0:23

Welcome to another podcast of Living a

0:25

Full Life . I'm Dr Enrico Dolcecori

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. Another week , another podcast

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. Thanks for tuning in . This week we're talking about

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the specifics of

0:34

vitamin D . Why

0:36

this vitamin , dr Enrico , and not anything else ? Well

0:38

, it's because I'm Dr D and it's vitamin D is my favorite

0:41

vitamin . No , not that simple . All

0:43

vitamins are important , but the controversy going

0:45

back and forth with vitamin D over the last 40 years

0:48

has been kind of comical to watch

0:50

from the sidelines . I remember as a young

0:52

doctor at 24 years old , in my practice telling

0:54

people you need to take vitamin D . I started

0:56

up in Canada , in Western Canada , where

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we're sheltered in

1:01

six layers of clothing in the winter inside

1:04

, trying to stay warm the sun . I remember

1:06

I'd finish work at 6 o'clock at night and it would already be dark . Layers of clothing in the winter inside , trying to stay warm uh , the sun . I remember you know I'd finished work at you know

1:08

, six o'clock at night . It'd already be dark . Uh

1:10

, go home , it's dark , wake up , it's dark . So

1:13

tough to get the natural source of vitamin

1:15

d , which is the uv change

1:18

in the skin , in the melatonin , the melanocytes

1:20

in our skin that change and convert vitamin

1:23

d , vitamin d2 , vitamin d3 into

1:25

the pathways that we now know today and how it works

1:27

. So let's talk about vitamin

1:29

D and what it really

1:31

does in the body . There's three crucial things

1:33

it does . It has a major role in the human

1:35

body . We need it , and then

1:37

there's certain sources that we can get it from

1:39

. So we'll cover all three of those topics in

1:42

today's podcast and we'll make it digestible

1:44

and easy for you to absorb . Wow

1:47

, that was a bunch of puns . All in one , that was my

1:49

best . Whatever , perfect , all right . So

1:51

vitamin D is involved in many different

1:54

pathways . The one that the literature

1:56

has shown for over 50 years is the calcium

1:58

absorption pathway . We know that we need

2:00

vitamin D and magnesium

2:03

in the bloodstream in a healthy

2:05

level to absorb calcium

2:08

. Now how does calcium get absorbed ? We eat it

2:10

through our food , we digest it , we absorb

2:12

it into the bloodstream and then it's got to be transported

2:14

to the bone . That's primarily

2:16

where calcium goes and

2:19

, believe it or not , our heart uses

2:21

quite a bit of calcium , as well as

2:23

the ion pump exchange pathway , the energy

2:25

that it uses in cellular function . So

2:28

calcium plays a big role in this , but the way it

2:30

moves is transported through a combination

2:32

and a pathway . With vitamin D , they got to tag

2:35

team this like Macho man and Hulk Hogan

2:37

, right ? So this is how they got to go in and

2:39

absorb things into the bloodstream

2:41

. So calcium absorption the literature has been

2:43

very sound

2:45

on this that we need to make sure that we

2:47

have adequate levels of both

2:50

vitamin D and calcium to

2:52

help stimulate these physiological functions

2:54

of calcium . That's what we do . So

2:58

the next thing , because of calcium absorption , I

3:00

kind of led to number two . It's bone health . So

3:02

with vitamin D , we get

3:05

the calcium to where it needs to go into our bones

3:07

, and it helps sustain and maintain

3:09

good bone health through our lives . Vitamin

3:13

D deficiency early on 100 years ago or

3:15

200 years ago , just with the settlers moving across

3:17

the ocean and all that and all those stories that we heard from

3:20

all the

3:22

travelers that

3:24

came across . I went brain

3:26

dead there for a second . I can't remember any of them . What

3:28

was it ? Jacques

3:31

Cabot and all those guys that came across . They

3:34

had conditions like rickets or

3:36

osteomalacia in adults

3:39

, where there was just bone deficiency or calcium

3:41

deficiency in the bone which would lead to rickets and

3:43

bow legs , and so we know this from there

3:45

and we know that vitamin D and they started bringing fruit

3:47

back and forth and they understood that vitamin

3:49

D or vitamins in the fruits were

3:51

important when doing long three

3:54

, four , five month voyages on

3:56

boats . So that was the whole point

3:58

there . So bone health we know that from the literature

4:00

as well . Now here's where the new cool

4:03

stuff is all about Immune system

4:05

regulation . We now know that vitamin

4:07

D plays a monumental role

4:09

in the immune system , helping to regulate

4:11

both the innate and adaptive immune

4:13

responses , both innate and adaptive

4:16

. So adaptive is when you're trying to fight

4:18

something and your immune system is keeping up

4:20

, you don't get much symptoms and you kind of get through

4:22

it , and then , when it's not adaptive , you

4:24

get really sick and you get sinusy . That's what

4:26

it helps with in that whole point . It has a multi-inflammatory

4:29

properties that play a role in reducing

4:32

the risk of even autoimmune disease

4:34

and infections . So this

4:36

is where the new literature is going and it's very sound

4:38

so far . Cell growth

4:41

and differentiation so it's even important

4:43

for the growth of our cells . Vitamin

4:45

D plays a huge role in there . From

4:47

the proliferation to differentiation

4:49

in various tissues and organs , all cells

4:51

in the body require vitamin D . It may have

4:53

implications in prevention of treatment of certain

4:55

types of cancer and influencing cell cycle

4:58

control and apoptosis , programmed

5:01

cell death . So it

5:03

is intricated in so many different things and you

5:05

can say the same argument , say Enrico . Well , what

5:08

about vitamin A ? Doesn't vitamin A play a

5:10

major role in our bodies as well ? And absolutely

5:12

that's true too , but vitamin D plays crucial

5:15

roles across so many different systems in the body

5:17

, from the nervous system to the immune system , to bone

5:19

circulatory . Heart plays such a

5:21

huge role across so many different things

5:24

. That's

5:35

why it's so important to make sure we're not deficient in vitamin D . A number five is muscle

5:37

function . Vitamin D plays so much role in muscle function and strength , so adequate levels of vitamin

5:39

D may help reduce the risk of falls and fractures in older adults

5:41

by preserving muscle mass

5:43

and function . This is what happens when you study things

5:46

repetitively and actually do science

5:48

. Science never ends

5:50

. There's never a conclusion or a fact

5:52

. If there ever is , it becomes a law

5:55

. There's only a few laws of the universe

5:57

the law of gravity . There's no law of

5:59

vitamin D because there's so many theories

6:01

around it . So science needs to continue

6:03

going and because of the study of bone

6:05

health and calcium , we now

6:07

know well , holy smokes , there's a whole different side

6:09

of the coin of why vitamin D is

6:11

so important in preventing bone

6:14

breaks , and it wasn't as simple as well . Yeah , if you have stronger

6:16

bones , they're going to be harder to break . That's

6:19

one role . The other role is that it keeps lean muscle

6:21

mass strong . It

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keeps whatever lean muscle mass you have strong

6:25

, which maintains

6:27

balance as we get older , maintains movement we can walk up and

6:29

down the stairs on our own accord these

6:32

little things that reduce the risks of

6:34

falling in itself , yet alone breaking

6:36

a bone . So both muscle and

6:38

bone isn't that cool . I think that's cool . Cardiovascular

6:42

health Some research suggests that vitamin

6:44

D may have a beneficial effects on cardiovascular

6:46

health , including regulation of blood pressure , reduction

6:49

of inflammation and improvement of

6:51

endothelial function . Great

7:21

, and that's newer research 15 years old , I mean , it's newer by the time research gets done and we read it from a clinical perspective

7:23

. It's been in there for at least 10 years . It takes 10 years to get to the doctor's tables . My wife and I are nerds , so we read all

7:25

the new stuff . But new stuff needs to be tested before we throw it on a podcast and tell you , hey , go run out and get vitamin K

7:27

and start drinking it Because , well , we don't know where the research goes with that , so we don't say that . But this is 10 , 15 years old . The cardiovascular health

7:29

and the newer stuff is now brain function and gene expression . So the brain is mood regulation

7:31

. Vitamin D there's evidence suggesting that vitamin D may play a role in

7:34

mood regulation and mental health . They

7:36

see this with people that are vitamin D deficient

7:38

have an increased risk of depression

7:41

and mood disorders . This could be a co-factor

7:43

in some of these mood disorders

7:45

and depression , where people are just malnourished

7:48

, tired , lethargic , not sleeping

7:50

well , depressed right , they're already depressed

7:52

, then they don't sleep well even more , then

7:54

they get anxious and then they don't sleep well

7:56

. You know , it's just this negative feedback loop

7:58

. So if we're not eating well , not sleeping well , everything's

8:00

going to get depleted . So it could be a co-factor

8:03

that's found across this . But people

8:05

with depression

8:07

and mood disorders have a tendency to show lower

8:10

vitamin D as well . Is vitamin D

8:12

going to be the cure to mood disorders

8:14

? No , we can't link , we can't make those

8:16

types of links , causation

8:18

and factors , right , we can't do that . But

8:21

it is shown in literature to show that

8:23

mood regulation can be there as well , and I've

8:25

noticed over my 17-year career , that people

8:28

that have good vitamin D levels or the people that

8:30

we help get into a normal vitamin

8:32

D level do better with their mood

8:34

. That's kind of neat . And lastly

8:36

, gene expression this

8:43

stuff is what I love , but I'll get carried away and this podcast will be two hours long . Gene

8:45

expression Vitamin D acts as a transcription factor regulating the expression

8:47

of numerous genes involved in various

8:49

psychological processes and

8:52

physiological processes throughout the

8:54

body . I'm

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going to just stop there , because that's

8:58

the new frontier of the science

9:00

for vitamin D . So there you go . Hope I wowed

9:03

you a little bit with those things . But the

9:05

role in the body is so important . It's essential

9:07

for maintaining healthy bones . It

9:10

helps the body absorb calcium from the diet

9:12

. It's important for bone growth , development

9:14

maintenance throughout life . It plays a role in

9:16

regulating the immune system , muscle function

9:19

and cell growth . That's what you need to walk away with

9:21

today from this podcast . So

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why do we need it ? Vitamin D deficiency that's what we're talking about . We need it so

9:28

we're not deficient . Vitamin D deficiency can lead to various health problems

9:31

, including bone disorders like

9:33

rickets in children . Like I told you , insufficient

9:35

levels of vitamin D may also have linked to

9:38

increased risk of certain cancers

9:40

, autoimmune diseases , cardiovascular

9:42

disease and mood disorders like depression

9:44

. So that's why we

9:46

want to be maintaining it , because it plays just too

9:48

many roles across too many different platforms , and

9:50

if these are the conditions that we've learned

9:52

about , imagine how many more we're going to learn about

9:55

. So here's the most important

9:57

thing of the podcast how do you maintain good

9:59

vitamin D ? The primary source

10:01

of vitamin D naturally is sunlight . When

10:04

the skin is exposed to sunlight , it synthesizes

10:07

vitamin D from that photo , from

10:09

the photons , to our skin . The skin

10:11

, the melanocytes , absorb it and

10:14

then it synthesizes that energy

10:16

into vitamin D . It's so

10:18

cool the pathway , how that happens just innately

10:21

. However , factors

10:23

like where you live in the world the closer to the equator

10:25

you are probably , the more sunlight you're going to get right

10:28

, season , time of day , cloud cover

10:30

, skin pigmentation and

10:32

the use of sunscreen can even affect your vitamin

10:34

D , right ? So it's a double-edged

10:36

sword . Well , we need sunlight , but we also need to

10:38

wear sunscreen , because constant sun damage

10:41

can lead to melanoma and skin cancer

10:43

. So we've got to play a role

10:46

in that . We've got to protect ourselves from the UV the

10:48

UV that supplies us with life

10:50

. So

10:52

the goal is 20 minutes of direct

10:54

sun exposure every day , 365

10:57

days a year , to your entire

10:59

body , not wearing

11:01

pants and just taking your shirt off and not in

11:05

a one-piece swimsuit . That's

11:07

not enough . You got to do more . And if you expose yourself

11:09

to more than 20 minutes of direct sunlight , especially

11:11

here in Florida , you put yourself at risk

11:13

of a sunburn , which you don't want

11:16

. See what's going on . So that is why

11:18

we need to fortify and

11:20

supply our nutrition with vitamin

11:22

D . Supply

11:28

our nutrition with vitamin D . Apart from sunlight , sources of vitamin D include

11:30

fatty fish like salmon , mackerel , tuna , egg yolks so

11:32

don't just eat the egg white . Fortified

11:34

foods like dairy products too . They

11:36

put the vitamin D in there . And

11:40

if you listen to our old podcast , we

11:42

don't like fortified food and processed food because

11:45

it's really not nutritious

11:47

. So that's the problem

11:49

there . So eating whole foods is the best way to do it

11:51

. So , folks , long story short , you need

11:53

to have a vitamin D supplement . It's

11:56

got to be liquid form because that's

11:58

the highest absorbability , and you got to

12:00

be taking about 5,000 IUs

12:02

per day . There you go . You

12:04

had to listen to the whole podcast to get that last tip . Saved

12:07

it for the end . That's what you got to do . That's been

12:09

it and I'm not tooting my own horn

12:12

here , but for 17 years

12:14

I've been saying that and I was the first doctor

12:16

in my area to tell people to take 5,000

12:18

to 10,000 IUs per day back in 2008

12:21

. I remember this . They're like I'm

12:23

taking 100 . This was 100 , or

12:25

the 500 milligram

12:27

capsules that they were taking . I'm like you need to

12:29

take 10 of those 5,000 . And they're

12:31

like what are you talking about ? We showed them on

12:34

their blood work and it was like pulling teeth to get

12:36

a primary care physician to send them for

12:38

vitamin D at that time . Oh , vitamin D . Now

12:40

they do it all the time . So I

12:43

guess I am tooting my own horn , but we

12:45

were saying that from that long ago because of

12:47

the research that was there . It was

12:49

10 years old by then In 1995

12:51

, this stuff was coming out . So by the time I was in

12:53

practice in 2007 , 2008 , 2009

12:56

, it was 10 years it was in the literature

12:58

and we're at the front runners . And

13:00

ever since then we stay at the front of literature

13:02

and evidence-based science because that

13:05

is what you need to know to do and

13:08

that's it . That's

13:10

it , folks . So 5,000 to 10,000

13:12

liquid form you can buy this stuff anywhere . People

13:15

still get confused about D2 , d3 . You

13:17

can't buy vitamin D2 anywhere . There's

13:19

no such thing . It's all vitamin D3 . So

13:23

whatever vitamin D you buy , it's all vitamin D . Please do not buy your

13:25

nutraceuticals online

13:27

, especially wholesalers

13:29

like amazoncom . Do not

13:32

buy it . You cannot find

13:34

where the source is coming from , where

13:36

the distributors are coming from . You may

13:38

not be getting it , and there's

13:40

an uptick in fraudulent

13:43

Chinese product here in the

13:45

United States , from electronics all the way

13:47

to nutrition and food . It's

13:50

a major problem right now . They're getting

13:52

around things . They're just copying labels

13:55

, putting them on bottles , making them look identically

13:58

the same as the other companies , and the company's

14:00

like listen , we don't do that , we don't

14:02

ship it like that . So

14:05

you don't know what the source is . Unfortunately , nothing against

14:07

China , but I mean you . Just . There's no way to . The FDA

14:09

can't cross reference this , so we don't know what we're

14:11

getting . Please do not buy online . If you're going to buy

14:13

online , find the reputable sources

14:15

and you co-manage it with your doctor

14:17

, like . Usually the doctors have to get a

14:20

license or have their license used

14:22

on something like full script or biodesign

14:24

or some some type of a

14:27

platform where a doctor

14:29

signs off on it and

14:32

then you can have a link where you go into your portal

14:34

and you can order anything you want and your doctor

14:36

can see it at any point . So if you ever have a

14:38

side effect or if you ever feel something , the

14:40

doctor would be like , oh you know , why'd you order all of those

14:43

you didn't need . You didn't need those . Those three things

14:45

Take , stop taking those or whatever it is . So

14:47

that's my best advice . Or just have somebody

14:49

help you . That's the best thing . But vitamin D is safe

14:51

. Go to the shelf . Go to the store at any of

14:53

your Whole Foods or organic stores

14:55

. Buy vitamin D . You're in

14:57

good shape there . Stay well

15:00

, stay healthy , get

15:02

your vitamin D Healthy levels , if you ever get . Your blood

15:05

work is 50 to 70

15:07

. 50 to 70 . The

15:09

medical range is 30 to

15:11

90 . 30 to 90

15:14

. When you look at that number that they give you so

15:17

30 is deficient . Now

15:19

, medically , if you come in at 32 , they're going to say

15:21

, nah , you're okay , but you're not . You're

15:24

well under 50 . You're

15:30

deficient , You're deficient . That's the deficiency range . Under 50 is deficient . Under

15:32

30 is medically deficient . Your medical doctor sees you at 20 . They

15:34

now have to prescribe you a shot , and

15:36

I think a shot's 100,000 IUs , boom

15:39

, and you might have to do that shot every

15:41

week for a few weeks to get

15:43

your level up . This is what they do for B12

15:45

too . If you're chronically low B12

15:47

, they tell you to get a shot

15:49

, because a shot goes directly into the bloodstream . So

15:53

that's what will happen medically . Otherwise

15:55

, if you're under 50 , you need to be taking five

15:58

. I would up it to 10,000 for a

16:00

while until you finish that first bottle and then

16:02

get to 5,000

16:04

after that . That's my tips . Those are safe tips

16:06

that I can say on a podcast without any

16:09

slack here , because it's perfectly safe for everyone

16:11

. Children , you just elevate

16:14

it up to five years of age . So at one they

16:16

can do up to 1,000 . At two , they can do up

16:18

to 2,000 IUs . At three years old , they can do up

16:20

to 3,000 . That's just a nice little guidance for

16:22

them to get them up to the 5,000

16:24

I use per day at five . So then , that's why

16:26

we do liquid . You just drop five little drops on

16:28

the tongue . The whole family can do it . A bottle

16:30

lasts us about a month , and

16:33

they range between 14 and $24

16:36

for vitamin D , depending where the sources come from . And

16:39

that's your investment for vitamin D Pretty easy

16:41

for most people to do have

16:44

a great week , stay healthy , take care

16:46

. God bless .