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Vitamin D for wellness- my experience

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Vitamin D for wellness- my experience

Posted by
Cara [7411.3349] on December 14, 2008 at 13:51:41:

Hi All-

I've been a lurker and student of wellness for a few years now, and I wanted to post for your consideration. Realizing that everyone's system and circumstances are different, this is something that's working well for me so far.

I have Walt's first book, and have been using vitamin C for wellness. However, it seems I still get one or two bad colds every winter. So it seemed my system was needing something additional or different.

I first read about vitamin D on Mercola's website (and I have some of the same issues with that site that lots of folks have here). But to a layman, the theory seemed logical- less sun exposure during the winter = not enough vitamin D to stay healthy.

I ran this by my Mom, a nurse, who immediately took the conventional allopathic position- "You're going to poison yourself! Vitamin D supplements are toxic!"
Very helpful.

So I kept reading and found lots of support for the idea that most folks need much more D than they get, particularly with the whole sun/skincancer scare bit in the media. One compelling site was the vitamin D Council (not-for-profit group in California, physicians on their board of directors, etc).

30 minutes of full-body sun exposure provides 10,000 iu of vitamin D. How many of us get that? I live in Chicago, and winters are not only windy and cold but cloudy a lot of the time. So I started with 1 tablet of 2,000iu daily in addition to my multi, which provides 400iu. So I'm getting 2,400 iu per day.

The Vitamin D Council recommends certain levels depending on weight and age. It also stresses that vitamin D is toxic in excess, but humans would have to take 40,000iu per day. Toxicity from vitamin D is next to impossible, and most doctors are ignorant of this.

So I'm chugging along with my 2,400iu per day and a multi, and I'm not sick yet. Sure, winter hasn't even officially started yet, but my circumstances make catching bugs a likelihood. I'm a private voice teacher for a local high school, and I teach private lessons in a very small, non-ventilated practice room all day. Lots of kids have come in sick, and they've been passing colds around since September. Nothing yet.

Stress levels, diet, sleep have all been the same- and I'm less than perfect with my SR, as usual, though I try. I'm trying to make the vitamin D the only new element I introduce this season to see how I do.

Could this be the missing link? Don't know yet. Will report more later in the winter. Hubbie got a sore throat earlier in the week, so now I've got him on my regimen. Sore throat didn't turn into anything, but that could be incidental.

Be well, and if you think this might be something worth looking into, check out the website. Good luck!

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/vitaminDToxicity.shtml

Cara


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Re: Vitamin D for wellness- my experience

Posted by Jan DeCourtney, CMT (Happygal) [716.5938] on December 14, 2008 at 20:56:58:

In Reply to: Vitamin D for wellness- my experience posted by Cara [7411.3349] on December 14, 2008 at 13:51:41:

Hi Cara,

Good information, thanks for sharing.

I think this is a good example of how the body gets stressed if it doesn't have the nutrition it needs. Obviously you need more Vitamin D than you can get from your food.

In my case, I need much more Vitamin B3 and minerals than I can get from my food. Or else I'm not well. I had to learn exactly which vitamins and minerals my body needs extra of by trial and error.

I have a copy of "Staying Healthy with Nutrition" by Elson Haas. In it he describes not only the amounts needed of each vitamin, but what happens if you should happen to take too much. So if you want to rely on more than just numbers and also have a description of the symptoms as well, you might look at that book. I found it to be really comprehensive -- and easy reading -- for working with nutritional supplements.

Best wishes,
Jan


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Re: Vitamin D for wellness- my experience

Posted by Fork in the [358.5467] on December 15, 2008 at 08:40:45:

In Reply to: Vitamin D for wellness- my experience posted by Cara [7411.3349] on December 14, 2008 at 13:51:41:

Hi Cara,

Are you using the liquid "D" drops or another form?
Did you notice any unpleasant side effects from nutritional supplementation? Skin crawling sensation, or GI disturbances?

Fork



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Re: Vitamin D for wellness- my experience -- Archive.

Posted by Walt Stoll [93.4968] on December 15, 2008 at 08:42:44:

In Reply to: Vitamin D for wellness- my experience posted by Cara [7411.3349] on December 14, 2008 at 13:51:41:

Thanks, Cara.

You have used my first book for EXACTLY what I have meant for it to be used it for.

It was a real struggle for me to limit myself to those things that might do the most good with the least effort. As the reader began to actually try some of the things, they would become interested in doing their own research and trials. Congratulations!

Our second book goes into a lot more information. It is meant for those who the first book has stimulated to progress.

I was afraid that, if I put all that I knew into the first book, beginners would be scared to "dip their toe into the water".

Namaste`

Walt


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Re: Vitamin D for wellness- my experience

Posted by sonia [5538.1399] on December 16, 2008 at 04:53:37:

In Reply to: Vitamin D for wellness- my experience posted by Cara [7411.3349] on December 14, 2008 at 13:51:41:

I supplement with Codliver Oil as I prefer any supplementation to be as natural as possible. I noticed a difference fairly quickly. I think I may have been lacking. We get little sun here even in the summer now so I think it's crucial to supplement.


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Re: Vitamin D for wellness- my experience

Posted by Cara [7999.3349] on December 16, 2008 at 10:47:39:

In Reply to: Re: Vitamin D for wellness- my experience posted by Fork in the [358.5467] on December 15, 2008 at 08:40:45:

Hey Fork-

I'm just using tablets at this point- specifically Nature's Bounty's Vitamin D (as cholecalciferol).
I like the brand for lots of things, and consumerlab.com always verifies that the supplements do in fact contain what the company says they contain.

No side effects yet- it's been about 2 months. Actually, now that you mention it, I do suffer from periodic restless leg with the creepy crawlies( a very small amount of sugar or red wine will do it). The restless leg has been absent, which I hadn't thought about before.

Good luck!

Cara


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Re: Vitamin D for wellness- my experience

Posted by craig [8177.4304] on December 16, 2008 at 12:21:54:

In Reply to: Re: Vitamin D for wellness- my experience posted by sonia [5538.1399] on December 16, 2008 at 04:53:37:

Beentaking 4,000 I.U.s daily. Just had my blood tested and I'm midway thru the good range which is over 30. I forget the values, nanograms per liter perhaps?
In any event I was at 43. Some researchers are suggesting as high as 80 and it's my belief (based on studies I've read) that virtually everyone NOT supplementing is deficient. Researchers, by the way seem in agreement that up to 10,000 IU daily can be tolerated by everyone.I listen to a radio Doc who is claiming to improve or cure a variety of conditions by prescribing 50,000 iu's daily for 60 days ! Now that's "dosing up"!.....


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Re: Vitamin D for wellness- my experience

Posted by Cara [7999.3349] on December 16, 2008 at 18:27:26:

In Reply to: Re: Vitamin D for wellness- my experience posted by Jan DeCourtney, CMT (Happygal) [716.5938] on December 14, 2008 at 20:56:58:

Thanks, Jan-

I am definitely going to check it out- it will probably save tons of man hours and testing. Thanks so much!

Cara


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Re: Vitamin D for wellness- my experience

Posted by Angela [430.3349] on December 16, 2008 at 20:38:36:

In Reply to: Vitamin D for wellness- my experience posted by Cara [7411.3349] on December 14, 2008 at 13:51:41:

This a wonderful video addressing Vitamin D. It's one hour long (beware) but worth it, I think!



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oops here's the link:

Posted by Angela [430.3349] on December 16, 2008 at 20:39:14:

In Reply to: Re: Vitamin D for wellness- my experience posted by Angela [430.3349] on December 16, 2008 at 20:38:36:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/12/16/my-one-hour-vitamin-d-lecture-to-clear-up-all-your-confusion-on-this-vital-nutrient.aspx




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