Vitamin D Council's report on Autism

[TalkingDog]

http://www.vitamindcouncil.com/health/autism/

They even discusses how vaccines might play a part in compounding the problem.

After doing MY OWN RESEARCH, I have found that studies on the sun's effect on the skin suggest that for a fair skinned person, it takes at least 20 minutes of direct sun between 10 am and 2 pm before the UV B (the burn part of the sun) begins to cause damage to the cells. (for the darkest skins it may take up to 120 minutes to make enough) In that amount of time, you are getting a good dose of non-toxic, non-overdoseable D. The BEST kind of D.

Getting sun before 10 am and after 2, doesn't provide the D and can increase the susceptability to burn.

In the last discussion on D, I had to pull up sources for all of the above. Not today. I'm busy all day. I suggest you do your own research or look up the thread on Cancer and Vit. D from last week.

Get some sun today.

[sam sarrha]

1. interesting... Recomended

[nosillies]

2. I have never heard of this. This is incredibly interesting.

Thanks for providing the link.

I have two little boys, and autism has always been scary to me. We all either play outside or go to the beach almost every day. I think I've always intuitively felt that there was something wrong with hiding inside, covering up from head to toe or slathering on zinc oxide. We play in the sun safely, but we revel in the health benefits we gain from being active in the outdoors. Nice to know that there may be something to it!

[TZ]

3. Be careful

Many doctors don't agree with this stance at all. Oh and ANY UV/sun exposure is damaging to the DNA, but its commonly repairable. Thats why people who have spent a lot of time outside have wrinkles--sun damage from exposure. Vitamin D is important, I agree and limited sun exposure does have its benefits for SOME but not all (patients with SLE-Lupus CANNOT have ANY sun exposure or they get very sick). You have it backwards on the sun exposure times..its best to go out BEFORE 10am and AFTER 2pm, thats when its LESS likely that you will get burned.

[Warpy]

4. I would add to that

that there is no epidemic of vitamin D deficiency in children under school age, the age when autism is generally first diagnosed. All the milk in this country, unless you own the cow, is fortified with Vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency was problematic in children in northern climates in the winter before vitamin D was added to milk, but it produced rickets, not autism.

I would also caution people to please consider that these websites often have agendas of their own. For instance, did it occur to anyone that the Vitamin Council might be interested in <gasp!> selling vitamins?

Turtlensue is correct about the sun exposure times. Fair skinned people should avoid exposure between 10 AM and 2 PM, not court it.

[hedgehog]

8. Milk is fortified with 100 IU of vitamin D per 8oz, and the current RDA

for people under 50 is 200 IU per day BUT there is a lot of research indicating that the optimum levels may be well above 1000 IU per day. I was stunned when I did a little googleing to see good research by people studying diabetes, depression, immune diseases etc. all confirming that Vitamin D has many subtle effects that weren't observed until recently. These weren't vitamin manufacturers boosting their product by outfits like NIH. GIven the chemical loads we all carry these days from pesticides, herbicides and manufacturing, who knows how much of any vitamin we need these days to repair and prevent damage?

[Warpy]

9. Funny about those "optimum levels," they were

developed by outfits with an interest in pushing supplements, including vitamin D. The researchers in Russia (cancer) and Minnesota (pain transmission) didn't go so far as to recommend new guidelines, not in the articles I have read.

Oil based vitamins accumulate in the body and can become toxic at very high levels. Another toxic substance in the body will not detoxify the ones already there.

If the RDA levels are increased for adults, and they have been increased for older adults, appropriate action needs to be taken.

Until then, the deficiency diseases are osteomalacia and rickets. Any other research into it is still too preliminary to act upon, IMO, because the links have been studied in people who were deficient in Vitamin D.

A discussion of development of the numbers plus some food sources is at http://dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov/factsheets/vitamind.asp

[hedgehog]

10. Take a look

http://www.biopsychiatry.com/dvit.htm

http://www.the-scientist.com/news/home/44290/

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=506781

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20041009/bob8.asp

http://endo.endojournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/119/1/84

http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/reprint/61/11/4333.pdf

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9316607&dopt=Abstract


I'm beginning to suspect that there are a lot of illnesses out there that are a result of various subtle vitamin deficiencies. Probably the vitamin deficiency is one step in a multi-step disease process.

[TalkingDog]

17. See response above. Before 10 and after 2 does not provide D. n/t

[LeftishBrit]

5. You're right about sun exposure times..

As the song says, "Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun"; but it's not the safest time.

[TalkingDog]

16. That's what I thought too. re: 10 and 2

But according the study I found, researchers found that against all commonly held belief, the sun before 10 and after 2 does not penetrate to the cells that help manufacture D in the skin. That's why it's important to limit exposure. Because at those hours, you can burn.

[diddlysquat]

6. kick

[emilyg]

7. R

[bananas]

11. Ohio Scientific makes a "personal UV monitor"

I saw them in Target for $20.

[mcg]

12. Dr. Reinhold Vieth on vitamin D

http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/2007/02/dr-reinhold-vieth-on-vitamin-d.html

Video of Dr. Vieth speaking about vitamin D:

http://www.insinc.com/onlinetv/directms13oct2005/softvnetplayer.htm

[dropkickpa]

13. Yeah, sure

I am very fair skinned and if I go out in the sun between 10-2 for even 15 minutes I get BURNED. Everybody at work thinks that's a hoot. I'm sure you do too. I'd rather NOT get skin cancer, thankyouverymuch!

[live love laugh]

14. This is kind of damned-if-you-do or don't as exposure to sun between 10 and 2

is the worst time of the day for skin cancer risk though it may be good for vitamin D. I think I'd take my vitamin D from other sources rather than risk skin cancer.

[NuttyFluffers]

15. vitamin D needs a council? and advocates?

isn't that a little... odd?

i wonder if i can get a grant to start a council extolling the virtues of water to living things... }(
"moisture is the essence of wetness, and wetness means life..."

[TalkingDog]

18. *hee hee*: My initial reaction too. WTF? Vitamin D Council?!!

The reason I keep harping on this FREE Vit. D via the sun thing is I'm incredibly afraid that this will be yet another instance of big Pharma selling us "health"; when, in the end, all we have to do is show a little common sense.

As in the case of the incredibly fairskinned person upthread. Too fair? Well, then, don't go outside. But most of us can build up to 20 mins. 3 times a week by staying out 3 mins. then 4, then 7.

It's like exercising. You have to start somewhere.