Woman Destroyed Her Kidneys (in 2 months) By Taking Common Vitamin

Actually, the video talks about 5 different vitamins you have to be careful not to overdue, especially if you have kidney disease, but sometimes even if you don't have kidney disease.  It's good stuff to know.

Low Vitamin D levels kill?

One study says yes:

Low vitamin D tied to premature death, Study

People with lower levels of vitamin D are twice as likely to die prematurely than those who have higher levels in their blood, said Univ. of Calif.-San Diego researchers.

Lead study author Cedric Garland said 30 nanograms per milliliter of vitamin D was associated with the lower death rate, and that two-thirds of the U.S. have estimated blood levels below 30 ng/ml. Humans can increase their natural production of vitamin D through exposure to sunlight.

“Three years ago, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that having a too-low blood level of vitamin D was hazardous,” said Cedric Garland, professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine at University of California – San Diego and lead author of the study.

“This study supports that conclusion, but goes one step further. The 20 nanograms per millilitre (ng/ml) blood level cutoff assumed from the IOM report was based solely on the association of low vitamin D with risk of bone disease.

“This new finding is based on the association of low vitamin D with risk of premature death from all causes, not just bone diseases,” Garland said. [...]

     

Nattokinase: a replacement for Warfrin?

I've been looking at Nattokinase as a supplement for my mother, who is suffering from a calcified heart valve, due to (I believe) her long term use of Warfrin. Warfrin is known to be a vitamin k antagonist. But without vitamin k (vitamin k2 specifically), the body can't regulate calcium properly, and it goes into the arteries instead of into the bones.

Nattokinase is known to prevent and even reverse atherosclerosis. Pure Natto is a source of vitamin k2. But even though the product description says that it contains pure nattokinase enzyme with all vitamin k removed, there are warnings to not take it if you are taking Warfarin (Coumadin), or to consult your doctor first if you are taking Warfarin. And from what I've read on the customer comments on Amazon, it seems that people use it to replace Warfarin:

Great results so far!

My husband has a blood clotting disorder and was placed on Coumadin for life. He wasn't doing well on Coumadin. There was so many nasty side effects so we looked for an alternative to Coumadin. This supplement was recommended to us 10 months ago. He is doing so much better since taking Nattokinase. He is off of Coumadin (without his Dr's blessing), it has brought his cholesterol down, brought his blood pressure down (along with vitamin C), and improved his cataracts. He just had an eye exam and his eye glasses prescription was the same as two and a half years ago. That has NEVER happened. His eyes have always gotten worse for every exam. His Dr wasn't happy with him when he got off of Coumadin, but he is happy with the results and can't believe hubby is off of cholesterol and high blood pressure meds. He has never see that happen in his patients. We are excited to see other benefits pop up in the future.

In the threads attached to that post, people ask for an update, and the author, Jennifer, replies one year later:

Hubby is still doing well on Natto. He also takes Vitamin E, Cod Liver Oil, and Ginko Biloba in order to get the thinnest blood that he can. His blood clotting disorder is serious, though.

Another person, Mary Turner, posts this under Jennifer's original post:

The first time I took Cumadin, my legs felt like they were on fire. I had to go every thursday to the clinic as you have to be monitored when taking cumadin which is really a low dose of rat poison (for real). They can never get it right. It's take one pill, take one and a half, go back to one pill and so on. I told my doctor, "I cannot keep taking this stuff. " He replied, "I don't know what else to tell you to take." I said, "yes you do but your hands are tied by the FDA."

I had already read about Natto and had been reading about natural cures for over 12 years. So I ordered Natto and stopped taking Cumadin. The Natto arrived the same day my brother passed away. I was off work for a week taking care of funeral arrangements but took the Natto everyday. The following Thursday, I went back to the clinic to give them a blood sample and went to work. They called my job to give me the results as usual.

The nurse was so excited and said to me, "your blood plattelets are perfect; how much Cumadin shall I tell the doctor you took?" I said, "tell the doctor I did not take any of that rat poison." She even got more excited and wanted me to tell her what I took to get these results. She looked it up on line as I spelled it out for her and gave me a big thank you as she wanted it for herself.

Now I had not spoke to anyone about what I had taken but they thought it was Cumidin that did the trick. So what does that tell you. [...]

Jennifer also said in the thread that her husband didn't just stop taking Warfarin/Coumadin, that there was an overlap for about a month, where he took both but transitioned to just Nattokinase.

Many other reviewers reported that it lowered their blood pressure, and improved their overall blood circulation. A handful of people said it did nothing for them (I've found that is usually the case with supplement reviews; there are always some who say that). It does seem that it's used in place of Warfarin/Coumadin, rather than with it.

My sister says that my mother's doctor says, he would not object to any supplements as long as they don't interfere with what he has prescribed for her. It seems to me that the Nattokinase would interfere with the Warfarin.

I thought that I might try her on Vitamin K2 (Jarrow Formulas MK-7), because I read that vitamin k1 interferes with Warfarin's blood thinning, but vitamin K2 does not. Yet the K2 supplements also warn against taking them with Warfarin, or at least with consulting a doctor first before taking them.

So, is the only answer to stop taking Warfarin/Coumadin? That would be a tough sell for my mom. She's afraid to go against what the doctors tell her.


Here are a list of links about vitamin K2, and how it's been used to reverse calcification in arteries and heart valves. There have been studies that show reversal of arterial calcification in rats:

http://www.knowguff.com/2012/05/vitamin-k2-as-mk-7-restores-elasticity.html

http://www.natmedtalk.com/f25/1614-vitamin-k2-shown-reverse-arterial-calcifications.html

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/11/can-vitamin-k2-reverse-arterial.html

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2009/jan2009_Vitamin-K-Protection-Against-Arterial-Calcification-Bone-Loss-Cancer-Aging_01.htm


I've looked for information about reversing calcification of heart valves in humans. I could not find a lot of information, and what I did find was anecdotal:



http://www.vitamincfoundation.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=7533

http://www.vitamincfoundation.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=6207

But even mainstream medicine doesn't rule it out completely, they just say there are insufficient studies to prove it yet:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18196985?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum&ordinalpos=6

There seems to be no end to articles on the subject:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/sardi/sardi82.html

http://www.lewrockwell.com/sardi/sardi85.html

http://blogs.webmd.com/integrative-medicine-wellness/2007/11/vitamin-k-keeping-calcium-in-your-bones-and-out-of-your-blood-vessels.html

http://www.smart-publications.com/articles/vitamin-k-keeps-calcium-out-of-your-arteries-and-in-your-bones

http://www.preparemd.com/supplements-vitamins-categories-information/vitamin-k2-mk7-reduced-heart-attack/

There was even a book published in 2011, called "Vitamin K2 and the Calcium Paradox: How a Little-Known Vitamin Could Save Your Life":

http://www.amazon.com/Vitamin-K2-Calcium-Paradox-Little-Known/dp/1118065727/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373147390&sr=1-1&keywords=vitamin+k2+and+the+calcium+paradox

But it's gone out of print, despite getting high ratings from readers. Only the Kindle edition is still available at a reasonable price. Used copies are very expensive. I hope they print more copies soon.


Update 07-12-13:

Our local health food store gave me a report about Nattokinase. It's quite informative, and I found it online in PDF format:

http://www.enzymedica.com/images/enzy/articles_handouts/pdf/CardiovascularHealthandNattokinase_H30.pdf
   

Vitamin D and Depression; which comes first?

Vitamin D Deficiency Linked to Depression

[...] The relationship between depression and vitamin D is likely a two-way street, Pathuk says. "People who have depression are at high risk for vitamin D deficiency because they stay indoors, don't exercise too much, and are likely not eating a healthy diet."

There are also vitamin D receptors in areas of the brain that help regulate behavior and emotion, she says.

"It is not unusual for people with depression to be deficient in vitamin D and treating the deficiency may make a huge difference in how they feel," Pathuk says.

If you are being treated for depression, ask your doctor to test your vitamin D levels. "If you are deficient, get treated," she says.

"People often feel better when they take vitamin D," says Michael Holick, MD, PhD. He is the director of the Vitamin D, Skin, and Bone Research Lab at Boston University. "One of the effects that vitamin D has on the brain is to improve serotonin levels -- which is the same chemical that many antidepressants act on."

"This is an interesting study," says Erin LeBlanc, MD. She is an endocrinologist and researcher at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland. "It does show that vitamin D and its effects on things besides bone should be studied more." [...]

     

Vitamin C rich foods help with Heart Failure

Foods With Vitamin C May Help Heart Failure Patients
Study: Heart Failure Patients More Likely to Be Hospitalized if Their Diet Is Low in Foods With Vitamin C

Nov.14, 2011 (Orlando, Fla.) -- People with heart failure who don't eat enough vitamin C-rich foods are almost twice as likely to be hospitalized or die as those with heart failure who get enough vitamin C in their diet, new research suggests.

They are also more than twice as likely to have high levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in their blood, which has been linked to heart disease.

The study is the first to show that people with heart failure who eat enough vitamin C-rich foods live longer, according to study researcher Grace Song, PhD, RN, an assistant professor in the department of nursing at the University of Ulsan, South Korea.

Vitamin C, an antioxidant, may help people with heart failure by calming down inflammation in the body, Song tells WebMD.

Other researchers say that it's not at all clear that vitamin C by itself improves heart health.

More likely, people who get enough vitamin C in their diets eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and are healthier overall, says Alice Lichtenstein, DSc, a nutritionist at Tufts University in Boston.

"What we do know," she says, "is that a diet high in fruits and vegetables lowers the risk of heart disease."

Foods that are rich in vitamin C include cantaloupe, red cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, oranges, papaya, and kiwis. [...]

Vitamin B12, and Alzheimers Disease

Apparently, a deficiency of the former is often mistaken for the later:

When Is Alzheimer's Disease Not Alzheimer's? When It's Vitamin B12 Deficiency!

[...] Vitamin B12 deficiency becomes more and more common as people get older. With some researchers estimating that over 800,000 elderly in the US have undiagnosed deficiency, this is NOT a small problem. Even worse is that few clinicians know about vitamin B12 deficiency or are trained to look for its symptoms. Many elderly who should be screened for this simple vitamin deficiency are, instead, diagnosed with ‘incurable’ diseases that rob them of any possible quality of life. That Mental Changes from B12 Deficiency can look EXACTLY like dementia was noted in 1902! Since then, this topic has been studied many times, and it has even been shown that CAT Scans and MRI’s that show lesions and degeneration of the brain and spinal cord are often REVERSIBLE when these lesions are caused by vitamin B12 deficiency! Yet, using these modern techniques, the presence of brain and spinal cord abnormalities is almost always used as evidence for patients and families of the Irreversible nature of their disease- when that is not necessarily the truth at all! [...]

Read the whole thing. Makes you wonder how many times Alzheimer's is a misdiagnosis.
     

What does it mean to be "vitamin D deficient"?

My doctor recently told me that I'm not getting enough vitamin D, and that I need to take a supplement. Vitamin D is one of the ones that it's possible to overdose on, so I looked it up. Overdosing on D, while possible, isn't that easy to do. And in fact, many people actually have a deficiency.

This website can tell you just about anything you want to know about vitamin D:

Learn the Symptoms of Vitamin D Deficiency Before It’s Too Late!

It has lots of links. One of them was this one:

Which kind of vitamin D should I take?

It says, among other things, that recent studies have show that the maximum vitamin D levels that have previously been recommended as normal can and should be considerably higher.

This other site was also very informative too:

vitamin d deficiency symptoms guide