Weekly Article: Vitamin D's secrets: The story of a misunderstood Vitamin

Everybody knows about Vitamin D and that we get it from sun. Did you actually know Vitamin D is in fact a prohormone by itself and in is active form it is a steroid hormone? Vitamin D was misnamed when it was first discovered hundreds of years ago, before we knew where it came from or how it was made. By definition, it is not a vitamin because vitamins are not produced endogenously they must be obtained exogenously from dietary food source. Vitamin D isn't even a nutrient, it comes from the sun, not nutrition.

The history of vitamin D comes from a long way. When the human race was black and exposed to tremendous amount of sun by living near the equator, humans we're black. Having a black skin would have huge amount of melanin which explains the blackness of their skin because they were exposed to the sun on a daily basis and they weren't affected by seasons. As we migrated away from the equator ,therefore reducing our exposure to the sun, natural selection quickly eliminated most of the melanin pigmentation from our skin to compensate for the much weaker levels of UV radiation avaible for making Vitamin D. Today we are passing most of our time indoors and this is why we need Vitamin D supplements of at least 1,000UI per day.

Everyone knows Vitamin D can prevent rickets but it can also prevent 17 type of cancer including pancreatic, kidney, colon/rectal, prostate, lung, ovarian, lymphoma, uterine, multiple myeloma, breast, bladder and it can also improve you immune system function, autoimmune function, inflammation, multiple sclerosis, autism, alergies (allergies), preecampsia, type 1 and 2 diabetes, depression, muscle and bone weskness, generalized pain and, like everyone knows osteoporosis.

Why do we don't know all the benefits rather than only know it helps with calcium and phosphorus absoption? Only university and some hospital affiliated researchers, with limited budgets, have any interest in exploring the health benefits of Vitamin D. And even when they demonstrate the amazing benefits of maintaining higher level of Vitamin D, who's gonna market and sell that information? There's no money in it! The researches are all over the internet but the general public won't know about all the benefits since there's no one running expensive prime-time commercials to sell it! Vitamin D is inexpensive and cannot be patented.

Basically, Vitamin D inexpensively promotes health.

Best regards,
M4

[ChitChatNine]

Here's some more info,in addition to the above poster's info on Vit. D.--- The links are to a 3-part health page on MedHelp from the National Institutes of Health


Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin D
Office of Dietary Supplements • National Institutes of Health


Table of Contents
Introduction
Reference Intakes
Sources of Vitamin D
Vitamin D Intakes and Status
Vitamin D Deficiency
Groups at Risk of Vitamin D Inadequacy
Vitamin D and Health
Health Risks from Excessive Vitamin D
Interactions with Medications
Vitamin D and Healthful Diets
References

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Weight%20Loss/Dietary-Supplement-Fact-Sheet-Vitamin-D--Page-1-of-3/show/1005?cid=129

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Weight%20Loss/Dietary-Supplement-Fact-Sheet-Vitamin-D--Page-1-of-3/show/1005?cid=129

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Weight%20Loss/Dietary-Supplement-Fact-Sheet-Vitamin-D--Pg-2-of-3/show/1006?cid=129

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Weight%20Loss/Dietary-Supplement-Fact-Sheet-Vitamin-D--References-Pg-3-of--3/show/1007?cid=129


C~

[gymdandee]

Vitamin D Supplements (Including Combinations with Calcium and Vitamin K)
NOT
APPROVED
Garden of Life Living Calcium™ Advanced  Only found 89.2% of claimed calcium Vitamin D not determined Only found 67.2% of claimed vitamin K
(caplet, 6 per day)
Isotonix Calcium Plus  (powder, 2 capfuls per day) Only found 87% of claimed calcium  Vitamin D: was  OK

Vitamin D and Vitamin K
NOT
APPROVED
DaVinci Laboratories of Vermont Vitamin K2 Plus (capsule, 1-2 per day) Only found 63.4% of claimed vitamin K2  Vitamin D: was  OK


RESVERATROL SUPPLEMENTS
NOT
APPROVED
Life Extension Resveratrol Caps (20 mg per capsule, 1 per day)  Contained only 26.5% of claimed resveratrol
Resvert 100 mg proanthro - cyanadins with 25 mg resveratrol (25 mg per capsule, 2 per day) Contained only 58.2% of claimed resveratrol