Ironic that known wellness practitioners, who bridge Medicine and Alternative Medical approaches, often fall badly short on the Vitamin D Deficiency Crisis. They will order all kinds of tests…they for instance zero in, and understand Lyme Disease, a major health problem that seems to be seriously underestimated or even cynically regarded by the majority of health practitioners, thus demonstrating an enlightened approach to a fast becoming understood, but so difficult to diagnose disease. From personal experience with members of my family who have been bitten by the Lyme tick, these alternate, and very capable practitioners, still seem to rely on months of antibiotic therapy despite the serious negative effects of antibiotics on the microbiome. They almost kind of overlook the deviousness of Lyme, in that perhaps a better strategy to accept that it tends to dormancy, similar to Herpes, Chicken Pox, and crafty adaptive microbe or virus…perhaps better to keep, through optimal health protocols, to maintain that dormancy and thereby preserve that microbiome. This, particularly if the patient even borders on leaky gut issues!
But let us not sidetrack, as is so easy with the numerous competing modules! So often Vitamin D is overlooked, and by most medicos, whether mainstream or alternate. They never seem to routinely test for deficiency! Remember a whopping in excess of 80% North Americans or more may actually be Vitamin D deficient…particularly if the required amounts are properly revised! Worldwide this is just an extrapolation into a vast number! It is our lifestyle and workplace habit of continually being away from natural sunlight.
Vitamin D Deficiency Crisis & Dark Skin! Because Vitamin D has a direct bearing for instance on heart health, the factor of depriving persons of dark skin as opposed to lighter pigment, seems to have a compounding effect. An easy and effective way to significantly reduce the risk of heart disease in certain populations (those with darker skin or who may not be exposed to sunlight because of lifestyle or culture) may be with the use of Vitamin D supplements, according to a recent study. The study’s authors found that young, overweight black individuals who took the highest amount of the supplement (4,000 International Units, IUs) showed the most improvement in a significant risk factor for heart disease.
Because more than 80 percent of Americans have insufficient levels of vitamin D, a nutrient that plays an essential role in heart health, bone integrity, nervous and immune system function, and regulating insulin levels. As has been pointed out in this WEB Heart Disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States.
To quote naturallysavvy.com, that in a recent (December 2017) study, a team of researchers explored the effects of vitamin D supplementation on a group of 70 overweight African Americans ages 13 to 45. In this very helpful study black people are at greater risk of Vitamin D deficiency than white people, because their dark skin does not absorb sunlight as well as light skin, so the body does not produce the vitamin as efficiently. In addition, because the researchers were dealing with overweight persons, it is a factor that overweight individuals are less able to benefit from Vitamin D, because fat holds onto the nutrient and it gets trapped in fat rather than utilized within the body. Vitamin D Deficiency Crisis & Dark Skin!
In that study, some of the participants took a placebo, while others were given either 600 IU, 2,000 IU, or 4,000 IU Vitamin D per day for 16 weeks. These dosages are in contrast to those recommended by the National Institute of Health, which recommends 600 IUs for adults (19-70 years) and 800 IUs for those older than 70.
The researchers were looking at the arterial walls of the participants, since the degree of stiffness in these walls is a predictor of cardiovascular disease and death, and a deficiency of Vitamin D appears to contribute to this problem. Arterial stiffness was measured both before and after the start of the study. At the end of 16 weeks, the participants who had taken 4,000 IU Vitamin D showed a 10.4 percent decline in the level of arterial stiffness, and the improvement was achieved after only 8 weeks. Subjects in the 2,000 IU group experienced a 2 percent drop in stiffness, while those who took 600 IU showed a 0.1 percent rise. Placebo group participants saw a 2.3 percent rise in arterial stiffness over 16 weeks.
All this was remarkable and the results of the study prompted the Institutes of Medicine to modify the upper limits of Vitamin D supplementation from 2,000 IU to 4,000 IU for everyone age 9 years and older. It should be noted that some other health entities, such as the Vitamin D Council, already advocate taking higher doses of vitamin D (5,000 IU) for adults. Finally where to find Vitamin D naturally? Some of the best food sources of Vitamin D are salmon, sardines, tuna, eggs, and mushrooms. Vitamin D Deficiency Crisis & Dark Skin!
