June 2, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars Medically AccurateBy Jon Tenzo on January 25, 2015
I have researched D in the past and everything in this book is accurate. I didn’t know about the Vitamin K Co-Factor dynamic so that was a welcome addition to my knowledge about nutrition.
I am now up to 50,000 IU daily (Jarrow Brand) with 200mcg of MK-7 from Vitamin Code Raw as well as Optimum Nutrition ZMA 4 capsules per day. I have reduced all other supplements to a minimum in an effort to tell the isolated effects of only increasing Vitamins (and not herbs). I feel the K helps me absorb the D more efficiently. I feel the difference compared to before I took K and was just taking ZMA.
I used to take cod liver oil in the Winter years ago but since it had too much Vitamin A I switched to just isolated D. Long story short a few years back I took too much D alone without magnesium and got a pretty bad backache which I thought was a stone but was just a muscle cramp. Another time I got a pretty bad jaw ache. Both took an Rx (low dose/strength) muscle relaxer to heal. So be VERY careful about your co-factors and other minerals when increasing D.
I am now paying very close attention to ALL of my mineral levels. Potassium I sometimes have to get from the citrate supplement form as it’s hard to eat enough bananas or drink coconut water which can be expensive (However, Soymilk has proven to be a recent good addition which also gives calcium, another mineral I don’t get from my diet because I avoid dairy). Potassium will also likely help prevent any muscle cramps caused by High D.
If you live away from the equator you need high D supplements period. Some need more than others.
The effects have mostly been better sleep along with better mood. I am waiting for my weather related asthma symptoms to subside. I have been gradually increasing from just 5,000 IU per day to 50,000 IU so hoping to see results in a few weeks. I have been at this for about a month or so. Getting my levels tested next week. My baseline level probably is 30 ng/dl right now and looking to get it to 100. I am 6’0 200lbs so it may take even more than I am taking now to get there. I will probably taper off once late May/early June comes to half of what I’m taking now since we’ll be in Summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere. So far I have seen noticeable changes in muscle composition around the gut area. I am also waiting for some more significant weight loss even though I don’t have much fat, just around the love handle area.
Thanks to the book I know to be patient and these effects should come with more time of the higher dose. A deficiency in this hormone will not be corrected overnight. I am relatively young (28) so I don’t have any significant old injuries to heal but I am looking for muscle gains to be accelerated from my exercise program. Hopefully that will happen! If anyone has any experience at supplementing high D at my height/weight please let me know how long you took elevated doses (50,000-100,000IU daily) before seeing massive benefits.
Charles Darwin 2 years ago
You can tell when a reviewer has not read the book..If what is said here is true you would see a lot of reviews with complaints of adverse effects…..there arent any ..but there are quite a few amazing results and also at the end of the book. Also
Here is what Dr Mercola says about Vitamin A and why you should NOT take Cod Liver Oil or extra Vitamin A…This reviewer is dangerously ignorant of the facts
“There have been two recent meta-analyses done. The first one showed that people who took vitamin A supplements in cod liver oil, or in supplements, had an 18 percent increase in death rates. The other study showed that unlike third world countries where vitamin A supplementation appears to decrease infections, vitamin A supplementation in developed countries like the U.S. actually increases infections.
The researchers believe this is due to massive nutritional deficiencies in the third world because most of their calories are from grains and they simply donâ™t have an opportunity to consume as many fresh fruits, vegetables, butter, eggs and other vitamin A containing foods that those in the developed world do.
In fact current research could not find any vitamin A deficiency at all, but approximately 5% had vitamin A toxicity. The converse is true in the third world where vitamin A toxicity is virtually unheard of, yet vitamin A deficiency is pervasive.
Additionally new research has shown that vitamin D protects against cancer. But a paradox was found as those with higher vitamin D levels did not seem to have this benefit.
A bright Harvard researcher carefully analyzed the data in the study that showed this and found that when he removed the people with high vitamin A and vitamin D levels, those with normal vitamin A levels and high vitamin D levels continued to have reduced risk of colon cancer. So those that did not take vitamin A had the protective effect from higher levels of vitamin D.
Other research is now showing a connection between high levels of vitamin A and osteoporosis. In fact many Scandinavian countries that regularly supplement with cod liver oil have rampant osteoporosis even though they are getting adequate amounts of oral vitamin D.
This may also be related to the fact that high doses of vitamin D need to be taken with vitamin K2 (not K1) as they effectively balance each other’s toxicities. So this may have been another factor.”