Vitamin D – getting Calcium into the blood
Another nutrient considered to be crucial to bone building and bone health is Vitamin D. “To absorb calcium, you must consume vitamin D. According to the NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases National Resource Center, without vitamin D, the body can’t form a hormone called calcitriol, which will contribute to insufficient dietary calcium absorption. If the body doesn’t get enough calcium, it will pull it from the bones.”(24)
The US National Institutes of Health statement on “Vitamin D and Osteoporosis” (http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp) says in part: “While rickets and osteomalacia are extreme examples of vitamin D deficiency, osteoporosis is an example of a long-term effect of vitamin D insufficiency. . . In a review of women with osteoporosis hospitalized for hip fractures, 50 percent were found to have signs of vitamin D deficiency.” (M. A. Mikati, L. Dib, B. Yamout, R. Sawaya, A. C. Rahi, and G. El-Hajj Fuleihan. Two randomized vitamin D trials in ambulatory patients on anticonvulsants: Impact on bone. Neurology, 2006; 67: 2005-2014.)
Vitamin D increases your body’s absorption of calcium and phosphate into the bloodstream. But how much you need seems to vary, and the view is changing. Andrew W. Saul, the author of Fire Your Doctor and Doctor Yourself, says in regard to supplementation, Vitamin D supplementation (2,000 IU/day preventively; 5,000 IU/day therapeutically) may be a particularly good way to increase bone density provided you also take or eat vitamin K.” (27) Some, on the other hand, such as Dr. Pamela Popper, states, “Testing is Worthless and the More You Take, the Weaker Your Bones,” and says you not only need much less but that too much leads to bone loss. She adds that there is evidence showing that supplemented D3 increased the risk of bone density loss. (28)(28v-video, see below) A Harvard study has shown that taking too much Vitamin D, in any form, can reduce its benefits and create further health risks. When it comes to receiving the benefits of Vitamin D3 and D2, less is often better. (29) Studies suggest that Vitamin D3 is more effective than D2, yet they are both critical compounds found in the lower layers of our skin. Their primary benefit is that they improve the absorption of calcium and immune function. The point is you need some vitamin D, just not as much as many sources state. One of the biggest abuses in the use of supplements (aside from calcium) is the extremely high doses that I see many taking and being suggested in various osteoporosis groups. There is not only no need for such high doses, but according to Dr. Popper’s research, it is counter-effective at increasing bone density, actually lowering the bone-mass density. And one needs to keep in mind that vitamin D is one vitamin [hormone] that has “hypervitaminosis” associated with high doses, meaning you can become toxic. (28)
Dr. Popper is not the only one making this statement. This article on a clinical trial drew this conclusion: 28D3 29D3 JAMA
Conclusions
Among healthy adults, treatment with vitamin D3 for 3 years at a dose of 4000 IU per day or 10 000 IU per day, compared with 400 IU per day, resulted in statistically significant lower radial BMD; tibial BMD was significantly lower only with the daily dose of 10 000 IU. There were no significant differences in bone strength at either the radius or tibia. These findings do not support the benefit of high-dose vitamin D supplementation for bone health; further research would be needed to determine whether it is harmful.
JAMA
Another source supporting this is Endocrine Today. (28b) Chris Kresser also makes this statement: “But a large body of evidence in the medical literature strongly suggests that optimal vitamin D levels might be lower than these figures. There is little to no evidence showing benefit to 25(OH)D levels above 50 ng/mL, and increasing evidence to suggest that levels of this magnitude may cause harm. Consequences of vitamin D toxicity include heart attack, stroke, kidney stones, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia, weight loss, and low bone density.” (28c) This was also supported by this study. Vitamin D also causes constipation in excess.
Another source, Dr. Robert Cywes, has this to say about “hormone” D: If your condition is caused by vitamin D deficiency, it may be fixed by supplementing, such as Rickets. If your condition is not caused by a “vitamin D” deficiency, it will not. He states that since osteoporosis is not generally caused by a vitamin D deficiency, it will not fix it and therefore is useless to supplement. There is “no evidence” that supplementing will fix osteoporosis because it is not the cause, but is associated with it more so due to excess carbohydrate consumption, insulin resistance, and lack of cholesterol. (28r)
Our most natural and first source to obtain vitamin D is sunshine. Something that goes hand in hand with getting vitamin D from the sun is Seed Cycling. If you read the highlighted link just above on getting vitamin D from the sun, you will know that cholesterol in or just under the skin is what is converted to vitamin D3 (precursor )that gets sent off to the liver to become the vitamin D your bones need. Seed Cycling helps you get the most vitamin D from your time in the sun, and you should both practice Seed Cycling and spend time in the sun daily. In less time than it takes for skin color to change, one can expect up to 25,000 I.U. of vitamin D. Seed cycling will better allow this process to be fulfilled.
It is best to have blood levels checked periodically, especially if supplementing to avoid hypervitaminosis (toxicity. The previously recommended blood serum levels for vitamin D were between 20 ng/m. and 100 ng/ml, with some even setting that as high as 125 ng/ml) with an ideal level of 60 – 80 ng/ml, according to some sources. However, recent studies (and some pioneers in Vitamin D) show this is too much. The ideal level is 35 – 50 ng/ml. Therefore, D3 should be obtained according to these levels to ensure against deficiency (<25 ng/ml) as well as avoid toxicity. (30)(31)(28r)
Other than the sun, good sources of vitamin D are pasture-raised beef liver, cheese, egg yolks, and wild-caught fatty fish, which contain some amounts of D3. Cod liver oil is also a great source. One teaspoon contains about 450 international units of vitamin D3. Other fish sources are rainbow trout, swordfish, sturgeon, cisco, whitefish, mackerel, tuna, halibut, herring, and rockfish. Certain mushrooms have vitamin D2, which converts to D3 in the body. Portobello mushrooms have as much as 320 grams of vitamin D2. Shitake mushrooms also have D2. (20)(32)(33) Another very high source is “pasture-raised” leaf lard with up to 500 I.U. per teaspoon. (33a) Pasture-raised bacon (best if also uncured) is also very high in vitamin D3, containing 2800 I.U. per 100 grams or about 560 I.U. in just two slices. (33b) There are also many spices and herbs that have vitamin D. Tuna liver has as much as 32,500 micrograms per kg = 1300 IU/gram = 37,000 IU/ounce. 33c
To learn more about “Vitamin/Hormone” D, see the following:
- “What Do You Know About Hormone D?“
- HOW DO WE MAKE VITAMIN D IN OUR BODY?
- HOW MUCH VITAMIN D3 SHOULD YOU SUPPLEMENT – OR SHOULD YOU AT ALL?
- Winter Fat and Vitamin D
- Can’t Get Enough Hormone Vitamin “D” in Northern Countries? Nonsense!
When you can’t get enough vitamin D from the sun, then food is the next best option. The article Highest Natural Food Sources for Vitamin D can help you learn how to best obtain vitamin D from food.
Just a final note on the Hormone vitamin D3. Whether you get it from food or food-based supplements, you must match every 1000 I.U. of D3 with 100 mcg. of K2 MK7.
While this is suggested, it should be known that vitamin K2 MK7 will not offset the harm from high/mega doses of vitamin D. D36 As mentioned above, high or mega doses are harmful to bone health, and if using synthetic vitamin D, it can lead to a decrease in bone mineral density (BMD).
Naturally Better Bones 