Dr. Dennis Sandler

Dr. Dennis Sandler

Vitamin D is a very complex substance. For more than half a century vitamin D was thought only to mineralize bones. But recent studies indicate that it does much more:

  • Regulates calcium in all cells (especially brain cells)
  • Protects the immune system
  • Regulates cell growth and cell death
  • Provides antioxidant and antiviral benefits

Since foods contain very little vitamin D, the body’s major source is from that manufactured in the deeper layers of the skin. Food, even fortified milk, is a poor source of vitamin D-3. This leaves sun exposure and vitamin D-3 supplements as the two most important sources. Many forms of commercial vitamin D supplements are not the active form. 

When you buy vitamin D supplements, make sure they are vitamin D-3!  

Vitamin D-3 and Autism

Vitamin D-3’s role in the development of the brain begins when the human brain undergoes its most rapid and complex formation between the last trimester of pregnancy and the first two years of life. Studies on rats showed that feeding pregnant rats a diet deficient in vitamin D-3 led to behavioral problems when the offspring grew up. This was mainly manifested as high excitability, something we see in ADHD and autism. Vitamin D-3 deficiency in pregnant animals has also been shown to negatively impact the brain in the offspring:

  • Shrinking of the brain was observed
  • Abnormal levels of brain growth factors occurred
  • Formation of abnormal neurons occurred 

One effect of vitamin D-3 deficiency during pregnancy is the appearance of an excess number of brain cells, which is characteristic of autistic brains. Further connections to autism include a state of hypersensitivity that causes the brains of babies whose mothers are deficient in vitamin D-3 to be oversensitive to the harmful effects of multiple vaccinations and infections. According to today’s vaccine recommendations, children receive some 36 vaccines by the age of 2, a period when the brain is most sensitive to such injury. A vitamin D-3 deficiency makes their brains even more susceptible to damage. 

It would be interesting to know the incidence of vitamin D-3 deficiencies during pregnancy in mothers of autistic children.  

Protecting the Aging Brain 

As we age, our brains become more inflamed. With neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, we see much higher levels of brain inflammation. This reaction in the aging brain can lead to a loss of vital brain cells in the memory and cognitive parts of the brain (hippocampus and prefrontal lobes.)

It has been shown that vitamin D-3 deficiency is very common in the elderly. This makes sense because so many are house-bound and avoid sun exposure. Studies have shown that vitamin D-3 can protect the normal aging brain from neuron loss, especially in the memory areas of the brain, the hippocampus. This means that a higher intake of vitamin D-3 can protect your memory.  

 Vitamin D-3 and Alzheimer’s Disease

A compelling number of studies have shown that Alzheimer’s disease is another brain inflammatory disorder, characterized by the following:

  • Intense inflammation
  • Microglial activation
  • Free-radical generation 

All of these things trigger immunoexcitotoxicity, which is made much worse if a person is deficient in vitamin D-3. This may be another reason why Alzheimer’s dementia increases the older we get, from 3 percent to 5 percent at age 70, to 43 percent over age 80.  

Vitamin D-3 and Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is another neurodegenerative disease of aging that is strongly related to chronic brain inflammation, but different parts of the brain are involved than in Alzheimer’s disease. 

This means that your best protection against developing neurodegenerative diseases is to take vitamin D-3 in higher doses than the recommended daily allowance (RDA) every day to attain maximum protection.  

Vitamin D-3 and Depression

People’s moods change with seasons. They are more often depressed and anxious during the winter months and less so during the summer. Extreme degrees of this are called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). SAD is associated with the following conditions:

  • Carbohydrate cravings
  • Daytime sleepiness
  • Lack of energy
  • Severe depression

Researchers have linked the variations in mood to seasonal exposure to sunlight, which links a lack of vitamin D-3, to this disorder. September 2008 The Blaylock Wellness Report Page 5. 

Vitamin D-3 and Cancer Risk

As a powerful regulator of cell reproduction, vitamin D-3 plays a major role in preventing cancers and controlling the growth and spread of existing cancers.

Higher doses of vitamin D-3 have been shown to slow cancer growth by inhibiting cancer cell reproduction. It also makes the immature (undifferentiated) cells become more mature (differentiated), which has always been the dream treatment of cancer specialists.  

Vitamin D-3 and Autoimmune Diseases

There are over 80 known autoimmune diseases that affect people, mostly women. A link to low vitamin D-3 levels has been found in all four of these diseases: multiple sclerosis (MS), irritable bowel disease (IBD), rheumatoid arthritis and insulin dependent diabetes (IDDM), 2008.

Experimental studies using mice with these same human diseases as models also show a dramatic improvement when treated with vitamin D. One of the interesting effects of vitamin D-3 is that it switches the immune system from an inflammatory state that’s associated with most autoimmune diseases, to a condition that inhibits inflammation.  

What Are Recommended Doses? 

Recommended levels of supplemental vitamin D have recently been shown to be far too low at 200 to 400 IU a day. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that safety concerns with vitamin D toxicity are grossly exaggerated and that the daily dose should be 2,000 IU a day. 

Recent reviews by health “experts” have revised the recommended doses for vitamin D from 400 IU to 2,000 IU a day, a dramatic five-fold increase. Daily doses of 10,000 IU or less have been shown to produce no complications. For daily maintenance in otherwise healthy people, 2,000 IU a day appears to be adequate. For those with autoimmune diseases, cancer or viral illnesses, higher doses may be needed — doses as high as 5,000 IU a day. 

So, talk to your doctor today about getting your Vitamin D-3 levels measured and 

Be well,

Dr. S

My family and I use Phytovite Phytovite