Too Much or Too Little Vitamin D Supplementation Can Be Bad for Health

Around 1 in 4 Australians are Vitamin D deficient. Therefore selecting best quality vitamin and supplements is essential, especially so as there many brands available from pharmacies, health food stores and supermarkets, but these are not always reliable supplements. So here are 4 golden rules in selecting the best Vitamin D supplement.

Rule 1
There is good clinical evidence indicating that both high and low levels of Vitamin D are associated with increased health risks. If you check out the smartphone health app Apple A Day RX you will see displayed a number of disease where low levels of Vitamin D are implicated. The most sensible advice is to get your Vitamin D levels checked via a blood test and then seek assistance from a healthcare practitioner in selecting the dosage of Vitamin D. Unless guided avoid taking more than 1,000 IU per day ( unless advised) and beware of symptoms of Vitamin D toxicity such as nausea and weakness.

Rule 2
Soft gels, powders, liquids and capsules are the best form of Vitamin D to take as they are easily absorbed into the system, whereas coated pills may not disintegrate in the stomach resulting in little or no absorption.

Rule 3
There are 2 different forms of Vitamin D:

• Vitamin D2 also known as Ergocalciferol
• Vitamin D3 also known as Choleciferol

Vitamin D2 is produced by fungi and plants, when they are exposed to the sun. Vitamin D2 is available in its synthetic form and though it helps the body absorb calcium and build strong bones, it is not as potent and potent and effective in humans than D3. Heaney et al published a complementary research study in 2010 which revealed that D3 is approximately 87% more potent in raising and maintaining Vitamin D levels in the body and produces 2 to 3-fold greater storage of vitamin D than the same concentration of Vitamin D2. Therefore, the Vitamin D3 is the preferred treatment option when correcting vitamin D deficiency.

Rule 4
Vitamin D3 is best taken after meals to enhance absorption.

Following these four basic rules will help you get the best out of your Vitamin D supplement. However, it is always best to seek the advice from a CAM practitioner as they will guide you to take the most effective and safe therapeutic dosage and advise on intake duration.

Cross- Infection Problem in Doctors’ Waiting Room

When parents bring their sick children to see their doctor or Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) practitioner, they spend time in the waiting rooms playing with toys. Many of these children have infectious disease, which can easily be transmitted to another child when they play with these toys at a later time. As parents we are concerned about the welfare of our kids and we should be aware of the potential of cross-infections from toys in public areas and should warn our kids not to put toys in their mouth. A poignant research study by Merriman et al in the February 2002 edition of British Journal of General Practice highlighted this issue.

They revealed that the toys in waiting rooms of GP surgeries are a potential source of cross-infection i.e.
Hard toys – low levels of contamination
Soft toys – 20% moderate to heavy coliform contamination
90% heavy bacterial contamination

Some Australian GP centres have now acted and removed children’s toys from their waiting rooms. Perhaps it is time that other GP clinics and Complementary and Alternative Medicine practices also follow suit. This also brings into question that improved guidelines regarding cleaning of toys in childcare centres needs to be reviewed.

This prevent cross-contamination due to toys, regular daily cleaning is required at the very least not only in GP surgeries, but also in childcare centres, family day care, OSHC centres and other educational centres.

Childhood Obesity and Bone Growth

We know that obese children tend to have more muscle. A recent review by Kindler et al in the recent publication of Current Opinion in Endocrinology concluded that muscle is a strong contributor to bone growth in childhood and adolescence. However, the excess fat that accompanies obesity can be deposited in the muscle thus affecting bone growth erroneously which can then lead to chronic health conditions.

Therefore, lifestyle advice for children should always include exercise and standard healthcare food and nutrition advice.

Food and Nutrition Advice for the Treatment of High Cholesterol

Complementary and Alternative Medicine therapies such as Ayurveda have advocated the use of lime as valuable food and nutrition advice for treatment of obesity and high cholesterol.

Is there any scientific evidence that backs this age-old treatment?

Limonoids, is the constituent which causes of bitterness in citrus juice, and has previously been reported to possess substantial antioxidant and anticancer activities.

A 2013 complementary medicine research study by Boshtam et al studied the antioxidant activity and atherosclerosis progression in rabbits using the antioxidant rich lime peel. The study revealed that the presence of fatty streaks in coronary arteries and aorta of the treated animals (lime juice peel) were significantly reduced compared to the hypercholesterolemic control group.

Lime (Citrus aurantifolia) peel and juice is known to increase plasma antioxidant capacity in rabbits, and also reduces the process of atherogenesis. However, lime peel was shown to be more effective than lime juice. This observation may be due to the fact that lime peel and juice have different types of flavonoids. For example, hesperidin, naringenin and eriocitrin are found in lime juice, whilst polymethoxylated flavones (PMF), limonoid, and diosmin are found in the peel.

The higher ascorbic acid content of fresh lime juice results in significantly higher serum antioxidant capacity than lime peel, but the latter caused significantly more reductions in fatty streak grade in rabbits. The researchers concluded that this difference may be related to the effects and absorption of each type of flavonoid.

Whilst this research study has only been carried out in rabbits, there is an indication that the age old Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapeutic advice may be useful in the acute treatment of hypercholesterolameia. It goes without saying that this food and nutrition advice is only a treatment component in the integrative healthcare solution for the treatment of obesity and high cholesterol.

Natural treatments for Depression

 

There is a progressive increase in people suffering from depression and an accompanying growth of prescription drugs to treat the disorder. In the smartphone health app Apple A Day RX, S-adenosyl methionine (SAMe) is indicated as a possible treatment for some forms of depression. It goes without saying, that there is still a requirement for the continued development of anti-depression drugs that are better tolerated and have minimal side effects. One promising candidate is S-adenosyl methionine (SAMe), which is a naturally occurring molecule.

SAMe is found throughout the human body, and in high concentrations in the liver, adrenal glands, and pineal gland. SAMe also appears to be uniformly distributed in the brain, where it acts as the major donor of methyl groups required in the synthesis of neuronal messengers and membranes.

A 2010 complementary medicine research paper published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, revealed that SAMe, at a dose of 800 mg/twice daily, can be an effective, well-tolerated, and safe adjunctive treatment strategy for SRI nonresponders with major depressive disorder.

Possible mechanisms of actions of SAMe include:

• influencing the turnover of dopamine and serotonin
• crossing the blood brain barrier making it efficacious
• increasing monoamine synthesis
• effecting brain neurotrophic activity, inflammatory cytokines, cell membrane fluidity, and bioenergetics

Further large scale clinical trials are required to determine it efficacy of SAMe in the treatment of major depressive disorders. The possibility arises that SAMe could be an important Integrative Medicine resource for treating depression, it can be strategically used along with Complementary and Alternative Medicine(CAM) therapies such as Acupuncture, CBT, Kinesiology, Homeopathy and Lifeline Technique to name but a few.

Meditation and relaxation training

Mindfulness meditation as daily lifestyle advice has grown in popularity over recent years as we seek solutions to combat the stresses of modern day living. However, by its very nature mindfulness meditation can be an important Complementary and Alternative (CAM) intervention in the treatment of mild ADHD.

Mindfulness meditation has been shown to improve behavioural and neurocognitive impairments in adolescents and adults with ADHD. A complementary medicine research study in 2008 study by Zylowska et al showed that 8-week mindfulness meditation program resulted in:

• Pre-post improvements in self-reported ADHD symptoms
• Improvements in symptoms of anxiety and depressive

Although this was a small scale study the science behind mindfulness meditation makes this a viable integrative healthcare solution for the treatment of mild ADHD.

Integrative healthcare solution for Sciatica

Sciatica is basically the experience of sharp and shooting pain through the gluteus and down the leg. Sciatica occurs when there is an impingement of the sciatic nerve which is compressed by the discs of the lumbar spine.

While there are numerous causes of sciatica, the most common are:

• lumbar bulging disc
• spine degeneration
• facet joint injuries
• piriformis syndrome
• spinal stenosis
• spondylolisthesis
• sacroiliac dysfunction

It is important to manage the pain and manage the inflammation.

Conventional therapeutic protocols include physiotherapy guided exercises such as McKenzie extensions and core strengthening exercises. However, the inclusion of integrative healthcare solution such as Remedial Massage Therapy can dramatically improve clinical outcomes.

An experienced Remedial Massage practitioner has a range of techniques at their disposal such as:

• PNF Stretching
• Soft –tissue release
• Myofascial release
• Muscle Energy technique

If the problem still persists and /or becomes severe then consultation with a GP for anti-inflammatory medication for pain management or a CT-guided periradicular nerve root injection is highly recommended.

Continuum of care should still include the aforementioned complementary therapies and also consider the incorporation of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Therapies such as Yoga (similar to MET principle), Bowen treatment and Acupuncture to resolve the issue.