A New and Potent Sun Vitamin Supplement

by Dr. Randy Wysong

Published in Townsend Letter for Doctors & Patients - Feb/Mar 2006

 Fundamental to a truly salubrious health philosophy must be the understanding that we are integrally linked to our genetic heritage. We are biologically what our genetics dictate, not what we impose upon ourselves by modern artificial circumstances. This concept is a master key to health, a heuristic foundation for making decisions about food, supplements, and lifestyle.

Now then, what does this philosophy say about the sun? Dermatologists tell you to hide from the sun, and modern living would lead us to believe we can do just fine by living in caves – offices, homes and automobiles. Our genetic roots, however, tell us we should be naked and living in a climate where we can be so. These are our origins – and the norm for 99.9+% of our history. Should we believe dermatologists and modern lifestyle indoctrination or our genes and history? The answer is obvious, but few live by its wisdom.

 The Sun Vitamin Chemistry
Vitamin D (actually a hormone) is manufactured in the skin through the action of ultraviolet light from the sun striking a precholesterol molecule (7-dehydrocholesterol). This converted cholesterol molecule (provitamin D) is further modified (hydroxylated) in the liver and kidney, creating the active 1,25 dihydroxycholecalciferol molecule (1,25 dihydroxy vitamin D3=calcitriol).

The UV-B wavelength that produces vitamin D from the sun (282 nm) does not significantly penetrate glass. So, regardless of windows, when we are inside we can pretty much figure vitamin D is not being generated. Clothing, of course, further seals our fate as does sunscreen with SPF above 8 (reduces vitamin D production by 95%).

Living in the northern half of the country (even above 30 degrees latitude, in the Florida panhandle) also condemns people to inadequate sun for almost nine months of the year. If you are dark-skinned, you are even more at risk.
Some forms of artificial sunlight can produce vitamin D in the skin. Tanning salons (not recommended because you do not – and neither does anyone else – really know what you are being exposed to) can produce vitamin D in the skin if the highest UV-B:UV-A ratio is used.

As little as 15-30 minutes of skin exposure (as much as you can bare without getting arrested) to midday sun three times per week is believed sufficient to meet vitamin D needs. The vitamin is fat-soluble and stored in the blood and adipose tissue to create some reserve, but daily sun-synthesized vitamin D is believed optimal.

Does Food Solve The Problem?
Food sources of vitamin D include cod liver oil, sardines, salmon, tuna, mackerel, liver, egg yolk, butter, dark green vegetables, algae, mushrooms, phytoplankton, and fortified milk. (Plant source vitamin D is the D2 form known as ergocalciferol [ercalciol] and is not as active as the animal sources.) Generally, however, food sources provide inadequate levels unless they are eaten raw (the triene structure in vitamin D is degraded by acid and light-catalyzed isomerization) and in sufficient quantity – most of us do not do that.

Because our bodies are essentially hairless (forcing us to wear unnatural clothes and dwell in artificially heated environs) and no negative feedback exists for shutting down production of vitamin D in the skin, one could argue strongly that we are intended to be in the sun, not dependent upon food scientists to fortify milk.

Those Particularly At Risk
Older folks have decreased ability to synthesize vitamin D in the skin, poorer digestive efficiency, and decreased liver and kidney function to convert vitamin D into the active forms. There is a reason – other than not wanting to shovel snow – that the elderly go south and feel better doing so. They might not know exactly why, but ole so/ does.
Also, those people with malabsorption problems, Crohn's disease, cystic fibrosis, pancreatic, liver and kidney disease or inadequacy, or who have had part of the digestive system removed are at increased risk of vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D requires precholesterol and is fat-soluble. Thus, "low fat" diets and "low cholesterol" diets put elderly people already deficient at even greater peril.

Pregnant and nursing moms who do not get out in the sun, or have an improper diet, are poor sources of vitamin D for their infants. Not only will the baby's bone health be affected, but just about every other health parameter will be as well.

The Master Hormone
Vitamin D is arguably the most important hormone in the entire body. We are taught in grade school that vitamin D enhances the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the intestinal tract, and that drinking fortified milk will prevent rickets. But bone health is only a small part of the story. Research has now accumulated demonstrating that our link to the sun and the vitamin D the sun produces touches virtually every aspect of physiology.

 Vitamin D affects the following
* Both autocrine and paracrine (in
and out) cellular functions
* Gene expression
* Cell growth
* Immunity
* Energy metabolism
* Muscle strength and
coordination
* D-receptors, which have now been found in the gut, bone, brain, breast, prostate, and lymphocytes
* Neuronal calcium metabolism
* Neurotransmitter production
* Apoptosis (cell death) signaling
neoplastic colon, breast, and
prostate cells to stop growing
* Inhibition of G1 S cell cycle
checkpoint and the increased
expression of cyclin-dependent
kinase inhibitors p21 and p27 in
cancers
* Reduction of C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukins (IL-6), markers of inflammation such as in atherosclerosis (vascular diseases) and arthritic conditions
* Brain development

In short, virtually no aspect of anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry escapes the influence of vitamin D. Our link to the sun is complete and absolute!

Choices Have Consequences
Ignore Mother Nature and pay the price. We are designed to be out-of-doors with our skin exposed to the sun. If we don't do that, one (note, I said just one) of the possible consequences is vitamin D deficiency. Here are the health consequences of too little vitamin D discovered so far – all documented in the clinical and scientific references that follow:
* Psoriasis
* Immune suppression/increased infection
* Thyroid dysfunction
* Blood clotting abnormalities
* Rickets
* Osteomalacia
* Osteoporosis
* Deafness
* Insomnia
* Vision loss
* Kidney disease
* Liver disease
* Muscle pain (an early signal of deficiency)
* Schizophrenia, chronic fatigue, and depression
* Autism
* Colon, breast, prostate, and 14 other cancers (including melanoma!), following a latitude (vitamin D deficiency) gradient
* Infertility
* Type I diabetes (insulin dependent)
* Obesity
* Lupus erythematosis
* Grave's disease
* Ankylosing spondylitis
* Bone pain (reduced D decreases calcium absorption, which stimulates parathyroid hormone, which in turn increases phosphate excretion in the urine, resulting in decreased calcium phosphate in collagen in the peri- and endosteum, resulting in hydration, swelling and bone pain)
* Rheumatoid arthritis
* Muscular sclerosis
* Periodontal disease
* Hypertension
* Cardiovascular disease (increases in winter and higher latitude)
Decreased glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity

I'm sure that only begins the list. Since vitamin D affects everything, you can pretty well figure that if you are ill or not feeling well it is related to vitamin D deficiency at least in part.

Toxicity
Let me preface my remarks here with a reminder that anything can be toxic, even water and oxygen, in sufficient doses. The dose makes the poison.

If you are worried about getting cancer from the sun, put on your thinking cap. Believe nature before you believe a dermatologist. Certainly don't get sunburned. Evidence suggests that cancer may be related to those who get sunburned and are vitamin D deficient to begin. Also, don't stay in the sun longer than you should simply because you have SPF 460 slathered on. Until you are acclimatized (tanned), wear clothes and use non-toxic sun block when you sense risk of burn.

With regard to melanoma, consider that the most common places for melanoma to appear are on the backs of men and inner thighs of women. Not on the back of the hands and the face, which are most exposed to the sun. Melanoma does not decrease with the use of sunscreen. Some studies show that increased sun exposure actually decreases the risk of melanoma.

No, the sun is not toxic; it is life-and health-giving in appropriate dose.
There has never been a report of vitamin D toxicity from sun exposure. Consequently, we can consider the sun the best and safest source of vitamin D. Not everyone can get enough sun, however, so supplements are the next best thing. It is possible to get too much vitamin D, but the margin of safety is immense. The government has set the minimum standard at 400 IU per day. But a person would need to take 42,000 capsules containing 1000 IU each to have a 50% chance of dying if he were as sensitive to vitamin D as the most sensitive animal studied. One man got sick from taking 156,000 IU per day for two years and recovered. One researcher, tired of all the naysayers claiming vitamin D is easily toxic, offered a reward to anyone who could show any toxicity whatsoever to vitamin D at 40,000 units per day. No takers so far.

With that said, certain conditions could increase the risk of toxicity. This would include those with Williams Syndrome (a genetic defect in vitamin D metabolism), sarcoidosis, hyperparathyroidism, some cancers, adrenal insufficiency, and a dependence on certain drugs such as thiazide diuretics. Symptoms of overdose include vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, polyuria (increased urination), polydypsia (increased thirst), nervousness, confusion, pruritis, calcinosis (deposition of calcium in tissues), and arrhythmia. Most cases involved those who were taking more than 50,000 IU per day for years. In infants, 10,000 IU per day for four months and 200,000 IU per day for two weeks has caused toxicity. Why adults would be receiving such large doses is beyond me. Remember, the government standard is 400 IU per day.

If concerned about toxicity of oral supplements, consult with a nutritionally savvy physician. Blood tests that measure vitamin D, calcium, and the parathyroid are useful for this purpose.

Supplementation That Works
Opinions vary on oral supplemental doses of vitamin D.  The government has recently ratcheted up recommendations from the previous 40 IU to 200 IU for those less than 50 years of age, 400 IU for those over 50, and 600 IU for those over 70. Those are the most conservative dosages. Those most knowledgeable in the field recommend 1000 IU per day for infants and 2000 IU per day for adults with no lab tests and no sun. Next in line are those who say 3000-5000 IU per day (6-10,000 of plant form vitamin D2, ergocalciferol) for adults is best, 4000 IU being the most common dose suggested. Keep in mind that young whites get about 20,000 IU from a few minutes of full body sun exposure. Some practitioners get aggressive and give what are known as Stoss dosages of 100,000 IU every four months in the elderly, to prevent osteoporosis, for example.

Cod liver oil is the most concentrated natural source of vitamin D. One tablespoon contains about 1200 IU. Having found cod liver oil difficult to consume in dosages equivalent to 4000 IU per day, and lacking certainty as to the purity and stability of commercial products, we developed our own concentrated supplement tested free of mercury and other organic toxins, mixed with omega-3 fish and flax seed oils and GLA containing borage oil. That is what I now take and recommend during the fall, winter, and early spring when I cannot get the best vitamin D source of all, the sun. Pets, even on commercial so-called "complete and balanced" foods (see R.L. Wysong, The myth of 100% complete pet foods, Townsend Letter, November 2005), are also well served by supplementation with the above at least three to four times per week.

Take It Seriously
Vitamin D status should be taken particularly seriously since it is a marker for how well we are living in tune with nature. Low vitamin D means you are doing things wrong.

The refractory (to medical measures) modern illnesses are like the miner's canary-like signs we are doing things wrong. Miners knew enough to skedaddle out of the caves. We should do likewise from the caves of modern living.

The solution to almost all modern health woes is to return to our roots. Roots firmly planted where our health can flower in the sun.

Correspondence:
Dr. Randy Wysong
7550 Eastman Avenue
Midland, Michigan 48642
Wysong@wysong.net

Dr. Wysong is a former veterinary clinician and surgeon. He has taught college courses in human anatomy, physiology, and origin of life. He has authored seven books on health, nutrition, food processing, weight control, origin of life, and philosophy as well as over 15 years of monthly health newsletters. He is founder of the non-profit Wysong Institute and Research Director for the company by his name.

Free subscriptions to his e-Health Newsletter are at www.Wysong.net.  Further information on the new vitamin D supplement, Omega-DTM, is available at www.Wysong.net.

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