Do You Really Need to Take Supplements?

Save $30 on My Personal Anti-Aging Program

This is a sample from The 7 Pillars of Longevity, Pillar III: Supplements.

Normally $99, you can get this learning system for just $69 in September when you use coupon code YOUNGER.

Do you want to know my secrets for looking younger, feeling younger, and living longer? If so, check out The 7 Pillars of Longevity »

Vitamin D Boosts Weight Loss Efforts

According to a new study, people whose vitamin D levels test high before they go on a diet experience significantly better results on that diet than people with low levels of vitamin D. The study suggests that vitamin D plays a part in weight loss and that increasing your intake of this incredibly important nutrient just might help you drop additional pounds.

We already know that vitamin D deficiency is associated with obesity, but it's not clear which comes first- are people obese because of inadequate vitamin D... or does obesity cause vitamin D levels in the body to somehow drop?

In the current study, presented at the Endocrine Society's 91^st annual meeting in Washington DC, researchers measured blood levels of vitamin D in 38 overweight men and women before putting them on a calorie restricted diet for 11 weeks.

Here's what they found: Higher levels of vitamin D predicted greater success on the weight-loss diet.

In general, most of the subjects had insufficient levels of vitamin D in the first place. But for each 1-ng/mL increase in the active form of vitamin D, subjects lost nearly 1/4 pound more weight. Baseline levels of vitamin D- the levels measured before the subjects went on a diet- actually predicted how much weight they would lose on the diet itself, with those with the least amount of vitamin D losing the least amount of weight on the diet, and those with the most amount of vitamin D losing the most amount of weight.

Most nutritionally aware health professionals- including doctors who know anything about this stuff at all- recommend that you get a 25-hydroxy vitamin D test, which is the most accurate form of testing for blood levels of vitamin D. They also recommend that ideal levels be in the 50-80 range. Less than 20 is considered severely deficient, and under 50 is less than optimal, even though lab values for "normal" start at 30.

In addition, the researchers measured body fat distribution on all the subjects using a DXA (bone densitometry) scan. Higher baseline levels of vitamin D also predicted greater loss in troublesome (and more dangerous) abdominal fat.

"Our results suggest the possibility that the addition of vitamin D to a reduced-calorie diet will lead to better weight loss," said Shalamar Sibley, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota.

So now in addition to helping people improve physical performance, strengthening bones, improving mood and possibly fighting cancer, we can add weight loss to the resume of this amazing little vitamin. Don't wait for the doctors to catch up with the science. I recommend 2,000 IUs a day of vitamin D, a very safe amount for this inexpensive (and easy to swallow) vitamin!

New Research: Vitamin D May Lower Heart Disease Risk

Medical researchers are discovering a greater relationship between heart disease and vitamin D -- a nutrient already linked to reducing certain cancers.

Studies announced Wednesday at an American Heart Association's conference on cardiovascular health showed an increased association between people with high levels of vitamin D and a lower risk of heart disease.

Adolescents in particular could face long-term implications if they don't get enough of the vitamin, which can be absorbed through exposure to the sun and is found in certain fishes and in popular fortified foods, including milk and cereal.

One study found that American teens with low levels of vitamin D in their blood were almost four times more likely to have metabolic syndrome, a cluster of heart disease risk factors such as high blood pressure and abdominal fat.

"If you have other risk factors like obesity, you should be hyper-vigilant," said Jared Reis, a post-doctoral research fellow at The Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health in Baltimore. His study, presented at the conference at the Innisbrook Resort, looked at health data of more than 3,500 American teens from 2001-2004.

Although cardiovascular research about the nutrient is still evolving, previous studies have linked vitamin D intake to lower risks of colon, prostate and breast cancers, according to the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements. Together with calcium, it also has been historically used to supplement bone health.

This news comes at a time when Americans appear to be decreasing their vitamin D intake. The percentage of Americans deficient in the nutrient increased to 9.2 percent in 2005-06, from 2.6 percent in 1988-94, said researcher Sandy Saintonge of the New York Hospital Queens.

If you aren't taking vitamin D I recommend at least 1000 IUs daily, preferably 2000IUs. Carlson's Vitamin D is cheap ($5.50) and easy to take, so why wouldn't you?

(Acknowledgments: McClatchy-Tribune Information Services and Mary Shedden of the Tampa Tribune)

Cognitive Impairment Linked To Low Vitamin D Levels

If you've been reading this newsletter for the past year, you probably already know at least a half-dozen reasons why you should be taking vitamin D supplements. Bone health. Mood improvement. Physical performance. It's demonstrated anti-cancer effects. But if all that weren't enough, a new study adds another benefit of vitamin D to that rapidly expanding resume: cognitive performance.

In a new study to be published in the Journal of Geriatric Psychology and Neurology, researchers from the University of Cambridge and the University of Michigan report an association between the risk of cognitive impairment in older folks and low levels of vitamin D.

Over 1,750 men and women 65 years or older who participated in a study called The Healthy Survey for England, were given neurocognitive tests. The testing revealed that 212 of the participants had cognitive impairment. The researchers then compared the vitamin D levels of those without cognitive impairment and those with cognitive impairment and found that the risk of impairment significantly increased as vitamin D levels declined.

In fact, participants whose vitamin D levels were in the lowest 25% of the group had a whopping 2.28 times greater risk of cognitive impairment than those of the men and women whose levels were in the top 25%.

Cognitive impairment is a major risk factor for developing dementia.

"This is the first large-scale study to identify a relationship between vitamin D and cognitive impairment in later life," said study coauthor Iain A. Lang, PhD, of Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, England. "Dementia is a growing problem for health services everywhere, and people who have cognitive impairment are at higher risk of going on to develop dementia."

"For those of us who live in countries where there are dark winters without much sunlight, like the UK, getting enough Vitamin D can be a real problem - particularly for older people, who absorb less vitamin D from sunlight.," Dr Lang observed. "One way to address this might be to provide older adults with vitamin D supplements. This has been proposed in the past as a way of improving bone health in older people, but our results suggest it might also have other benefits."

I recommend at least 1000 IUs daily (preferably 2000IUs) of Vitamin D.

Calcium / Vitamin D May Reduce Colon Cancer

Research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research in San Diego this year suggests that vitamin D and calcium supplements may reduce colon cancer risk.

Veronika Fedirko of Emory University presented research showing that giving patients with polyps 2 grams of calcium, 800 IUs of vitamin D or a combination of the two for six months was associated with an increase in a protein that controls programmed cell death (called apotosis). The protein is called Bax. Fedirko found that by increasing Bax in the tissue of the colon, a greater number of precancerous cells- like those found in polyps- may make like those old Mission Impossible tapes and self-destruct. There was the greatest effect in those that received both the calcium and vitamin D which seem to work synergistically in a number of applications.

In a related study presented at the same meeting, Robert Bostick, MD, MPH and colleagues found that individuals who consume high amounts of vitamin D and calcium have increased levels of a protein that moderates the movement and proliferation of colon cells.

The current studies contribute more evidence for a protective role for calcium and vitamin D in colorectal cancer. Dr. Bostick's team is involved in a ten year study at several centers which will evaluate the effects of increased calcium and vitamin D on the recurrence of colon cancer.

One of the best selling supplements on our website has been the Douglas Labs Cal-6-Mag, an inexpensive and effective blend of calcium, magnesium and vitamin D.

Oh No! Not Vitamin D Again!

I know you may be sick of me talking about this vitamin, but I just can't stop myself. Virtually every week new information becomes available that points to the fact that we just are not even beginning to get enough of this incredible vitamin.

Now the Canadian Pediatric Society is proposing to boost the recommended intake by women who are pregnant or breast-feeding to 2,000 IUs per day. (This new guideline appears in a consensus statement published in September by the society in its journal Pediatrics and Child Health).

What does this have to do with you if you're not pregnant? Actually, a lot.

What researchers are learning is how much more vitamin D we need for optimal health than anyone suspected. Researchers writing in a recent issue of the International Journal of Cancer exposed prostate cells to the most biologically active form of vitamin D and found that it significantly increased the activity of a protective anti-oxidant enzyme (called glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, just in case you wanted to know!). The enzyme literally mopped up damaging free radicals in the prostate cells, protecting them against injury and death.

Studies have shown absolutely no ill effects or dangers in taking 2000 IUs a day which the prestigious Institute of Medicine considers the "safe upper limit" for daily consumption. But off the record- most experts don't consider that a "true" ceiling for safe use, especially since the body can easily generate 10,000-20,000 IUs a day sunbathing without a whit of harm. But for political and legal reasons most organizations won't recommend anything higher than what the conservative IOM recommends.

OK that's fine. I think if taking even 1000 IUs of vitamin D a day puts you ahead of the game and 2000 IUs is even better. I personally take 2000 IUs every day as part of my own regimen. Best thing of all it's the perfect vitamin for people who hate to take vitamins. It's a tiny little easy to swallow gel the size of a tic tac and it's one of the cheapest vitamins on the planet.