Dear Dr. Ettinger,

I am so confused. Now they (Institute of Medicine) says that levels of Vitamin D3 over 30 ng/mL, INCREASES your chances for developing cancer and other bad conditions. If I back my dose back-down to 2,000 IU’s a day, is that going to make my levels above 30? My co-worker, Husband, and myself just stopped taking any of it because we don’t know what to do. I always thought that levels between 50 – 70 ng/mL were ideal. I take the Vitamin D (Power Vitamin D3 Liquid) that you recommended. They have also stopped suggesting that we take multi-vitamins. I never took a multi, but my Husband did until this came out. He has Parkinson’s  and does very well, but we don’t want to do anything to cause harm. Is there anything safe to take in your line of supplements? I told my co-worker and Husband that I would see what you have to say because I trust your opinion. We all await what you have to say.

Linda.

Linda,

Whatever source said that is either wrong, misinformed or interpreting the data to fit their agenda – one of the three. Go to www.vitamindcouncil.org for all your vitamin D needs. This is where you want to go to find-out the truth about Vitamin D . NaturalNews.com, is another good source for non-biased data. Personally, I will never drop my daily dosage of Vitamin D below 6,000 IU’s (accept during summer when I surf 3 days a week w/o my wetsuit). My 6 year old daughter takes 2,000 IU’s per day. Your husband is fine with 6-10,000 IU’s a day, especially since Vitamin D deficiency linked to Parkinson’s disease, cognitive decline. Make sure he gets routine vitamin D blood tests  for ideal blood levels. Your husband should shoot for blood levels between 50-80 ng/mL. Also, his multi is perfectly okay.

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger BSc., DC

Dr. Ettinger,

The IOM expressed concern about excessive intake of vitamin D. But raised the Upper Tolerable Intake Levels (ULs) (above which there is a risk of harm) for vitamin D. The UL for individuals aged 9 and older was set at 4,000 IU’s/daily, up from 2,000 IU’s daily. The IOM noted that some studies showed an increase in adverse events (including overall mortality, some cancers, cardiovascular disease, fractures and falls) at vitamin D blood levels (I.e., 25-(OH)D levels) ranging from about 30 ng/mL to 48 ng/mL (75 to 120 nmol/L).

ConsumerLab.com has updated this review to reflect the IOM recommendations. For a summary of the IOM report, click here.

Linda D.

Linda,

This explains everything and personally I don’t believe or trust a word of it. It’s a government sponsored study and very prejudiced in favor of “not promoting supplements” or true health, for that matter!

Study Sponsors

• Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, U.S. Department of Agriculture
• Department of the Army, U.S. Department of Defense
• Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• Health Canada
• Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• National Institutes of Health (Division of Nutrition Research Coordination, National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin, National Cancer Institute, and Office of Dietary Supplements), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Also, please read this. Dr. Cannell, a vitamin D expert, directly critiques the above study. Dr. John Jacob Cannell, Executive Director of the Vitamin D Council’s response to the IOM’s report – Today, the FBN has failed millions…

Sincerely,

Marcus Ettinger BSc., DC

Dr. Ettinger,

If you have been taking 6,000 of D3 with no bad effects that is good enough for me. I do trust you and Life Extension a whole lot more than anything the government says. I do know that they want to regulate vitamins and make it so you can only get them by prescription. I did not look at who did the study so what you are saying makes perfect sense. If it were going to affect the liver it should show up in blood tests. I’ll start back with my 6,000 of D3 tonight! I have read so many good things about D. I did read to take it with K which I do not do. I will take supplements over drugs any day.

I really do appreciate you being there and taking your time to answer some questions.

Have a very merry Christmas!!!!

Linda

University of Milan researchers Carlotta Galeone, ScD, PhD, and colleagues analyzed data from over 14,000 people with and without head and throat cancer. The researchers found that those who drank more than four cups of coffee each day had a 39% lower risk of developing mouth or throat cancer than those who don’t drink coffee. Most head and neck cancers are linked to alcohol consumption and to smoking.  Interestingly, the researchers found that the protective effects of coffee was not diminished in drinkers or smokers. Nor is the effect boosted by the consumption of fruits and vegetables, also shown to protect against head and neck cancers.

My favorite Vitamin D supplement is, Liquid Vitamin D Forte by Biotics Research. Each drop provides 2,000Iu’s of Bioactive vitamin D3. There are 700+ drops in the bottle and it’s only $20.00. If you would like to purchase a bottle please call Rene at 714-639-4360

Liquid Vitamin D Forte by Biotics Research

Vitamin D May Ease Asthma

Adequate Levels of Vitamin D May Lower Colon Cancer Risk

Low Vitamin D Has a Role in Heart Risk

Vitamin D Reduces the Risk for Broken Bones

Vitamin D Deficiency Boosts C-Section Risk

Vitamin D May Reduce Falls in Elderly Nursing Home Residents

Vitamin D During Pregnancy May Lower Baby’s Risk of Multiple Sclerosis (MS)

Low Levels of Vitamin D Linked to Asthma

In the first study, researcher W. Elaine Hardman, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry at Marshall University School of Medicine in Huntington, W.Va., credits the disease-fighting omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and in particular, phytosterols, in the walnuts for creating the cancer inhibiting environment.

The study also suggested that if you have breast cancer, walnuts may help to limit tumor growth and may even prevent breast cancer for occurring in the first place.  Just two, one ounce servings of walnuts (14 whole walnuts) a day may keep the doctor and breast cancer away.

In the second study, researchers at The School of Public Health at Yale University studied more than 500 women with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system.  At the time of their initial diagnosis, the women were asked a battery of questions regarding their alcohol consumption: whether they drank, what they drank, how much they drank, and for how long they had been drinking. Then they were followed for eight to 12 years.

“We found that wine had a protective effect,” says Xuesong Han, a doctoral candidate in cancer epidemiology.”  Among the findings the researchers found that almost three-fourths of women who drank at least 12 glasses of wine over their lifetime were alive five years after diagnosis, compared with two-thirds of those who never drank wine.  Thirty-five percent of those who never drank relapsed within five years vs. 30% of those who drank wine.

Han said, “the longer a woman drank, the lower the chance she would suffer a relapse or die within five years of diagnosis.” Patients who had been drinking wine for at least 25 years prior to diagnosis were 26% less likely to relapse or develop a secondary cancer and 33% less likely to die over the five-year period, compared with non-wine drinkers.

Additional: Richard A. Baxter, MD, a plastic surgeon in Seattle and the author of Age Gets Better with Wine says, “The latest anti-aging weapon is not an injection or a wonder cream, and it doesn’t involve any nipping or tucking either. It’s a glass of red wine a day for women and two for men.” Quoted from a lecture given at the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery in Washington, D.C., April 27, 2010

Personal Comment: As far as I am concerned, cancer is not a disease per say but a set of symptoms caused by an underlying nutritional deficiency, just a scurvy is a set of symptoms caused by a severe vitamin C deficiency. “Prevention is the only true cure for cancer.” Billions of dollars have been raised in the name of cancer research and billions more spent on medical treatment, but a mere fraction has been raised for the study of the real and only cure, prevention.  It is our diet, lifestyle and lack or preventative medicine/diagnostics that precipitates the right environment for cancer development.  As single units, wine or walnuts are at best weak treatments for cancer but work their true magic as part of  a comprehensive cancer prevention diet; like the Mediterranean diet.  The Mediterranean Diet, rich in omega fatty acids, fruits, vegetables, nuts, lean meats and wine is a perfect example of a cancer prevention diet, and the statistics prove it.  The above two studies just validate this point further.

Dr. Marcus Ettinger has been in practice, in orange county, for just over 21 years.  Dr. Ettinger is a “21st Century Medical Detective”, Holistic and Integrative Medicine Expert, and Dynamic Orange County Chiropractor.