I just forward the article to my holistic doctor.

{{{hugs}}}

I also tested low for vit. D. Can't remember what it was...I think 19 or something. She put me on RX Vit D and then wanted me to continue with an OTC Vit D which I did for a while and then kind of forgot to take. I just started taking it again...hoping it helps me feel better;)

redhead:

I had been following the diet now for the Iron and B-12 since the third week of May. Using the vitamin D3 that my doctor wanted me on, my vitamin D has finally began taking off.

If you haven't mention this in the Curing Autoimmune...forum, please do so. I don't want to continue with the vitamin D3 and my problem(s) is made worst.

I hope to get a feedback from my holistic doctor on this.

{{{hugs}}}

mmztcass-I am pretty sure there is a thread on this in our group. It may be a ways back. In reality, what this Science Daily article is saying is that there is no supplemental form of true vitamin D. The supplemental form is not a vitamin, it is a secosteroid and will act on your adrenals the same way a corticosteroid would. You may see an initial decrease in inflammation, but an overall disease increase.

Once your ability to metabolize true vitamin D is restored, you should see an increase in your levels. It actually takes very little sunlight to bring vitamin D levels back up, once you are able to carry protein bound calcium. As the article states, this is a symtom of autoimmune disease, not the cause. If you address the cause, the symptom will resolve without an increased risk of disease.

There is definatley something funky goin' on with the VIT D, Calcium, magneseum metabolism in people with Autoimmune disease. I've seen lots of theories but nothing definative.

Not sure if its the imbalance that causes the autoimmune or if its the autoimmune that causes the imbalance.

I'm leaning to toward the underlying cause (viral/bacterial/what-have-you) creating both the autoimmune disease and the VITD ETC imbalance.

redhead:

I bumped up the thread on the Vitamin D at the curing autoimmune forum.

{{{hugs}}} :-)

Many researchers now believe that the "sunshine vitamin" may one day play a key role in preventing the development and progression of arthritis. Researchers, including scientists at Johns Hopkins under the direction of Uzma Haque, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology at Johns Hopkins, have been looking at the effect of vitamin D on rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis and the data are quite suggestive. Vitamin D is proving to be a most promising area for arthritis research.

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that's essential for human health. Vitamin D levels are assessed with a simple blood test that measures levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D, or 25(OH)D, the metabolite that reflects vitamin D stores; results are expressed in terms of nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL).

Although there is continuing debate over what constitutes an optimal level, most experts now agree that the level should be 30 ng/mL or higher. Yet most Americans -- up to 60 percent by some estimates -- have suboptimal blood levels of vitamin D. In part, that's because we spend less time outdoors and absorb less vitamin D from sunlight. However, it also may be because we don't get enough vitamin D from our diet. Only a few foods contain significant amounts of vitamin D.

It has long been recognized that vitamin D is essential to bone health because it promotes calcium absorption. Vitamin D regulates as many as 1,000 different genes, including those that weed out precancerous cells and slow the runaway reproduction of cancer cells. Vitamin D also helps maintain a healthy immune system and activates cells that fight infection, including the bacterium that causes tuberculosis.

During the past decade, there's been an explosion of research suggesting that vitamin D plays a significant role in joint health and that low levels may be a risk factor for rheumatologic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

To read more: www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com/

My vitamin D levels have always been normal, despite living about as far north as anyone in DS, and we have had snow, more snow and now rain and more rain.

I do take supplements, so maybe that helps. I am also technically allergic to the sun. So maybe the supplements are the best route for me. I take halibut liver oil, which may be a more natural supplement.

My sister has MS and she says the sun makes all the difference in the world to her. She is planning on moving to Arizona for winters. I am sure lacking any vitamin or mineral is going to have an effect on autoimmune disorders.

Hi Angela:

I wish your sister luck in Arizona as I live there as well. I've struggled with vitamin D issues since 2006 and still could not get the numbers up despite doses changes because of the lack of enzymes to help with the proteins.

I am sure she will do great here during the winters.

{{{hugs}}} :-)