark concern, conspiracy theories about origins

November 16, 2009November 16, 2009 by Infinite

People receiving H1N1 vaccine shots right now need to know that currently-available H1N1 vaccine shots may offer no protection whatsoever against the “Ukraine Strain.”
– Mike Adams

Not only that the H1N1 swine flu vaccine won’t offer any protection, but also the effect of squalene in the vaccine will make the ‘average badly taken care of human body’ overreact even greater to any real ‘super flu’, than it would have done without the vaccine. The immune system in high alert will create a cytokine storm that many will not survive. People will die very quickly because they received the H1N1 vaccine.

Even without any ‘super flu’ around the vaccine alone is lethal stuff.

“No one should take the swine flu vaccine–it is one of the most dangerous vaccines ever devised. It contains an immune adjuvant called squalene (MF-59) which has been shown to cause severe autoimmune disorders such as MS, rheumatoid arthritis and Lupus. This is the vaccine adjuvant that is strongly linked to the Gulf War syndrome, which killed over 10,000 soldiers and caused a 200% increase in the fatal disease ALS (Lou Gehreg disease). This virus H1N1 kills by causing a “cytokine storm”, which means that it cause the body’s immune system to overreact and that is why it is killing young people and is a mild disease in the elderly. (The elderly have weakened immune systems.) This vaccine is a very powerful immune stimulator and carries the real possibility of making the lethality of the virus much greater.
– Dr. Russell Blaylock

‘Somebody’ decided to put 1 million times more squalene into the H1N1 swine flu vaccine than into the vaccine that has been linked to the Gulf War syndrome according to Dr. Rima Laibow and Dr. Anders Bruun Laursen.

So what if instead of the very mild swine flu there is a real ‘super flu’ coming?

PS: If you are really healthy and happy you will never ever get sick, even if all hell will break loose around you.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, left, wears a face mask as she visits a regional hospital in Lutsk, about 400 km (247 miles) west of Kiev, Ukraine

(NaturalNews) Here’s what we know with some degree of certainty about the H1N1 virus in Ukraine right now: nearly 300 people have died from the viral strain, and over 65,000 people have been hospitalized (the actual numbers are increasing by the hour). The virus appears to be either a highly aggressive mutation of the globally-circulating H1N1 strain, or a combination of three different influenza strains now circulating in Ukraine. Some observers suspect this new “super flu” might be labeled viral hemorrhagic pneumonia (meaning it destroys lung tissue until your lungs bleed so much that you drown in your own fluid), but that has not been confirmed by any official sources we’re aware of.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has issued emergency quarantine orders for nine of the country’s regions and ordered the deployment of mobile military hospitals. He announced that the nation had been simultaneously hit with two different seasonal flu strains plus H1N1 — and then hinted that all three might have recombined into the deadly new Ukrainian super flu.

In his own words, as reported by Daily Mail, “Unlike similar epidemics in other countries, three causes of serious viral infections came together simultaneously in Ukraine: two seasonal flus and the Californian flu. Virologists conclude that this combination of infections may produce an even more aggressive new virus as a result of mutation.”

On November 6, Ukraine’s Deputy Health Minister Zinovy Mytnyk announced that over 600,000 citizens had already caught the new flu. British scientists are now conducting tests on the new viral strain to find out why it appears to be so deadly (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/wor…).

The mainstream media is blaming Ukraine’s poor health care system for the relatively high rates of hospitalization and death (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/14/w…), but they refuse to mention (yet again) the vitamin D deficiency found across this population living at high latitude in the winter, where sunlight is relatively scarce.

Here’s a useful blog for staying up to date on the Ukrainian plague:
http://ukraineplague.blogspot.com/

What we don’t know

Now here’s what we don’t know about the Ukraine outbreak:

Twenty Reasons Why Vitamin D Is Better Than The Swine Flu Vaccine

November 4, 2009 by Infinite

More on Vitamin D:
– Michael Holick M.D.,Ph. D.: Vitamin D and Prevention of Chronic Diseases
– Epidemic Influenza And Vitamin D (Flashback)
– US: Vitamin D deficiency common in children
– Doctor questions value of vaccines
– Vitamin D is ray of sunshine for multiple sclerosis patients

(NaturalNews) The news is out: Vitamin D is better than the swine flu vaccine at halting H1N1 infections. In fact, without vitamin D, chances are that a vaccine won’t generate much of an immune response in the first place.

That’s because vitamin D is essential for healthy, active immune function. That’s just one of the reasons smart people are choosing vitamin D instead of the swine flu vaccine. Here are nineteen more reasons:

Michael Holick M.D.,Ph. D.: Vitamin D and Prevention of Chronic Diseases

September 30, 2009September 29, 2009 by Infinite

Added: 5. März 2009

More info: VitaminDHealth.org

US: Vitamin D deficiency common in children

August 4, 2009 by Infinite

Vitamin D is very important for your health: Epidemic Influenza And Vitamin D

Go outside, learn from the greatest teacher (nature) and get a free dose of Vitamin D every day.

(PS: If you drink milk, then only drink organic, non-homogenized(!) milk.)

milkglass
People who drank milk less than once a week were among those most at risk for vitamin-D deficiency, a study found.

A whopping 70 percent of American kids aren’t getting enough vitamin D, and such youngsters tend to have higher blood pressure and lower levels of good cholesterol than their peers, according to two new studies published this week in the journal Pediatrics. Low vitamin D levels also may increase a child’s risk of developing heart disease later in life, experts say.

“We were astounded at how common it was,” says study author Dr. Michal Melamed, an assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology, and population health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in the Bronx, New York. “There is a lot of data that suggests adults with low vitamin-D levels are at risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and a lot of cancers, and if kids start out with low levels and never increase them, they may be putting themselves at risk for developing all of these diseases at a much earlier age.”

Vitamin D is often called the “sunshine vitamin” because the human body makes it only when exposed to sunlight — although it only takes 10 to 15 minutes a day to make an adequate amount. Vitamin D, which helps the bones better absorb calcium, is also added to multivitamins and milk.

Epidemic Influenza And Vitamin D (Flashback)

July 29, 2009July 29, 2009 by Infinite

In early April of 2005, after a particularly rainy spring, an influenza epidemic (epi: upon, demic: people) exploded through the maximum-security hospital for the criminally insane where I have worked for the last ten years. It was not the pandemic (pan: all, demic: people) we all fear, just an epidemic. The world is waiting and governments are preparing for the next pandemic. A severe influenza pandemic will kill many more Americans than died in the World Trade Centers, the Iraq war, the Vietnam War, and Hurricane Katrina combined, perhaps a million people in the USA alone. Such a disaster would tear the fabric of American society. Our entire country might resemble the Superdome or Bourbon Street after Hurricane Katrina.

It’s only a question of when a pandemic will come, not if it will come. Influenza A pandemics come every 30 years or so, severe ones every hundred years or so. The last pandemic, the Hong Kong flu, occurred in 1968 – killing 34,000 Americans. In 1918, the Great Flu Epidemic killed more than 500,000 Americans. So many millions died in other countries, they couldn’t bury the bodies. Young healthy adults, in the prime of their lives in the morning, drowning in their own inflammation by noon, grossly discolored by sunset, were dead at midnight. Their body’s own broad-spectrum natural antibiotics, called antimicrobial peptides, seemed nowhere to be found. An overwhelming immune response to the influenza virus – white blood cells releasing large amounts of inflammatory agents called cytokines and chemokines into the lungs of the doomed – resulted in millions of deaths in 1918.

As I am now a psychiatrist, and no longer a general practitioner, I was not directly involved in fighting the influenza epidemic in our hospital. However, our internal medicine specialists worked overtime as they diagnosed and treated a rapidly increasing number of stricken patients. Our Chief Medical Officer quarantined one ward after another as more and more patients were gripped with the chills, fever, cough, and severe body aches that typifies the clinical presentation of influenza A.

Epidemic influenza kills a million people in the world every year by causing pneumonia, “the captain of the men of death.” These epidemics are often explosive; the word influenza comes from Italian (Medieval Latin ?nfluentia) or influence, because of the belief that the sudden and abrupt epidemics were due to the influence of some extraterrestrial force. One seventeenth century observer described it well when he wrote, “suddenly a Distemper arose, as if sent by some blast from the stars, which laid hold on very many together: that in some towns, in the space of a week, above a thousand people fell sick together.”

I guess our hospital was under luckier stars as only about 12% of our patients were infected and no one died. However, as the epidemic progressed, I noticed something unusual. First, the ward below mine was infected, and then the ward on my right, left, and across the hall – but no patients on my ward became ill. My patients had intermingled with patients from infected wards before the quarantines. The nurses on my unit cross-covered on infected wards. Surely, my patients were exposed to the influenza A virus. How did my patients escape infection from what some think is the most infectious of all the respiratory viruses?

Doctor questions value of vaccines

May 3, 2009May 3, 2009 by Infinite

The ongoing swine flu epidemic may have you wishing you had taken that flu shot this season, but some doctors say you may be better off without it.

“Since the 12th century, the most commonly used treatment for a cold or the flu is chicken soup,” said Dr. Mayer Eisenstein, one of the guest speakers at the U.S. Autism & Asperger Association’s regional conference on Saturday at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Cherry Hill. “If you think we have anything more sophisticated now, think again.”

Related article: Swine flu pandemic? It feels like a phoney war (Guardian)

Eisenstein, who addressed conference attendees from Illinois through video conferencing, discussed the effectiveness of vaccines and their theorized connection to autism.

“The more people receive the flu vaccine, the more deaths there are,” said Eisenstein, citing various scientific studies. “Now that doesn’t mean that the two are related, but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck.”

Eisenstein didn’t limit his criticism to the flu shot.

“We perpetuate the myth that vaccines are the answer,” Eisenstein said.

Although vaccines have been credited with the virtual elimination of various diseases, Eisenstein said there’s no evidence to support vaccines were the cause.

Among the diseases that have virtually disappeared are measles, scarlet fever, tuberculosis and whooping cough and vaccines are not available to prevent any of them, Eisenstein said.

What has an impact, he said, is vitamin D and probiotics.

“We started using it at our practice this year and we got amazing results,” Eisenstein said. “I met doctor after doctor who have had the same results.”

Eisenstein said that patients who got a high dose of vitamin D for three days at the onset of a cold recovered much faster than patients who didn’t.

He cited a study in which vitamin D was administered to some of the 104 participants. About 24 of the participants in the group that had received no vitamin D reported having a cold during the winter months, Eisenstein said. Only two to three participants who had a received a lower dose of vitamin D reported having a cold and none of the participants who was given a higher dose of the vitamin became ill, he said.

Unlike vitamin A, which is readily obtained from a variety of foods, vitamin D is harder to come by, Eisenstein said.

That’s why he recommends that children get vitamin D supplements.

Exposure to the sun for 15 to 20 minutes every day, without sunblock, can give the body a much needed vitamin D boost, Eisenstein said.

“Vitamin D is clearly part of the answer, but I can tell you the complete answer is not vaccinations,” Eisenstein said.

Nancy Gualario, of Colts Neck, runs an advisory group for parents with special needs children.

“I like to come to these things and bring the information back to the parents,” Gualario said.

One of Gualario’s triplets was diagnosed with autism at age 2, she said.

“I’ve been doing some of these therapies and have had tremendous success,” she said.

Lisa McLaughlin also has a son with autism and came from Virginia to attend the conference, which concludes today.

“I read about some of these interventions online and I wanted to find out more,” McLaughlin said.

Reach Lavinia DeCastro at (856) 486-2652 or [email protected]

By LAVINIA DeCASTRO • Courier-Post Staff • May 3, 2009

Source: Courier Post Online

Vitamin D is ray of sunshine for multiple sclerosis patients

February 5, 2009 by Infinite

An MRI scan of the brain of a multiple sclerosis sufferer

Multiple sclerosis could be prevented through daily vitamin D supplements, scientists told The Times last night.

The first causal link has been established between the “sunshine vitamin” and a gene that increases the risk of MS, raising the possibility that the debilitating auto-immune disease could be eradicated.

George Ebers, Professor of Clinical Neurology at the University of Oxford, claimed that there was hard evidence directly relating both genes and the environment to the origins of MS.

His work suggests that vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy and childhood may increase the risk of a child developing the disease.

He has also established the possibility that genetic vulnerability to MS, apparently initiated by lack of vitamin D, may be passed through families.

These risks might plausibly be reduced by giving vitamin D supplements to pregnant woman and young children.

“I think it offers the potential for treatment which might prevent MS in the future,” Professor Ebers said.

“Our research has married two key pieces of the puzzle. The interaction of vitamin D with the gene is very specific and it seems most unlikely to be a coincidence of any kind.”

Warnings over sun exposure could now also be called into question – sunlight allows the body to produce the vitamin.