The Heart of the Matter: vitamin D

Note: The comments on this blog are for information only. Do not make any changes in sunlight exposure, tanning-bed exposure or nutritional habits without first consulting a medical professional.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) such as heart disease and stroke are the number-one killers of both men and women. Can ultraviolet light B (UVB) and vitamin D prevent CVD and save your life?

Cancer is a word that strikes fear into the heart of every American, and in the wake of the Creighton University study showing that vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of cancer by 60-77%,(1) many pharmacies and supplement stores, especially in Canada, sold out of vitamin D.

Lost in the enthusiasm for this study, however, were others that assessed the influence of blood vitamin D levels on heart disease—a disease that kills more Americans than all cancers combined. In one study, selected risk factors for heart disease were compared with vitamin D levels in the blood. The risk factors measured were hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and triglyceride levels. When those with the lowest vitamin D levels were compared to those with the highest levels, hypertension was 30% higher, diabetes 98% higher, obesity 129% higher and triglycerides 47% higher.(2)

The very latest research (January 2008) compared the risk of “cardiovascular events" (heart attack, stroke, etc.) with vitamin D levels in the blood and found an increased risk of 62% in those whose vitamin D levels were lowest compared to those whose levels were highest.(13) However, in those with low levels of vitamin D and high blood pressure (hypertension), the risk of CVD more than doubled.

It would be a good research idea to assess a direct benefit of sunlight exposure or tanning-bed exposure on risk factors for heart disease and other CVD. Typically, vitamin D supplements contain a minuscule 200-400 IU, whereas twenty minutes of full-body sunlight exposure in summer can produce as much as 10,000-20,000 IU, and a tanning bed with high UVB levels can produce the same amount in about 10 minutes. One must exercise caution, however, and never burn. Also remember that people who cannot tan should not expose themselves to direct sunlight or to tanning bed light, and high-pressure tanning beds should not be used by anyone.
Indeed, there are already other indications that UVB and vitamin D reduce the risk of CVD. Consider the following:

Vitamin D reduces heart attack risk. Research has established that persons with above-average blood levels of vitamin D have a 57% reduced risk of a heart attack when compared to those with below-average levels.(3)

Vitamin D reduces arterial calcification. Low levels of vitamin D lead to calcification of the arteries, one of the major causes of arterial plaque that leads to CVD and heart attacks.(4) When vitamin D levels are low, parathyroid hormone (PTH) becomes high, which leads to calcification of arteries.(7) PTH levels are much lower in those who use tanning beds, and vitamin D levels are also optimized in persons who use tanning beds.(8)

UVB and vitamin D reduce hypertension. Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a well-known risk factor for both heart attack and stroke. Men with the lowest vitamin D levels have 6.13 times the risk of hypertension as men with the lowest levels. Women with the lowest levels have 2.67 times the risk.(5) Exposure to UV that increases blood levels of vitamin D to 40 ng/ml (80 nmol/l) has also been shown to reduce hypertension.(12) In three sessions per week of full-body UVB light treatments, carried on for six weeks, vitamin D levels rose 162%, and average blood pressures dropped six points on both systolic (higher number) and diastolic (lower number) measurements.

UVB diminishes the risk of heart failure. In a study done is Spain, it was found that hospital admissions for heart failure were 25% higher than average in January and 33% lower in August. That is a 58% swing between winter and summer!(6) This indicates that UVB is exceptionally important in reducing the incidence of heart failure, and that UVB from a tanning bed would be the perfect therapy to prevent the excess of winter heart failure.

Vitamin D inhibits arterial inflammation. Arterial inflammation is a major risk factor for CVD. High levels of an inflammatory protein called C-reactive protein (CRP) are considered very important predictors of heart disease. Vitamin D supplements can lower CRP levels as much as 40%.(9) Inflammation can also be caused by proteins called cytokines that work as part of the immune system.(10) These proteins are either pro-inflammatory or anti-inflammatory. Vitamin D has the amazing ability to inhibit pro-inflammatory cytokine production10 while stimulating production of anti-inflammatory cytokines.(11) Vitamin D is truly a miracle hormone, and the most efficient manner of stimulating its production is through tanning-bed use.

So, when it comes to matters of the heart, it behooves us not only to eat correctly, but to protect ourselves by keeping vitamin D levels high through non-burning exposure to UVB, and when UVB is not available, to supplement with vitamin D3. For those adults who do not have a source of UVB light, 2,000 international units daily is essential.

References:

1. Lappe, J. et al. Vitamin D and calcium supplementation reduces cancer risk: results of a randomized trial. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;85:1586-91.
2. Martins, D. et al. Prevalence of Cardiovascular Risk Factors and the Serum Levels of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D in the United States. Data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Arch Intern Med 2007;167:1159-1165.
3. Scragg, R. et al. Myocardial infarction is inversely associated with plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 levels: a community-based study. Int J Epidemiol 1990;3:559-63.
4. Zitterman, A. Vitamin D and arterial calcification. Curr Opin Lipidol 2007;18:41-46.
5. Forman, J. et al. Plasma 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels and Risk of Incident hypertension. Hypertension 2007;49:1063-9.
6. Martinez-Selles, M. et al. Annual rates of admission and seasonal variations in hospitalizations for heart failure. Eur J Heart Fail 2002;4:779-86.
7. Rostand, S. et al. Parathyroid hormone, vitamin D, and cardiovascular disease in chronic renal failure. Kidney Int 1999;56:383-92.
8. Tangpricha, V. et al. Tanning is associated with optimal vitamin D status (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration) and higher bone mineral density. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;80:1645-49.
9. Zittermann, A. et al. Putting cardiovascular disease and vitamin D insufficiency into perspective. Br J Nutr 2005;94:483-92.
10. Muller, K. et al. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 inhibits cytokine production by human blood monocytes at the post-transcriptional level. Cytokine 1992;4:506-12.
11. Canning, M. et al. I-alpha,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 (l,25(OH)(2)D(3)) hampers the maturation of fully active immature dendritic cells from monocytes. Eur J Endocrinol 2001;145:351-57.
12. Krause, R. et al. Ultraviolet B and blood pressure. Lancet 1998;352:709-10.
13. Wang, T. et al. Vitamin D deficiency and risk of cardiovascular disease. Circulation 2008;117 pre-publication copy.

Is your high-blood-pressure (hypertension) medication slowly killing you? Try vitamin D.

The Web MD alert today discussed the “Seven side effects of your blood pressure medication.”[1] Here are the common side effects that they listed for these noxious drugs: 1. fatigue and dizziness, 2. persistent cough, 3. frequent urination, 4. Fluid retention, 5. sexual dysfunction in men, 6. heart arrhythmia, and 7. allergies. They forgot to mention that beta blockers, a popular med for hypertension, has been shown to double the death risk from heart attacks, congestive heart failure and other major cardiovascular events.[2]

It is interesting that this article fails to mention that a change in nutrition that dramatically reduces fat, sugar, processed foods and animal products is quite effective in preventing and reversing hypertension, with the only side effects being weight loss, increased well-being, greater endurance and increased energy.

Furthermore, the article ignores the fact that men who have low vitamin D levels are more than six times as likely to be hypertensive as those who have high levels, or that women with low levels are nearly three times as likely to be hypertensive. [3]

A cocktail of laboratory-produced chemicals has never been the answer to our health problems. God has already provided us with an astounding internal laboratory that will produce what we need when given the raw materials of whole plant foods and plenty of sunshine. In the winter, however, it may be necessary to take supplements or use a tanning bed (never burn). These methods are certainly more natural and a lot less dangerous than hypertensive drugs.

[1] http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/features/high-blood-pressure-aftermath?ecd=wnl_hyp_012909
[2] Wassertheil-Smoller, et al. Association between cardiovascular outcomes and antihypertensive drug treatment in older women. JAMA. 2004 Dec 15;292(23):2849-59.
[3] Forman, J. et al. Plasma Hydroxyvitamin D and risk of Incident Hypertension. (Hypertension. 2007;49:1-7.)

GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER: IS VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY A MAJOR PLAYER IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, DIABETES AND HIGH CHOLESTEROL?

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A most interesting piece of research on the relationship of heart disease to blood levels of vitamin D was recently published in the American Journal of Cardiology.[1] Researchers from the Intermountain Heart Collaborative (IHC) Study Group studied 41,497 subjects with at least one vitamin D measurement from 2000-2009. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in the subjects was 63.6%. The researchers found that during that time period, those with the lowest levels of vitamin D had highly significantly increased risk of developing diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol and triglycerides) and peripheral vascular disease, all diseases in their own right, and all risk factors for developing heart disease. They also found that those who had none of these risk factors, but who had severe D deficiency, had an increased risk of developing diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia.

Low vitamin D levels were also correlated closely to coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction (heart attack), heart failure, stroke and overall risk of death (not surprising). Of particular interest was the fact that hypertension was nearly 90% more likely in those with low vitamin D levels (less than 15 ng/ml) compared to those who had high levels (greater than 30 ng/ml). Unfortunately, the analysis did not compare those who were severely deficient with those who had "optimal levels," which I would consider to be 60 ng/ml or more. Had they done that, it is likely that the differences in disease and death rates would have been even more impressive. Other findings of this study showed that infections, kidney failure and fractures were more likely among those with the lowest levels of vitamin D.

This research is one of the best conducted and controlled that I've seen, but it is hardly the only finding that showed a dramatic increase in these diseases when comparing people with low vitamin D levels to those with higher levels. One of the most impressive compared the risk of heart attack with vitamin D levels and found those with the lowest D levels to have 2.4 times the risk of heart attack compared to those with the higher levels.[2]

As you can see, vitamin D makes a difference. if you'd rather not have a heart attack, it behooves you to optimize your vitamin D levels!

There are another dozen research papers that point out a terrific difference in heart disease rates among people with different vitamin D blood levels; however, they all come to the same conclusion. Get some sunlight and optimize your vitamin D levels!


[1] Jeffrey L. Anderson, MD, Heidi T. May, PhD, MSPH Benjamin D. Horne, PhD, MPH
Tami L. Bair, BS Nathaniel L. Hall, MD,, John F. Carlquist, PhD, Donald L. Lappé, MD, and
Joseph B. Muhlestein, MD Relation of Vitamin D Deficiency to Cardiovascular Risk Factors,
Disease Status, and Incident Events in a General Healthcare Population. Am J Cardiol 2010;106:963–968)
[2] Giovannucci E, Liu Y, Hollis BW, Rimm EB. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and risk of myocardial infarction in men. Arch Intern Med 2008;168:1174–1180.

High blood pressure? Head for the sun!

A recent medical-journal article reported research showing that there was a direct correlation between higher temperatures and lower blood pressure.[1] We should expect this to be the case, since it is very-well established that higher vitamin D levels lead to a dramatically reduced risk of hypertension (high blood pressure). (See my previous post for more information on the relationship of blood pressure to vitamin D levels. http://drsorenson.blogspot.com/search?q=hypertension)

In summer, when temperatures are higher, the sun stimulates the production of vitamin D very efficiently; in winter, there is little or no production of vitamin D by sunlight, because the ultraviolet B light (UVB) is filtered out. It is also true that people like to go outside more in summer than winter, and that they use less clothing, thereby exposing more skin to the sunlight and making more vitamin D.

Therefore, if you suffer from hypertension, get outdoors in the summer (never sunburn). In winter, use a tanning bed (never burn), which is exceptionally efficient at stimulating vitamin D production, or take supplements of 3,000-5,000 IU daily.

One of the biggest lies in medicine is that a person must stay on hypertensive drugs for a lifetime if he/she is hypertensive. It is simply not true. In most people, sunlight and a plant-based nutrition program can easily bring blood pressure levels to normal. Ask your physician before changing any prescribed medication, of course.

[1] Alpérovitch, A. et al. Relationship between blood pressure and outdoor temperature in a large sample of elderly individuals: the Three-City study. Arch Intern Med. 2009 Jan 12;169(1):75-80.

Sunlight, vitamin D and African Americans, Part 2

In my previous post, I discussed reasons to believe that the generally poor health of African Americans is due in large part to vitamin deficiency. Here are more reasons to believe that the need for vitamin D is critical among this population.

1. Heart disease is twice as prevalent among black men as white men.[1] Although part of the discrepancy may be due to more smoking among black men, it is probable that a significant part is due to vitamin D deficiency. Low sun exposure and low vitamin D levels correlate to increased inflammation, higher cholesterol and hypertension, all risk factors for heart disease.

2. Heart failure is also much more common among blacks[2]—not surprising since we know the efficacy of vitamin D in preventing heart failure.

Now let’s discuss what is perhaps the most important study for African Americans. It is often argued that the excessive rates of cancer, diabetes, hypertension, etc. among African Americans are due to lack of access to health care. If that were the case, black physicians would have approximately the same lower rates of disease as their white counterparts, since black physicians obviously have high access to health care. However, research shows that even black physicians have a much higher incidence of cancer than their white counterparts.[3] But when black physicians have habits that provide higher vitamin D levels, they have approximately the same cancer rates as white physicians. Had the rates of heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and other diseases also been studied, along with measurements of serum vitamin D levels, I believe the pattern would have been even more clearly established.

Since African Americans have only 50-75% of the serum levels of vitamin D as whites,5 part—perhaps a large part—of the discrepancy between the health of the races could be rectified by nothing more than vitamin D supplementation of about 5,000 IU daily. That is very good news indeed!

[1] USA Department of Health and Human Services 1998. Tobacco Use Among USA Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups — African Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: USA Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[2] American Heart Association. Heart and stroke statistics – 2004 update.
[3] Giovannucci, E. et al. Cancer Incidence and Mortality and Vitamin D in Black and White Male Health Professionals: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2006;15:2467–72.

Critical vitamin D deficiency and critically poor health among African Americans: Part 1

Why do African Americans suffer more from heart disease, cancer, hypertension, diabetes and other degenerative diseases than white Americans? One reason is that vitamin D deficiency is far more common in blacks.

In my book, I documented the relationship of vitamin D deficiency to dramatically increased risk of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and numerous other diseases and conditions--105 in all. If dark-skinned Americans are more likely to be deficient, it stands to reason that they would be more likely to succumb to those diseases.
Here are some interesting facts that relate vitamin D deficiency to poor health in black Americans:

1. When USA white and black women are compared for vitamin D levels, black women are ten times more likely to be vitamin D deficient.[1]

2. In patients in Minneapolis, Minnesota who were being treated for chronic pain, 100% of African Americans, along with Native Americans, East Africans and Hispanics were vitamin D deficient.[2]

3. Vitamin D is known to be a potent inhibitor of tuberculosis. African Americans have lower resistance to tuberculosis, lower levels of D and lower ability to produce cathelicidin, a natural internal bactericide.[3]

4. A 37-year-old disabled Black woman with myopathy (a muscle disease) and severe vitamin D deficiency was able to leave her wheelchair and function normally after six weeks of vitamin D therapy.[4]

5. Vitamin D deficiency leads to increased death from the major internal cancers, and a disproportionate number of those cancer deaths occur in African Americans.[5] Dr. William Grant, in summarizing the findings of his study on African Americans and cancer, wrote that “Solar UVB was found significantly inversely correlated with mortality rates for breast, colon, esophageal, gastric and rectal cancers for black Americans.” Other research in 2008 corroborated his findings, showing that in the Southeast USA, vitamin D deficiency is about four times more common in African Americans as whites, suggesting that the greater cancer risks among African Americans is due to that deficiency.[6]

Shortly I will post another blog citing research that further establishes vitamin D deficiency as a likely culprit in the poor health of dark-skinned Americans.

[1] Nesby-O’Dell, S. et al. Hypovitaminosis D prevalence and determinants among African American and white women of reproductive age: third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994. Am J Clin Nutr 2002;76:187-92.
[2] Plotnikoff G. et al. Prevalence of severe hypovitaminosis D in patients with persistent, nonspecific musculoskeletal pain. Mayo Clin Proc. 2003;78:1463-70.
[3] Liu, P. et al. Toll-like receptor triggering of a vitamin D-mediated human antimicrobial response. Science. 2006;311:1770-73.
[4] Prabhala, A. et al. Severe myopathy associated with vitamin D deficiency in western New York. Arch Intern Med 2000;160:1199-1203.
[5] Grant, W. Lower vitamin-D production from solar ultraviolet-B irradiance may explain some differences in cancer survival rates. JNMA 2006;98:364
[6] Egan, K. et al. Vitamin D insufficiency among African Americans in the southeastern United States: implications for cancer disparities (United States). Cancer Causes Control 2008;19:527-35.

How much vitamin D do you need to reduce risk of cancer, osteoporosis, heart disease, gum disease, diabetes, hypertension, etc.?

My book cites research from over 800 medical/scientific journals research that consistently demonstrates a direct correlation between vitamin D deficiency and more than one hundred diseases and disorders. Only those whose heads are buried in the sand could believe that optimal levels of D are not necessary for excellent health. However, along with vitamin D’s newfound popularity, there is bewilderment about what is “optimal.”

What is the optimal level of vitamin D?

Dr. Bruce Hollis and his colleagues conducted research in which they determined that no circulating vitamin D3 can be measured in the blood until 25(OH)D levels are greater than 40-50 ng/ml.[1] This means that all vitamin D3 is used by the tissues to make 25(OH)D until the level is greater than 40-50. At that point, vitamin D3 begins to be measurable, meaning that the tissues are no longer so “hungry” for D3 that they use up every molecule made by the skin or taken orally. Therefore, optimal levels are probably somewhere over 50. Dr. John Cannell and I, in researching our book on vitamin D and athletics, found that athletic performance improves up to about 50-60 ng/ml and declines slightly at higher levels. In addition, a recent study showed that those with high vitamin D levels lived 26% longer than those with low levels; however, beyond 50 ng/ml, higher levels did not confer further advantage.[2]

How much vitamin D does it take to produce the optimal level of 50-60?

Each intake of 100 IU per day of supplementation raises the blood levels of vitamin D about 1 ng/ml. Therefore, if there were no sun exposure or a source of dietary vitamin D, it would require 5,000 IU of supplemental D3 per day to achieve a level of 50. This rule of thumb, of course, varies according to the size of the person; a large person will require more vitamin D than a small person. It is also interesting to note that men who have high levels of vitamin D (due to outdoor summer activity) must take 5,000 IU during winter to maintain those levels.[3]
A special case: nursing mothers

Nursing mothers must furnish sufficient vitamin D3 for themselves and their babies; if they are deficient, the babies have a greater risk of autism, schizophrenia and osteoporosis as they grow older. Dr. Hollis and his colleagues have demonstrated that nursing women need at least 6,400 IU per day to maintain adequate levels of 25(OH)D in both mother and child.[4]

Remember that in Caucasian skin, twenty minutes of full-body sunlight exposure (both sides) will produce from 10,000-20,000 IU of vitamin D. A good tanning bed will produce about 10,000 IU in ten minutes. In either case, be sure not to burn.

Hopefully, this information has reduced any confusion about optimal levels of vitamin D and how to maintain them. Get those levels up to 50-60 ng/ml!

[1] Hollis, B. et al. Circulating Vitamin D3 and 25-hydroxyvitamin D in Humans: An Important Tool to Define Adequate Nutritional Vitamin D Status. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2007 March; 103(3-5): 631–634.
[2] Melamed, M. et al. 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and the risk of mortality in the general population. Arch Intern Med. 2008 Aug 11;168(15):1629-37.
[3] Heaney, R. et al. Human serum 25-hydroxycholecalciferol response to extended oral dosing with cholecalciferol. Am J Clin Nutr 2003;77:204-10.
[4]Wagner C. et al. High-dose vitamin D3 supplementation in a cohort of breastfeeding mothers and their infants: a 6-month follow-up pilot study. Breastfeed Med. 2006;1:59-70.

Stop chronic aches and pains with vitamin D

As the winter approaches, aches and pains increase as vitamin D levels, already too low in most people, begin to plummet. Bringing vitamin D levels up can often alleviate or eliminate the pain.
For instance, Dr. Stewart Leavitt recently posted the results of a review of 22 scientific studies on the relationship of vitamin D deficiency to chronic pain. (http://Pain-Topics.org/VitaminD). This 2008 analysis is just the latest of many studies on vitamin D and pain, most of which have been ignored by the physicians that treat the disorder. In total, there were 3,670 patients with chronic pain, and 48% of them showed significant vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D supplementation was very helpful in alleviating the pain. Dr. Leavitt states: “When supplementation was provided for improving vitamin D status, pain and/or muscle weakness were resolved or at least subsided in most cases, and there were associated improvements in physical functioning.”

This has actually been known for about 25 years, but because it sells no drugs, it has been virtually ignored. Vitamin D sufficient to keep optimal levels in the blood can be purchased at Bio-Tech Pharmacal for about $10.00 per year, and sunlight—the most natural way to increase vitamin D, is free. Unfortunately, sunlight produces vitamin D only during the late spring through early fall in high latitudes.

The Powers of Darkness (the pharmaceutical/medical complex that has succeeded in frightening most people out of the sunlight) have created a shocking and widespread vitamin D deficiency that is manifesting itself in increased rates of cancer, heart disease, autism, diabetes and myriad other maladies, not the least of which is chronic pain.

Other research has shown similarly impressive results. In one interesting study, conducted on chronic pain patients in Minneapolis, Minnesota (45 degrees north latitude), it was found that 100% of African Americans, American Indians, East Africans and Hispanics were vitamin D deficient, as were most Caucasians.[1] In summer sunlight, dark-skinned people take up to 6 times as long to produce the same amount of vitamin D as light skinned people, making dark skinned people much more susceptible to vitamin D deficiency. Indoor lifestyles and the advice to slather with sunscreen, which can reduce vitamin D production during sunlight exposure by 99.5%[2] puts dark-skinned people at a considerable vitamin D deficiency disadvantage. In addition, during the winter at high latitudes in areas such as Minneapolis, there are several months where little or no vitamin D is produced by the skin due to the sun’s position in the southern sky; the UVB portion of sunlight that stimulates vitamin D production is filtered out by the atmosphere during those months. This is known as “vitamin D winter” and is especially important in the northern US, northern Europe and all of Canada. It is absolutely essential for dark-skinned adults to take vitamin D supplementation of 4,000 to 5,000 IU per day year around or regularly use a tanning bed to stave off pain and to reduce the excessive risk of cancer, hypertension, diabetes, etc., that plague them. It is also critical for most Caucasians during winter.

Another impressive result comes from a clinical observation of five vitamin D-deficient patients who suffered from myopathy, a disease of bone and muscle tissue. They were confined to wheelchairs and experienced severe fatigue, weakness, and chronic pain. After receiving 50,000 IU per week of vitamin D, all regained enough strength and energy within four to six weeks to be mobile and functional, and their aches and pains disappeared.[3] Other research reported that five chronic-pain patients at John Hopkins University Medical School were treated with vitamin D, and their pain resolved within a week![4]

Vitamin D is a potent anti-inflammatory and also helps to strengthen bone, joint and muscle tissue. Be sure to maintain optimal levels (50 ng/ml or 125 nmol/L) in order to avoid the aches and pains of winter.


[1] Plotnikoff G. et al. Prevalence of severe hypovitaminosis D in patients with persistent, nonspecific musculoskeletal pain. Mayo Clin Proc. 2003;78:1463-70.
[2] Matsuoka, L. et al. sunscreens suppress cutaneous vitamin D3 synthesis. J Clin Endocrinology & Metab 1987; 64:1165-68.
[3] Prabhala, A. et al. Severe myopathy associated with vitamin D deficiency in western New York. Arch Intern Med 2000;160:1199-1203.
[4] Gloth, F. et al. Can vitamin D deficiency produce an unusual pain syndrome? Arch Intern Med 1991;152:1662-4.

Serum vitamin D levels, heart attack and stroke: Vitamin D can save your life!

It has been some time since I posted anything about heart disease, and since I have been asked to send my agent something to present to Larry King, I thought I might as well post it as a blog, too. Suffice it to say that there is no blood test more important than vitamin D [calcidiol or 25(OH)D].

Two 2008 studies show the dramatic influence of blood vitamin D levels and the risk of heart attack. Dr. Thomas Wang and colleagues compared the risk of stroke and heart attack with serum-vitamin D levels and found a 62% increased risk in those with lowest levels compared to those with highest levels and also showed that those with low D levels and high blood pressure had double the risk.[1] Dr. Edward Giovannucci, of Harvard University, and his colleagues reported even more impressive results.[2] They found that men whose serum levels of vitamin D were less than 15 ng/ml had nearly 2.5 times the rate of heart attack as those whose levels were above 30. Their research also showed that mid-range vitamin D levels showed a mid-range risk of heart attack and stroke, meaning that vitamin D levels directly predicted the risk of heart attack at all levels. The researchers stated, “Low levels of 25(OH)D are associated with higher risk of myocardial infarction in a graded manner, even after controlling for factors known to be associated with coronary artery disease.”

Still other research showed that classic risk factors for cardiovascular disease were higher in those who ranked in the lowest quartile (fourth) of vitamin D levels compared to those whose levels were in the highest quartile.[3] Hypertension was 30% higher, diabetes 98% higher, obesity 129% higher and triglycerides 47% higher.

This idea is not really that new; it has simply been ignored. In 1990, a study in New Zealand found that those below the median level of serum vitamin D suffered 57% more heart attacks than those whose levels were above the median.[4] They also noted that the greatest number occurred in winter and spring, and that the reduced risk among those with higher levels pertained to all seasons. All of this indicates vitamin D deficiency as a major cause of heart disease. Do not ignore this information if you have a heart!


[1] Wang, T. et al. Vitamin D deficiency and risk of cardiovascular disease. Circulation 2008;117 pre-publication copy.
[2] Giovannucci, E. et al. 25-hydroxy-vitamin D and risk of myocardial infarction in men. Ann Intern Med 2008;168:1174-80.
[3] Martins, D. et al. Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and the serum levels of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D in the United States. Arch Intern Med 2007;167:1159-65.
[4] Scragg, R. et al. Myocardial Infarction is inversely associated with plasma 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 levels: a community-based study. Int J Epidemiol 1990;19:559-63.

Our medical advisory institutions need to wake up and smell the vitamin D!

The following is an approximate copy of a letter I sent to the Institute of Medicine, regarding their forthcoming vitamin D recommendations.

Thank you for the opportunity to express my opinions regarding the forthcoming determination by the Institute of Medicine as to whether the current recommended daily allowance of vitamin D should be revised to a higher level. In my opinion, the decision will be one of the most important in the annals of medicine, as it could positively or negatively affect the health of millions in the US. We have, as a society, ceased to spend as much time in the sunlight as we once did. This is due to our habits of working indoors and scrupulously avoiding sunlight when we venture outdoors. In consequence, we have become critically deficient in vitamin D, a potent steroid hormone whose chemical receptors are found throughout the body. Vitamin D levels are declining in the US population,[1] and that does not bode well for the health US citizens. It has been estimated that maintaining serum levels 25(OH)D of 55 ng/ml could prevent 85,000 cases of breast cancer and 60,000 cases of colon cancer.[2] If there were no other source of vitamin D, achieving that serum level would require the ingestion of about 5,500 IU of vitamin D3 daily for men and slightly less for women. It is obvious that the current recommendations of 400 IU are woefully inadequate.

In addition, sudden death from heart attack is about 2.4 times higher in men with the lowest levels of vitamin D compared to those with the highest levels.[3] It would be possible to go through a long list of diseases that correlate closely to vitamin D deficiency, such as MS, osteoporosis, twenty major cancers, hypertension, arthritis, Lupus, etc., but that would be laborious for both of us. My book, Vitamin D3 and Solar Power, has 800 references to the medical/scientific literature and discusses the influence of vitamin D on more than 100 diseases and conditions.

One double-blind, placebo controlled, interventional study has already determined that four years of vitamin D and calcium supplementation correlated to a 60-77% reduced risk of all cancers in women.[4] The researchers have just received a $4,000,000 grant to continue that research with higher dosages of vitamin D. Science often demands that such studies be conducted before any changes in recommendations are made. However, this may cause delays in action that could cost millions of lives. No such study could ever be attempted among smokers. Such a study would require that half of a group of non-smokers was given cigarettes, taught to smoke and then compared with the other half for death rates. Such a study was never done to furnish conclusive proof that smoking increased the risk of lung cancer. The reasons: (1) it would not have been ethical, and (2) the evidence from observation made the conclusion obvious and compelling. In my opinion, the evidence for higher vitamin D recommendations, either as supplementation or as sunlight exposure, is just as compelling. The researchers in the aforementioned cancer study for instance, stated that the reduction in cancer produced by vitamin D supplementation was about twice that which would be expected if all women stopped smoking.[4]

We cannot afford to wait for more studies to find conclusive proof of the need for higher supplemental recommendations while millions more people die. There is not one whit of evidence that vitamin D supplementation of 10,000 IU per day for an adult is toxic.[5]
I also suggest that you recommend regular, non-burning sunlight exposure as the most natural way to achieve optimal levels of vitamin D.

Marc Sorenson, EdD



[1] Looker, A. et al. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D status of the US population: 1988-1994 compared with 2000-2004. Am J Clin Nutr December 2008; vol 88: pp 1519-1527.
[2]Garland, C et al. What is the dose-response relationship between vitamin D and cancer risk? Nutrition Reviews 2007;65:S91-5.
[3]Giovannucci, E. et al. 25-hydroxy-vitamin D and risk of myocardial infarction in men. Ann Intern Med 2008;168:1174-80.
[4]Lappe, J. et al. Vitamin D and calcium supplementation reduces cancer risk: results of a randomized trial. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;85:1586–91.
[5]Vieth, R. Vitamin D supplementation, 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and safety. Am J Clin Nutr 1999;69:842-56.

Losing your mind: Is Alzheimer’s disease in your future or your parents’ future? Can sunlight and vitamin D prevent it?

I have previously posted regarding the effect of vitamin D on cognitive disability, autism and other brain disorders. With all of these disorders, there is a clear correlation between sunlight and/or vitamin D deficiency and decreased brain function. Considering that most elderly people are severely vitamin D deficient and that there are vitamin D receptors throughout the brain, it would not be surprising to also find the same correlation with Alzheimer’s, which IS a brain disease. An excellent paper by Dr Fredrick Dyer[1] makes a case that Alzheimer’s is, at least in part, a vitamin D-deficiency disease.

Dr Dyer makes the point that many diseases or disorders—those that are well-established as correlating to vitamin D deficiency—are themselves risk factors for Alzheimer’s. These include depression, osteoporosis, diabetes, poor cognitive abilities, periodontal disease, inflammation, tooth loss, low cognitive performance, poor strength, depression, congestive heart failure, peripheral artery disease, hypertension and arterial plaque. In other words, Alzheimer’s shows a “co-morbidity” with these disorders, meaning that they may have the same underlying causes. Lack of sunlight/vitamin D is likely one of those causes.

Until we know for sure, it is certainly a great idea to maintain high levels of vitamin D in ourselves and in our aging parents; there is no downside, and it may prevent us from losing our minds.

Another excellent paper on vitamin D and Alzheimer’s will be published soon; I will keep you posted.

[1] Dyer, F. Deficient Vitamin D in the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease. Unpublished manuscript furnished to author December 2008. Used by permission.

Losing your mind: Is Alzheimer’s disease in your future or your parents’ future? Can sunlight and vitamin D prevent it?

I have previously posted regarding the effect of vitamin D on cognitive disability, autism and other brain disorders. With all of these disorders, there is a clear correlation between sunlight and/or vitamin D deficiency and decreased brain function. Considering that most elderly people are severely vitamin D deficient and that there are vitamin D receptors throughout the brain, it would not be surprising to also find the same correlation with Alzheimer’s, which is a brain disease. An excellent paper by Dr Frederick Dyer[1] makes a case that Alzheimer’s is, at least in part, a vitamin D-deficiency disease.

Dr Dyer makes the point that many diseases or disorders—those that are well-established as correlating to vitamin D deficiency—are themselves risk factors for Alzheimer’s. These include depression, osteoporosis, diabetes, poor cognitive abilities, periodontal disease, dental caries, inflammation, tooth loss, low cognitive performance, poor strength, depression, congestive heart failure, peripheral artery disease, hypertension and arterial plaque. In other words, Alzheimer’s shows a "co-morbidity” with these disorders, meaning that they may have the same underlying causes. Lack of sunlight/vitamin D is likely one of those causes.

Until we know for sure, it is certainly a great idea to maintain high levels of vitamin D in ourselves and in our aging parents; there is no downside, and it may prevent us from losing our minds.

Another excellent paper on vitamin D and Alzheimer’s will be published soon; I will keep you posted.

[1] Dyer, F. Deficient Vitamin D in the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s Disease. Unpublished manuscript furnished to author December 2008. Used by permission.

NIF is back. The sunlight and vitamin D health resort will open in June!

Come learn about vitamin D, sunlight, and health while you lose weight, lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure and blood sugar and improve your vitality and wellbeing. Most people are severely vitamin D-deficient, and the education they receive may save their lives.

My wife, Vicki, and I previously owned one of the most popular destination health resorts (or “spas”) in the world, known as National Institute of Fitness (NIF). We are now opening another at our Nevada ranch, located next to Great Basin National Park. We will have one of the lowest prices in the industry and in addition to our work with nutrition and exercise, our education will also concentrate on the health benefits of vitamin D. We will still be known as NIF (Nevada Institute of Fitness).

Here are some of the results our guests experienced at our first resort:
During our 20+ years at NIF, our clients lost 110 tons of fat, two thirds of diabetic guests were free of all medication in less than two weeks, and many others recovered from high cholesterol, lupus, arthritis, migraines, hypertension, angina, arthritis and allergies. The institute was consistently ranked as one of the world’s best destination spas and was featured in major newspaper articles in the New York Times as well as other papers throughout the US and in Japan and Singapore.

You can learn more about our operation at http://nifathcr.com/

Sarah Palin, Vitamin D and tanning beds part 6: conclusion

This may surprise you, but I believe it is a good idea to be checked regularly by a dermatologist to assess any changes that may occur to your skin. That advice, however, is most important for those who do not use tanning beds or get regular sunlight, since more melanomas occur among those who receive little or no UVB (see previous posts).

So let's do a few mathematics. Scientists now estimate that maintaining a vitamin D blood level of 55ng/ml would prevent the breast-cancer deaths of 85,000 US women yearly.[1] Melanoma, on the other hand, takes the lives of about 3,020 women per year.[2] If you assumed that tanning causes 3,020 deaths from melanoma (which it does not), but prevents 85,000 breast cancer deaths, which would you rather take a chance with? Such an analysis, of course, would not even take into consideration the other diseases that are prevented by high vitamin D levels.


For example, Australian researchers did an analysis to determine the risk of death from bone disease that would occur if the anti-sunlight advocates had their way. For the purposes of their analysis, they assumed that sunlight caused melanoma. They then calculated that for every case of melanoma death and disability prevented by avoiding the sun, there would be 2,000 cases of death disability caused by bone diseases alone due to lack of vitamin D.[3] The good news is that sunlight does not cause melanoma; we have already established that regular exposure prevents melanoma.

If Sarah Palin is using her tanning bed in a safe and sane manner, she has one of the best health-promoting devices ever developed. The vitamin D she receives from the UVB light is reducing her risk of twenty cancers and is also reducing her risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, hypertension, MS, lupus, diabetes and approximately 80 more diseases in which vitamin D deficiency is implicated. So Sarah, go ahead and enjoy that tanning bed!

[1] Garland, C et al. What is the dose-response relationship between vitamin D and cancer risk? Nutrition Reviews 2007;65:S91-5.
[2] American Cancer Society Statistics 2008.
[3] Lucas, R, et al. Estimating the global disease burden due to ultraviolet radiation exposure.
Int. J. Epidemiol. Advance Access published February 14, 2008.

Vitamin D may help your economic depression and decrease your financial aches and pains this winter.

If you are feeling some depression due to the economic downturn and are experiencing the aches and pains of a shrinking portfolio, your answer may lie in taking a vacation to the tropics or at least increasing your intake of vitamin D. No, it won’t improve your bottom line, but it could help you to feel dramatically better while you suffer through the economic doldrums.
When we become financially depressed during winter, it only adds to the natural depression we feel due to lack of sunlight. That depression is known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD). Furthermore, the pain of pecuniary woes adds to the physical pain experienced by so many people who are deficient in vitamin D.

Did you know that those who suffer from SAD are almost always vitamin D deficient and that when vitamin D supplements are provided in winter, they improve mood in only five days?[1] Or were you aware that 75% of depressed patients (SAD patients in winter) reduce their depression levels with the use of vitamin D?[2] There are at least two more recent papers showing that depression is lifted by the use of vitamin D supplements.[3] [4] In one of them, 4,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D were given to depressed patients during Canada’s long winter. The result was a profound increase in blood vitamin D levels and an even more dramatic increase in the subjects’ sense of wellbeing.4

In another investigation, researchers studied the association between vitamin D levels and the risk of mood disorders in the elderly. The results were impressive. Those whose vitamin D levels were deficient—defined as less than 20 ng/ml—had 11.7 times the incidence of depression when compared to those whose vitamin D levels were higher. Usually an association is considered meaningful when a measured factor correlates to a 50% increase or decrease. In this case, the correlation between vitamin D deficiency and risk of mood disorders was a staggering 1,169 percent—a nearly 12 times increase in depression risk![5] Elderly people seldom get in the sunlight and are consequently depressed. The elderly who have low levels of vitamin D also are three-and-one-half times as likely to be admitted to a nursing home as those who have higher levels.[6] It is criminal to let elderly persons die of depression, fractures and all of the other maladies correlated to their critically low vitamin D levels. This research is no secret, and someone needs to get the word out to the elderly and to all others interested in better health.

Now let's discuss pain:

Dr. Stewart Leavitt recently posted the results of a review of 22 scientific studies on the relationship of vitamin D deficiency to chronic pain. (http://Pain-Topics.org/VitaminD). This 2008 analysis is just the latest of many studies on vitamin D and pain, most of which have been ignored by the physicians that treat the disorder. In total, there were 3,670 patients with chronic pain, and 48% of them showed significant vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D supplementation was very helpful in alleviating the pain.[7] Dr. Leavitt states: “When supplementation was provided for improving vitamin D status, pain and/or muscle weakness were resolved or at least subsided in most cases, and there were associated improvements in physical functioning.”

Pain is common in winter, and it has been known for some time that vitamin D or sunlight therapy is effective for its alleviation. For instance, In one interesting study, conducted on chronic pain patients in Minneapolis, Minnesota (45 degrees north latitude), it was found that 100% of African Americans, American Indians, East Africans and Hispanics were vitamin D deficient, as were most Caucasians.[8] In summer sunlight, dark-skinned people take up to 6 times as long to produce the same amount of vitamin D as light skinned people, making dark skinned people much more susceptible to vitamin D deficiency. Indoor lifestyles and the advice to slather with sunscreen, which can reduce vitamin D production during sunlight exposure by 99.5%[9] puts dark-skinned people at a considerable vitamin D deficiency disadvantage. In addition, during the winter at high latitudes in areas such as Minneapolis, there are several months where little or no vitamin D is produced by the skin due to the sun’s position in the southern sky; that is why vitamin D deficiency and it subsequent depression and pain are so much more pronounced in winter. It is absolutely essential for dark-skinned adults to take vitamin D3 supplementation of 4,000 to 5,000 IU per day year around or regularly use a tanning bed to stave off pain and to reduce the excessive risk of cancer, hypertension, diabetes, etc., that plague them. It is also critical for most Caucasians during winter. Remember that vitamin D3 is the only type of vitamin D that should be used.

Another impressive result comes from a clinical observation of five vitamin D-deficient patients who suffered from myopathy, a disease of bone and muscle tissue. They were confined to wheelchairs and experienced severe fatigue, weakness, and chronic pain. After receiving 50,000 IU per week of vitamin D, all regained enough strength and energy within four to six weeks to be mobile and functional, and their aches and pains disappeared.[10] Other research reported that five chronic-pain patients at John Hopkins University Medical School were treated with vitamin D, and their pain resolved within a week![11]

Vitamin D is a potent anti-inflammatory and also helps to strengthen bone, joint and muscle tissue. Be sure to maintain optimal levels (50 ng/ml or 125 nmol/L) in order to avoid the aches and pains of winter.

So there you have it. Monetary woes this winter may increase depression and cause financial pain, but there is no reason to worsen the problem with severe physical pain and chemical depression. You have the answers before you. A year of vitamin D supplementation at 5,000 IU per day will cost you about $10.00 at Bio-Tech Pharmacal, and that will not cause you any additional financial pain or depression. Their web site: http://www.bio-tech-pharm.com/catalog.aspx?cat_id=2. By the way, I have no financial interest in that company and simply recommend them as an exceptionally high quality, low-price source of vitamin D3.

Lose the blues and be happy and well this winter!

[1] Lansdowne, A. et al. Vitamin D3 enhances mood in healthy subjects during winter. Psychopharmacology 1998;135:319-23.
[2] Gloth, F. et al. Vitamin D vs. broad spectrum phototherapy in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder J Nutr Health Aging 1999; 3(1):5-7
[3] Jorde R. et al. Effects of vitamin D supplementation on symptoms of depression in overweight and obese subjects: randomized double-blind trial. J Intern Med 2008 Dec 1;264(6):599-609. Epub 2008 Sep 10.
[4] Vieth, R. et al. Randomized comparison of the effects of the vitamin D3 adequate intake versus 100 mcg (4,000 IU) per day on biochemical responses and the wellbeing of patients. Nutr J 2004;3:8.
[5] Wilkins C. et al. Vitamin D Deficiency Is Associated With Low Mood and Worse Cognitive Performance in Older Adults. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry;2006;14:1032–1040).
[6] Visser, M. et al. Low serum vitamin concentrations of 25 hydroxyvitamin D in older persons and the risk of nursing home admission. Am J Clin Nutr 2006;84:616-22.
[7] (http://Pain-Topics.org/VitaminD)
[8] Plotnikoff G. et al. Prevalence of severe hypovitaminosis D in patients with persistent, nonspecific musculoskeletal pain. Mayo Clin Proc. 2003;78:1463-70.
[9] Matsuoka, L. et al. sunscreens suppress cutaneous vitamin D3 synthesis. J Clin Endocrinology & Metab 1987; 64:1165-68.
[10] Prabhala, A. et al. Severe myopathy associated with vitamin D deficiency in western New York. Arch Intern Med 2000;160:1199-1203.
[11] Gloth, F. et al. Can vitamin D deficiency produce an unusual pain syndrome? Arch Intern Med 1991;152:1662-4.