Here is one study done at Penn Stata Univ funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation which back in 2001 showed how Vit D3 supplements can help blood chemistry. This is from their public press release at that time.

jackD

Thank you for these studies. It is not easy to find nutrition research that relates to MS.

It is predicted that the minimum requirement for Vitamin D will be increased in 2010, when the decade cycle on nutrition updates is scheduled.

Anytime a nutritional requirement is changed it affects food programs, such as food stamps, WIC, and school lunches to name a few. They try not to change them too frequently.

There was a news story on vitamin D and MS on the news tonight. It dealt with a study that examined twins and preventing MS. You can read it on their web site. Just click on the health search engine.

Being cognitively challenged at times, that was quite a bit of information to absorb so bear with me if this was in Jack's post. In order to get an adequate amount of D3 one must get an adequate amount of sunlight with ultraviolet B. This is challenging for some in many parts of the country. Not so for the southwestern states. When the weather is cooler, I sit out in the sun for 15 minutes a day give or take. When it is hot, as in now, I will sit by a window. Would sitting by the window be enough?

BTW - I lived most my life on Long Island and CT. Additionally, I know of 4 people that were born and raised in AZ that have MS. So I am not 100% convinced on the vitamin D theory.

There is also a good thread on Vitamin D in the vitamin forum.

also I remember an article where they did a test on people in Hawaii (sunny all the time right) and there was a good proportion that had low vitamin D.

So there are people that either do not absorbe well through the sun or dont convert well was what I think it said.

My Vit D was low and I have been supplementing with 1000 iu a day and it has definitely helped with muscle pain and fatigue.

In Rod we trust Go Blue !!! love it Shelley.Well, I sure hope my Vit D levels will be normal in 8 weeks when my neuro will do another blood test to check my levels again,I wonder if she'll want me to stay on Vit D I don't know because I want to stay on it as it sounds like it really can help me.

Go Blue !!!!!

FYI: I had posted this in another forum last month.

There is a great article on Vitamin D starting on page 44 of this month's Cooking Light magazine. It predicts that when the new levels get reset in 2010, they will be increased. ( They only reset nutrition level every 10 years.)

"In the absence of it,"... (vitamin D) ..." you're asking the body to defend itself with one hand tied behind its back."

I was surprised b/c it said that a fair skinned person manufactures as much as 15,000 IU in 30 minutes with optimal sunlight conditions, so that is why they think giving people 10,000 IU as a supplement is okay!

The normal values for daily intake are 200 to 400 IU according to your age, but this information is a decade old.

It gives guidelines on the time of day for the sun to be at a 45 degree angle above the horizon and speaks about those of us who live above the 35 degree of latittude ( North Carolina to Southern California).

An spf of just 8 will block 98 percent of your skin's vitamin D production. So we should not have it on all the time.

They suggest having Vitamin D levels checked with bloodwork for something that insurance usually covers like a cholesterol panel or any other annual test. However they think you should always check with your insurance company first.

Most public libraries have Cooking Light magazine in the periodical area.

Yep Kristi,

Counting down to the start of the season.

If I were you after the 8 weeks I would go on a maintainence dose of like 1000iu a day of D3. Otherwise over time it will just deplete again.

I asked my doc to check my levels and they were excessively low. She put me on the mega dose for awhile and now I take 1000IU a day to maintain. I don't feel any different, but I do believe no one should have low levels of anything without paying consequences later on.
I grew up in Michigan so enough said.
Perhaps people with low vit D levels get sick....or maybe sick people develope low levels of vit D.....I'm not sure...but getting your levels up is optimal.

Hi jackD. I checked my calcium, Vitamin D and K supplement pill and it is vitamin K1 that I have in this pill, 40 micrograms, and I take 3 a day at each meal.

The daily suggested amount of Vitamin K is 120mcg. So that level is okay for me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_K

I was wondering about K2 and I found out from this article that we make in our large intestines. I knew we made it, I just didn't know whidh form. It also talks about calcification of the artieries as you mentioned, b/c of a lack of vitamin K.

This form of vitamin k is also available in some foods.

I am going to have to take some notes about the other things you cite and look into them, too.