Can I get enough Vitamin D from being in the sun?

CAN I GET ENOUGH VITAMIN D FROM BEING IN THE SUN?
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
Spending 15 minutes in the sun each day will allow your body to produce plenty of Vitamin D – that may be true if you are sitting on a beach in Florida at noon wearing nothing but a bikini, but for the vast majority of us that’s just not happening. For a Caucasian wearing no sunscreen, sitting in the summer sun in the mid-afternoon with 40 percent of their body exposed for 20 minutes will produce about 10,000 units of vitamin D. Unfortunately, once sunscreen is applied the Vitamin D production drops to nothing. If you have darker skin, the time required in the sun increases to 45 minutes a day. If you live above 35 degrees latitude, the body is unable to produce adequate amounts of Vitamin D from the winter sun. In fact the only adequate amount of sunshine in Boston occurs, between May and Sept, otherwise there’s just not enough sunlight for Vitamin D metabolism. So, the person working in Chicago during the middle of the winter will get absolutely no Vitamin D from sunlight, and vitamin D fights the common cold better than Vitamin C. So that’s why cold and flu season occurs during the winter season.
So can I get enough Vitamin D by eating a balanced diet? That won’t work, because Vitamin D is present, in small amounts, in only a handful of foods – oily fish, and eggs. Vitamin D fortified foods such as Vitamin D fortified Milk and Orange Juice are a joke containing a measly 50 units of Vitamin D2(the wrong kind of Vitamin D), not Vitamin D3. You will need about 5000 units a day to help your body fight the battle against the cold viruses, and by the way, that dose also reduces breast and colon cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. I don’t recommend Cod Liver Oil since its nasty tasting, and is full of Vitamin A, which blocks all the amazing benefit of Vitamin D. Now Vitamin D in gel cap form, sprays or liquids will provide all the necessary Vitamin D you will need, and will cost you only a few pennies a day.
For more information check-out www.andlos.com

Another Amazing benefit of Vitamin D...Stanley Cup Hockey Championship

Another Amazing benefit of Vitamin D...Stanley Cup Hockey Championship
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS

Team physicians from Chicago Blackhawk’s Hockey team credit the winning of the Stanley Cup to Vitamin D, well some of the credit. The Chicago Blackhawk team physicians apparently began diagnosing and treating vitamin D deficiency which was identified in ALL Blackhawk players. Most players were placed on 5,000 IU of Vitamin D3 per day. After many losing seasons, two years ago, loaded with Vitamin D, the Blackhawks came out of nowhere to get to the Western conference finals, and this year captured the Stanley Cup. Improved athletic performance is only one of the benefits for the Blackhawk players, the other include reduction in the number and severity of colds and flu and a reduction in the number and severity of injuries.
There are new lines of evidence now that demonstrate clearly that vitamin D plays a role as an anti-carcinogen, aids the body in fighting infections, building and supporting bone growth, stimulating wound healing, bolstering the immune system, hindering cognitive degeneration, and promoting cardiovascular health…..and now the Stanley Cup Championship. And only for 8 cents a day!!! I personally feel that during the winter season, 5000 units may not be enough to fight off the common colds, flu’s and the depressive blahs of the winter, and 10,000 may be required. Measurement of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels may be beneficial to optimize your dose, but don’t accept the low levels below 50. Demand levels between 60-80 ng/ml as acceptable, and if you have auto-immune diseases like Rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, or lupus set your goal to be between 100-120 ng/ml
New evidence suggests that maintenance of the suggested vitamin D levels is crucial for athletic performance and keeping players on top of their game. In short, this is due to Vitamin D’s reported ability to: increase speed, improve balance, improve a reaction time, increase both muscle mass and strength, and promote the treatment and prevention of chronic neuromuscular injuries. What about bringing Vitamin D into our work places and promoting health, reducing respiratory infections, as well as all the things that promote a Stanley Cup Champion hockey player to remain in his top game. You deserve it and so do your co-workers and employees. Bring Vitamin D into work today! Have a Vitamin D party and squash the flu all winter long.
How about home? Kids can have 2000 units/day (not babies, although a Finnish study said in infants at that dose reduced the incidence of Childhood Diabetes by 8 fold). Studies have shown that children with low vitamin D levels were over 10 x more likely to develop a respiratory infections, whereas a study supplementing with Vitamin D completely eradicated respiratory infections during the six months of treatment. One study, published in February 2009 in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, concludes that adolescents with higher levels of vitamin D can jump higher, quicker, and with greater power than those with lower vitamin D levels. You gotta love vitamin D and all its amazing benefits.

I Love Vitamin D, but watch out for Vitamin A in your multivitamin

I Love Vitamin D, but watch out for Vitamin A in your multivitamins
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS


No other nutrient, hormone or even drug has gained so much scientifically supported credibility than Vitamin D, demonstrating reductions in cancer, heart disease, blood pressure, chronic inflammation, diabetes, viral infections and the autoimmune diseases( arthritis, Lupus, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis). Even though Vitamin D has been shown to be so incredibly beneficial , it is often in very low doses in standard multivitamins, and often side by side with high doses of Vitamin A. Unfortunately some forms of Vitamin A actually BLOCK the benefit of Vitamin D. So grab your multivitamin bottle and look at how much vitamin D and Vitamin A is in it. Most multivitamins have woeful amounts of vitamin D , often ranging from 200 units to 1000, but we should be taking at least 5000 units a day and now more studies show absolutely no toxicity at 10,000 units(should consider this dose in the fall/winter months) and incredible benefits. So what about Vitamin A? The preformed Vitamin A (retinols) are often excessive in multivitamins and having Vitamin A in the beta-carotene form is the form you want. “Preformed” vitamin A comes only from animal products, fortified foods, and supplements. It is most commonly measured in International Units (IU). The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for vitamin A is 2,310 IU daily for women, 3,000 IU for men, although some food products identify the recommended dose as 5000 IU. Watch out because preformed Vitamin A is not your friend. Studies have proven that too much preformed Vitamin A results in a two fold increase in hip fractures, and a 16 % increase in total mortality, undoubtedly because it blocks all the amazing benefits of Vitamin D. Keep that form of Vitamin A no higher than 1000 IU. Now if the Vitamin A is in the beta-carotene form, there are fewer issues because it is found in plant foods, especially dark green and highly colored vegetables and fruits. It is converted to vitamin A only as our body needs it. Therefore one can’t get dangerous levels of vitamin A by consuming too much beta carotene. By the way that foul tasting modern day Cod Liver oil has up to 10,000 units of preformed Vitamin A….so don’t drink that stuff!

Weight Savior and Irvingia-Getting Rid of Fat...and Inflammation-Part 2

More about how Weight Savior enriched with Irvingia works its magic, reducing your abdominal fat, cholesterol, and diabetes.

Fat cells function is to store calories and release them for energy use when needed. Fat cells are engorged with triglycerides, which is the main storage form of fat. Problems occur when these fat cells become bloated with triglycerides, and become enlarged. They also tend to accumulate excess fat, because of increase intake, lack of exercise, hormonal imbalances and inflammation, and there lies the problem. Fat cells also release another hormone called Adiponectin, which controls diabetes, decreasing sugar levels in your blood stream, as well as reducing inflammation, and heart disease. Irvingia, and weight Savior make Adiponectin’s work better and be more effective. 10 weeks of using Irvingia alone increased the amount of Adiponectin by 160%. And that’s a good thing in the battle against belly fat, as well as controlling diabetes and inflammation.

The third major benefit of having Irvingia in Weight Savior is the inhibition of the enzyme glycerol-3-phospate. What has that enzyme done for me lately? Well produced in fat cells, it causes excess sugar to be converted to triglycerides so as to make the fat cells bigger and plumper. Now that doesn’t sound too good to me. Blocking it reduces fatty acid formation and reduces the amount of sugar converted into fat. Now that’s good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPAXuaxIXOs

Weight Savior and Irvingia-Getting Rid of Fat...and inflammation

Weight Savior is just one, but six separate ingredients blended together to maximize weight loss. One of these amazing ingredients is Irvingia. This natural compound actually circumvents the molecular factors critical in causing obesity. This breakthrough compound, Irvingia, may actually be the key to reversing today’s epidemic of obesity. One of the main reasons we develop increasing abdominal fat is something called Leptin-resistance. So what is Leptin? It is released from our fat cells for two primary reasons. The first, is to tell the brain that you have eaten enough and it quiets your appetite. Secondly, Leptin then causes triglycerides that are stored in the fat cells (increase waist line) to be broken down so that the body can use them as an energy source. So decrease in fat cells, and increase in energy. That sounds pretty good to me. Unfortunately in people with increased abdominal fat they produce more inflammation ( increased CRP levels) and that blocks the benefits of Leptin. Obese people have much higher CRP levels, markers of inflammation, and even higher Leptin levels but CRP binds to Leptin stopping it from entering the brain and from breaking down fat.
Okay, so how does Irvingia, and Weight Savior reduce fat? It dramatically reduces CRP and thus freeing up Leptin to work its magic. We also know that Heart disease is associated with elevated inflammation and CRP. Newest studies show taking very high doses of Crestor, albeit associated with massive side-effects, reduces CRP by 17 % in a year. But Irvingia, a main component of Weight Savior reduces CRP by 52% in only 10 weeks. Now that is impressive, and the only side-effects were weight loss and a 16% reduction in your waist line in 10 weeks.
More to come about how Irvingia, and Weight Savior work their magic, reducing your abdominal fat, cholesterol, and diabetes.

Get Rid Of My Tummy Fat...with Weight Savior

I hope you enjoy this new video on a new supplement for weight loss that specifically attacks the fat around our tummy and inside of our belly (visceral fat).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPAXuaxIXOs

Dr. C

Lose Weight And Not Be Hungry With Low Carbohydrate Approach

Low Carbohydrate approach to successful weight loss
Robert G Carlson, MD, FACS
Patients often ask me for a dietary recommendation. I believe that a change of habits is better than a “new diet”, and my preference is a low carbohydrate approach. The low fat diet is just forcing large amounts of sugar into your system, making you fatter and increasing you risk of developing diabetes. Let me give you an example of a daily low carbohydrate approach:
Goal is to keep your total carbohydrate intake to 20 grams of carbohydrates a day for two weeks and then increase to 30 grams. You can’t eat bread, pasta, rice, ice cream or candy. For instance one can of mountain dew has 46 grams of carbohydrates or over two days worth of carbohydrates. A two ounce serving of pasta, has 42 grams of carbohydrates! Alright here we go:
Breakfast- Coffee/Tea with/without cream, no sugar but can have splenda or estevia or even better Erythritol.
Two egg omelet with bacon and cheese using only water to mix eggs. (no carbohydrates or maybe 1 total for breakfast. Avoid low fat cheese, because that means high sugar cheese No bread
Snacks: Macadamia nuts, almonds (8 nuts is about 2 grams carbohydrates), avoid cashews
Lunch- Roll-ups Go to your favorite deli and get the thicker slice cheese and meats. Roll the cheese and meat together and use mayonnaise or mustard... I even take lunch meat and put cream cheese into the roll-up…no carbs! You can eat these all day long and there are essentially no carbohydrates in a roll-up.

Dinner- Go to Publix and get a lemon pepper chicken, or to sonny’s BBQ ( or your local favorite) and eat the chicken, beef etc, but avoid too much red sauce as they sneak sugar into that. And of course NO sweetened tea. I also eat steak, seafood, turkey as well. No ketchup.
Also at dinner I recommend a salad, and this has some carbohydrates in it. I like spinach, with cucumbers, olives, and some tomatoes. The tomatoes have some carbs in them. Putting blue cheese dressing/most Ranch dressings, balsamic vingarette on your salad and cover it with sharp cheddar cheese. There is very few carbs in this meal, with the exception of the tomatoes. Onions are ok as well, but I just don’t eat them very often. Avoid Garbanzo beans as well
At bedtime you should try another roll-up or eat some more nuts as it is important to have some protein at bedtime.
An evening snack when craving sweets is my favorite. I take two or even three containers of sugar free jello, my favorite is the cherry, and cover it generously with whip cream, you can even use the heavy whipping cream. There are absolutely no carbohydrates in this and you can even go back for seconds or sneak a shot of whipping cream from your own personal can. In the past I have eaten popcorn, but I would definitely avoid it as it is a source of carbohydrates. Fruits I like are strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries, but you need to avoid bananas and oranges (very high glycemic index).
I hope this gives you some direction. When you go shopping look at the labels for how much carbohydrate is present per serving.