Thursday, November 10, 2011
November is National Alzheimer's Disease Awareness Month and we'd like to discuss the comorbidity between these two conditions.
In a study done at The Third Military Medical University in ChonQing, China that was published in the Journal of Alzheimers Disease a link was established between t...
Dear Pam!
This is indeed a break through. I think that doctors like Dr. Cannel and Dr. Veith and others who have been advocating large doses of Vit D will be delighted to hear the news that at last some country of the world has done serious research with Vit D.I believe they had been saying all along that it was implicated in various diseases including bone disease and mental ailments.
However I am somewhat confused as to the recommendation that we take injections of Vitamin D2. I believe that Dr. Cannel and his cohorts have always advocated Vitamin D3 as being superior to Vit D2. Maybe the injectable form consists of Vit D2.I would not know. In any case these large injectable doses should rid the medical community of fears that large doses of Vit D may do some harm to the body and especially the kidneys.
It would be good however if side by side they also specify how much calcium to take as the fears persist that the usual calcium intake of 1200 mg may become explosive in the body in combination with such large doses of Vit D. So if the large injectable dose is taken then should we not cut down on the calcium intake? They say that Vit D helps to absorb calcium into the body FOUR times as much as it would be absorbed without it. Thus if we take the 1200 mg dose plus the injectable Vit D -- what would happen to the calcium in the body. There are fears of calcification of the arteries -- and these could lead to hardening of the arteries and the to brain clogging and more mental disease... this is just a conjecture.. but I am sure the researchers in China must have gone into these facets of the research.. please let us know if you have read anything further along these lines ..I know you have tackled this problem before about calcification of the arteries with high doses of calcium or Vit D..
Thanking you again for a ground breaking article!
Yours,
Priya
Hi Priya you've added some very good points! When I mentioned the higher dose of D2, I was only implying that some Drs still prescribe this, even though the D experts believe taking a higher daily (oral) dose of D3 is far superior. Unfortunately, Endocrinologist's and other specialist still turn to the therapeutic doses of D2 when a patient has a score that is really low, like a 4 or 15 ng/mL on the 25 (OH) D test. Luckily, my mineral metabolism Dr. didn't do that and she recommends oral D3 in doses of 5,000 IU's until you reach a level of 50 ng/mL.
I was merely pointing out that the labs still have the normal range listed very low (30 mg/mL) when it should be higher. I wish they didn't reach for the oral Didronel 50,000 IU oral or injectable D's. However, sometimes they have patients with malabsorption problems and need a much larger dose. When this is the case, an injectable is usually the only form that won't be excreted by the body due to this malabsorption problem. If you can't absorb an oral dose, then an injectable is the alternative.
When I was at 4 then 6 on the test, it took quite some time to get my score up by taking oral D3 until I was at 65. Then at that point I started a maintenance dose of around 1-2000 of D3.
I agree with you completely, and was only mentioning this therapeutic dose since it's something that is still in practice among many Drs.
As far as the calcium goes I get about half of my requirement from foods and the rest from oral calcium. Even when my D came back at 65 my calcium score was low, when it's been in the hypercalcemic range for years, so I'm just one of those odd ducks who doesn't respond like I should, or like most do. So in my case the increase in D didn't raise my Ca but it did lower it - go figure
Thanks for you wonderful thoughts and ideas!
Dear Pam,
Thanks for the clarifications. They are invaluable! My blood Vit D shoots up very fast with just a little of oral supplementation, and therefore I remain worried about the Calcium intake -- but your reply puts my mind at ease! If you blood calcium actually came down with increased Vit D then it is cause for celebration -- it vindicates the theories of all Vit D scientists that Vit D takes calcium out of the blood and arteries and places it in the bones!!
Thanks again!
Yours,
Priya
Priya, glad I could help! However, my Ca went too low and now I'm hypocalcemic
I just can't seem to get it right! Now I'm increasing Ca, when in the past I had to decrease it. I just can't win... I'm now trying to add Ca through my water, strange sounding I know, but I bought an fruit infused pitcher to see if I can't get a little more that way too along with diet and supps. I mostly purchased it to make the water taste better, but I can also add fruits to it that have Ca in it. Here's a picture of it if you're interested.
Fruit infused water pitcher In the picture it shows lemons, but you would have to add fruit (any kind) that has Ca in it, and lemons are alkalizing so I use them too.
Dear Pam!
This is most puzzling! Your getting hypoglycemic despite the Vit D. Could the Vit D be "using up" all the calcium and taking it to the bones? This would mean your bones would be much stronger than before.
However there is one dismal thought that has struck me -- have you had a check done on the kidneys? They say that when the kidneys are going into failure the calcium goes down in the blood and you are in a hypoglycemic state -- God forbid!!
Please check the kidneys immediately through the simple urea and creatinine blood tests!!
Thanks for the wonderful information on the calcium water pitcher!! Yet another intriguing and interesting piece of information not available anywhere else in the world - for which we have to thank you!
Yours,
Prya