Vitamin D Deficiency: How Much Do Adults Really Need?

by Epigenetic Labs

 

Vitamin D is the name given to a group of fat-soluble vitamins found in cod liver oil and fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, and mackerel. These vitamins are essential for the absorption of calcium, iron, phosphate, magnesium, and zinc. Cholecalciferol – also known as vitamin D3 – is made by skin cells when ultraviolet rays (specifically UV-B radiation) from sunlight fall on skin.
All forms of vitamin D – from sun exposure, food, and supplements – are not active and must undergo two chemical reactions within your body to get activated. The first reaction takes place in the liver and converts vitamin D to 25-hydroxyvitamin D. This form of vitamin D is used to determine a person’s vitamin D status. The second chemical reaction takes place in the kidneys to make the active form, known as 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D.
Vitamin D helps to maintain blood levels of calcium and phosphate, ensuring that bones are mineralized and healthy. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), “Without sufficient vitamin D, bones can become thin, brittle, or misshapen.”

How Does Vitamin D Deficiency Occur?

Vitamin D deficiency happens when consumption is lower than recommended levels, exposure to sunlight is limited, the kidneys don’t convert 25-hydroxy vitamin D to its active form, or when absorption from the gut is not enough.
As vitamin D is commonly added to milk products, having a milk allergy or lactose intolerance – and practicing ovo-vegetarianism and veganism (where no dairy is consumed) can also lead to lower levels of vitamin D.

Common Signs of Vitamin D Deficiency

One of the classic symptoms of vitamin D deficiency is head sweating. Excessive sweating in newborns is considered to be a common, early symptom of vitamin D deficiency. Another symptom of vitamin D deficiency in children is rickets, in which bone tissue doesn’t mineralize properly, leading to bone softness and skeletal deformities.
Fortification of milk with vitamin D has made rickets a rare disease in the U.S. today. However, using excessive sunscreen and spending a lot of time indoors with limited sun exposure as well as genetic differences in metabolism can still lead to rickets in children today.

Vitamin D Deficiency in Adults: How Much Do You Need?

A common symptom of vitamin D deficiency in adults is osteomalacia – a condition in which bones become soft and there is aching, throbbing bone pain. This is a result of impaired bone metabolism due to inadequate levels of phosphate, calcium, and vitamin D. Another symptom is muscle weakness.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Vitamin D deficiency is an under-diagnosed condition that has now been associated with a higher risk of type 1 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, cognitive decline, depression, pregnancy complications, autoimmunity, and allergy. In their 2013 report, the Mayo Clinic researchers also reported that low levels of vitamin D during pregnancy and infancy appear to increase susceptibility to schizophrenia, type 1 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis (MS) in later life.
While there is general consensus that too little vitamin D is detrimental, there is an ongoing debate about the levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D needed for optimum health, especially bone health.
A committee of the Institute of Medicine in Washington, D.C. agreed that people are at risk of vitamin D deficiency at levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D that are less than 30 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L) or 12 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL). Further, the committee stated that people are at risk for inadequacy at levels ranging from 30-50 nmol/L or 12-20 ng/mL.
According to the Institute, everyone has “sufficient” vitamin D at levels equal to or greater than 50 nmol/L or 20 ng/mL. However, blood levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D more than 125 nmol/L or 50 ng/mL have been linked to potential adverse effects.
In 2011, The Endocrine Society stated that the desirable blood level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D is greater than 75 nmol/L (30 ng/mL) for achieving optimal effects on calcium, bone, and muscle metabolism. To attain these levels, they recommend 1,500-2,000 International Units (IU) daily of supplemental vitamin D as the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for adults and 1,000 IU daily for children and adolescents.
However, as later developments show, this recommendation is off… and by a very large margin too.

The “Mistaken” Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for Vitamin D?

Researchers at UC San Diego and Creighton University have challenged the RDA for vitamin D recommended by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Institute of Medicine (IOM). According to the university researchers NAS-IOM got their math wrong and underestimated the RDA by a staggering factor of ten!
According to Dr. Cedric F. Garland, Adjunct Professor at UC San Diego’s Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, “The error has broad implications for public health regarding disease prevention and achieving the stated goal of ensuring that the whole population has enough vitamin D to maintain bone health.”
Robert Heaney, MD, of Creighton University, further wrote: “We call for the NAS-IOM and all public health authorities…to designate, as the RDA, a value of approximately 7,000 IU/day from all sources.” This revised recommendation is well below 10,000 IU/day, the designated safe upper limit for teens and adults.

Who’s at Risk for Vitamin D Deficiency?

Getting enough vitamin D from dietary sources alone is difficult. Consuming fortified foods and sufficient exposure to sunlight are both essential for avoiding symptoms of vitamin D deficiency. Dietary supplements may also be necessary.

The following situations can lead to vitamin D deficiency:

• Breastfeeding – vitamin D requirements cannot be met by human milk alone. Most cases of nutritional rickets take place among young, breastfed African Americans. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that exclusively and partially breastfed infants be supplemented daily with 400 IU of vitamin D.
• Age – older adults are at increased risk of developing vitamin D insufficiency because their skin cannot synthesize vitamin D as efficiently as they age, they are likely to spend more time indoors, and they may not consume enough of it in their diet. It is estimated that as many as half of the older adults in the U.S. with hip fractures could be suffering from vitamin D deficiency.
• Limited sun exposure – homebound people, men and women who wear long robes and head coverings for religious reasons, and people with occupations that limit their sun exposure are unlikely to obtain enough vitamin D from sunlight.
• Dark skin – higher levels of melanin significantly reduce the skin’s ability to produce vitamin D from sunlight. However, it is not clear whether lower blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in people with dark skin has the same health consequences that it does in lighter-skinned people.
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other conditions causing fat malabsorption – because vitamin D is fat-soluble, its absorption depends on the gut’s ability to absorb dietary fat. Individuals who cannot properly absorb dietary fat – because of liver disease, cystic fibrosis, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis – will require vitamin D supplementation.
• Obesity – a body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater than 30 is associated with lower blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. Obese people need to consume more vitamin D, since subcutaneous fat binds and stores 25-hydroxyvitamin D, delaying its release into the blood.

Is Osteoporosis a Symptom of Vitamin D Deficiency?

More than 40 million adults in the U.S. have or are at risk of developing osteoporosis, in which low bone mass and deterioration of bone tissue increases bone fragility and significantly increases fracture risk. Along with inadequate calcium consumption, insufficient vitamin D contributes to osteoporosis by reducing calcium absorption.
Maintaining proper storage levels of vitamin D supports bone strength which in turn can help to prevent osteoporosis in older adults, individuals who have difficulty exercising, and postmenopausal women.

Spring Time- The Season Between Dark and Light

We find ourselves in a powerful and transformative time of year – an interim period between two seasons. The spring equinox was a few weeks ago, but the ground of the northern hemisphere is still remembering the winter and just beginning to wake up to the promise of the warmer months.
This transitory phase is celebrated by spiritual traditions the world over, a living symbol of rebirth and the circle of life.
In honor of spring, I'd like to explore a concept that lives at the very heart of the seasons as well as the wisdom traditions of both shamanism and Buddhism.
Impermanence.
Sitting on the threshold of winter and summer, cold and warm, dark and light, it's hard not to be in awe of the ever-changing nature of this reality we find ourselves in.
"Real flowers are much more beautiful than plastic ones, in part because of their impermanence. We appreciate the seasons, the autumn and the spring, because they are a process of change. In this way, impermanence is beauty." - Chögyam Trungpa
The longer I live in this body named Nick, the more I realize just how closely the laws and cycles of our personal world match those of the outer world around us. Nothing in our lives will stay the same, and that fact can bring both comfort and challenge.
If you’re hosting a disagreeable guest in your house who is disrupting your daily routine, the notion of impermanence comes as a relief - “thank god he or she is only going to be here for a few more days!”
But, remember those last few days of summer vacation growing up? You couldn’t quite squeeze them for all they were worth because of the looming back-to-school doldrums. “Please don’t let this end!!!”
“Somehow, in the process of trying to deny that things are always changing, we lose our sense of the sacredness of life. We tend to forget that we are part of the natural scheme of things.” – Pema Chodron
When we open ourselves to the possibility that the quest for permanence in a constantly changing world is futile, something shifts within us. We see our former end goal of “happily ever after” for what it truly is - a shimmering mirage on the horizon that is always just outside our grasp.
Once the cosmic jig is up, our lives become less about establishing and defending and more about allowing, flowing, and sensing. Like a tango dancer on a moonlit terrace in Buenos Aires, we learn to love the changes, keeping our minds clear so that we can react in the blink of an eye to any dip or surge in tempo.
Change is guaranteed.
Surrendering to this fact is an essential part of the path. By doing so, we arise from the ashes of who we once were, stronger of heart and able to hold space with compassion in any situation.
When we’re experiencing pain, the suffering can be heightened by the fear that the pain will never stop. When we’re experiencing pleasure, the pleasure can be thwarted by the sad truth that nothing lasts forever.
The wise know not to grab or shun either of these, but instead learn to nurture space between their spirit and anything the world outside brings to their doorstep. By not pulling toward or pushing away, we are able to give full presence to every change that happens in our life - the good, the bad, and the ugly :)
Here's to the essence of spring and finding harmony in an ever changing world.
Stay curious,

Nick Polizzi

Founder, The Sacred Science

How to Make Dandelion Pesto (An Amazing Spring Tonic!)

 

 

 

by Rosalee de la Forêt

One of my favorite weeks of the year is in April when the dandelions are out in full force. I am lucky enough to live in a rural area with lots of agriculture where there are giant meadows or even lawns where dandelions have permeated the grass. For one glorious week the dandelion’s yellow orbs cover entire fields like little medallions of golden coins. Gazing out at those blazing yellow fields, I am in awe of the simple beauty while being simultaneously perplexed why anyone would want to poison dandelions! More than 80 million pounds of herbicides are used on lawns, most specifically against dandelions, each year. Many of these chemicals either have not been tested for safety or have been shown to have a strong correlation with cancer. Not only are these chemicals harmful to humans, they also affect the whole ecosystem, harming beneficial insects such as our bees. That’s why it’s one of my personal missions in life to share my love of dandelions. The more people who love dandelion’s beauty as well as its food and medicine, the less people will want to poison it! This dandelion pesto recipe focuses on making food out of the young dandelion leaves. Dandelions Leaves Offer us Nutrients Dandelion leaves are nutrient dense with lots of beta carotene, calcium and potassium.

When researching my book Alchemy of Herbs, I was fascinated to find out that dandelion leaves (in addition to the roots) are high in inulin. Inulin is a starchy carbohydrate that provides food to our gut flora. Regularly eating foods high in inulin can help foster and diversify healthy gut bacteria that can affect many areas of health such as digestion and the immune system. Herbalists primarily use the leaves as a diuretic. The French even commonly refer to it as “pissenlit,” which sounds pretty but literally translates to “pee the bed.” The Sweet Side of Their Bitter Taste Young dandelion leaves are a wonderful spring tonic as they offer lots of nutrition with a bit of bitter flavor. When your body detects bitterness, it helps stimulate lots of different stages of digestion, from increased saliva, which breaks down carbohydrates, to HCL in the stomach, to bile production and release, which helps to break down fats, to a variety of digestive enzymes. Many people are beginning to realize that the lack of bitter foods and drinks in our diet is an underlying cause for many of the rampant digestive issues we see today. And while many people are using pills to replace digestive enzymes, I recommend adding bitter foods like dandelion to your diet regularly. In this way you are supporting your body’s natural production of digestive enzymes, instead of simply supplementing with exogenous sources.

We can see dandelion as not only an herb that can fix our health, but something that we need in order to simply maintain our good health! One thing to note is that, if harvesting your own dandelions, be sure to harvest in an area free from harmful chemicals. How to Identify Dandelion Being that dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is a common weed that practically everyone recognizes, it may seem strange to include a section on identification, but there are some lookalikes. In case you are new to harvesting dandelions, here are some simple tips for making sure you’ve got the right plant. Leaves: The leaves grow in a basal rosette and are smooth, lacking any significant hairs. (Many dandelion lookalikes have downy leaves or little prickles along the major vein on the underside of the leaf.) The leaves are simple, with jagged edges, and are commonly referred to as the “teeth of a lion.” The “teeth” on the leaves point back toward the center of the rosette. For this recipe you want to harvest young leaves. Older leaves will be too bitter to be palatable. Flowers: The bright yellow flowers grow on a single leafless stem. (There are many dandelion lookalikes that have numerous yellow flowers on a single stem.) The flowers are a rich yellow color, as compared to the lighter yellow or darker orange of many lookalikes. Roots: The roots grow as a single taproot, similar to a carrot. The roots are light brown or tan in color. Distribution: Although dandelions occur in every state of the US, they are much less common in the southern tier of the country, where they do not readily tolerate the heat. If you still aren’t sure if the plants around you are dandelions, find someone who can expertly identify the plant. You should always be 100% certain of the identification of the plant before you eat it or make a medicinal preparation with it. If you aren’t up for foraging your own dandelion greens to make dandelion pesto, look for them at your grocery store in the produce section. Many stores will order them in when requested. (Note that the leaves at the grocery store are often from chicory, a closely related plant with many of the same qualities.)

Dandelion Pesto This bitter dandelion pesto is tempered by the nutty, sweet flavor of pine nuts and the zing of lemon. I recently brought this to a potluck with about 50 people and I got countless compliments and requests for the recipe. I know your friends and family will love it, too. Besides the dandelion leaves, other ingredients in this recipe include “heart healthy” and inflammatory modulating ingredients like garlic, turmeric and olive oil. Serve with crackers, bread, or carrots. It’s also great as a topping on meats, veggies, and eggs.

What you’ll need…

1/2 cup shelled pine nuts 3 garlic cloves, minced 2 cups chopped fresh dandelion leaves, loosely packed 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon lemon zest 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1 teaspoon turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan 1. Place all the ingredients except the Parmesan into a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. If it’s too thick, slowly add a bit more olive oil. 2. Add the Parmesan and continue to blend until the mixture has a smooth consistency. 3. Refrigerate, and eat within 3 days. Yield: 2 cups Recipe from Alchemy of Herbs: Transform Everyday Ingredients into Foods and Remedies That Heal by Rosalee de la ForêtText from How to Make Dandelion Pesto (An Amazing Spring Tonic!) - LearningHerbsRead More at http://learningherbs.com/remedies-recipes/dandelion-pesto/Copyright © 2017 LearningHerbs.

Text from How to Make Dandelion Pesto (An Amazing Spring Tonic!) - LearningHerbs
Read More at http://learningherbs.com/remedies-recipes/dandelion-pesto/
Copyright © 2017 LearningHerbs.