Secosteroid Hormone D (Vitamin D)
This article does NOT constitute medical advice. Consult with your physician before making any changes to your medical plan.
After decades of disinterest many doctors are now testing vitamin D levels and recommending supplemental treatment to those people showing deficiencies. But what does a vitamin D deficiency really look like? When is it necessary to supplement? How much do you need to take and at what frequency? And, how do we separate correlation from causation in epidemiological studies about vitamin D? These are all questions I have been asking for many years. Finally, I have a fundamental understanding.
Let's begin with a brief discussion about the basic vitamin D pathways. We can make vitamin D3 in our skin from sunlight, or we can ingest it in our food or from a supplement. The transportation pathways are different. The formation of vitamin D in the skin from sunlight begins with a photosensitive molecule called 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC). This is the same molecule that makes the more well-known cholesterol molecule. If your shadow is shorter than your height then your bare skin is receiving UV-B rays from the sun that hit 7-DHC, and 7-DHC then gets converted to vitamin D3. That's the simple explanation. Since you are using up 7-DHC to make vitamin D3 there will be less 7-DHC left over to make cholesterol, so your cholesterol blood tests may be lower than otherwise. When you make vitamin D3 from the sun it gets transported to the liver by a molecule called vitamin D-binding protein. When you ingest vitamin D3 from food or supplements it takes a different path. In this case, vitamin D3 attaches to a low density lipoprotein cholesterol-carrying molecule (LDL-c) in the gut and gets transported to the liver. In this case, you need lots of LDL-c molecules to facilitate the transport, so your cholesterol blood tests may show higher levels of LDL-c as the liver makes a lot more of these molecules. The liver then converts the vitamin D3 into the storage form of vitamin D which is called 25-hydroxyvitamin D. We'll call this storage form "25D" to keep it simple. When needed, the liver releases 25D into the blood where it will travel to the kidneys to be converted to the active form called 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, which we will call "125D" in this article. Your doctor is measuring the 25D storage form in your blood as it travels from the liver to the kidney. 25D does not do anything. It's just a storage form. It does NO biological work. Your doctor is not measuring the active 125D form unless you specifically request it. This is the form that does all the biological work. 125D makes the macrophages, killer T-cells, and immunoprotective molecules, not 25D. 25D is an inert molecule. The liver is in control of how much 25D your doctor sees in your lab result, but remember that 25D does not do any biological work as it's just the storage form. 125D does the work. 125D works with the vitamin D receptors (VDR) and retinoid X receptors (RXR) to make your biological chemicals and immune response chemicals. RXR is a vitamin A receptor that is necessary to activate vitamin D. 25D is NOT indicative of the biological benefits of vitamin D. It's just a storage molecule that is measurable in the blood, and it is a very poor indicator of how much is actually stored in the liver, bones, and fat cells. It is 125D that indicates the appropriate amount of vitamin D that your body has available for biological benefits like immune function. Your doctor is measuring the WRONG number. The body is not going to release 25D into the blood if it is not needed, so it should be fairly low. Yet 25D is the only number that doctors and research studies are looking at. In most cases 25D should be on the low side when measured in the blood. You may have loads of 25D stored in the liver, fat cells, bone, and muscle cells, but it may not show up on a blood test because the body simply does not need it in the blood at that time. 125D is the number that matters because it is the molecule that does the work.
You do not want too much 25D in your blood because if all the VDR's are occupied, and you still have 25D circulating in the blood, then the 25D will start to dock with other receptors like thyroid receptors. 25D is a promiscuous molecule, and if it runs out of parking spaces it will park in the 'reserved' parking spots and cause problems. Often doctors measure 25D in the blood, find that the number is below 30ng/mL, and immediately recommend a vitamin D supplement. This can be problematic. For example, it is a well-known fact that vitamin D is necessary for proper calcium management. Too much 25D in the blood will spike the need to pull calcium into the blood. If you are eating enough calcium then the body can pull calcium into the blood from the food. But if you are not eating enough calcium then the body will pull calcium from the bone causing osteoporosis. The doctor may tell you to eat or supplement with more calcium, but calcium deficiency is not the problem in this case. The problem in this case is too much 25D in the blood from consuming too much vitamin D supplement. By measuring the active 125D form you can see if the body truly has optimal vitamin D usage. Make sure your lab freezes the 125D blood sample because it has a very short half-life. At the time of this writing, Quest Labs freezes 125D blood samples, but Lab Corp does not, so be careful. If you pump your body full of unnecessary exogenous vitamin D you could be creating problems instead of solutions. As another example, think about kidney stones. Too much vitamin D in the blood results in too much calcium in the blood. Couple that with high levels of oxalates from plants and now you have kidney stones. So what do you do? First, get your 125D measured and check to see if it is in the guideline range that your lab provides. Then compare it to previous measurements of 125D that you have had in the past (if you have a previous measurement). Next, look to see how 125D relates to 25D. Generally, 125D should generally be 1-3 times higher than 25D. If 125D is much higher or lower than 1-3 times 25D then it could be a sign of disease, but that doesn't mean vitamin D supplementation is necessary or safe. Very low 25D is often a marker of disease, but that does NOT mean that the disease is caused by low vitamin D intake either, and it does NOT mean that supplementing with 25D will fix the disease even if 25D increases with supplementation. It is generally just a correlation, not a causation. There are 15 different forms of 25D and your doctor only measures one of those. Furthermore, in addition to those 15 different form of 25D, the body make nearly 85 other metabolites of vitamin D (which is really a steroid). Measuring 25D alone is just silly. There are dozens of other forms of vitamin D that are NOT 25D.
125D will generally stay around the same level year round. Unless you have kidney disease or parathyroid disease you will not be low in 125D. You will notice that 25D may be lower in the winter time, but 25D is NOT doing any biochemical work. 25D is inert. 125D is doing the biochemical work. Lower 25D in the winter is not a bad thing. It is the natural cycle. If you get enough UV-B light during the summer then you will have more than enough stored 25D to last for several years. The body may put less 25D into the blood in winter, and as a result you may see lower 25D numbers on a blood test in winter, but when the body needs more 25D in the blood it will put it in the blood from the vast storages. It may not show up on a blood test because it may quickly be converted to 125D. If you want to check a blood test number then check 125D. For most people our relationship with light and dark is the best regulator of vitamin D. This is described in detail in my article called Light, Electrons, and Water As Nutrition For Quantum Health. Read it carefully. Study the research included in the links. Put it into practice daily. Live your life by it. It is the way we evolved to manufacture, consume, and utilize vitamin D. A quick fix approach, like a supplement or drug, is rarely the answer to biological impairments. It is usually misguided human adaptations that cause problems with our ancestrally evolved biology.
As you carefully read epidemiological studies on vitamin D you will notice that nearly all of those studies compare disease rates to 25D, not 125D. Those studies usually show a strong correlation between those diseases and levels of 25D. But this is correlation that is incorrectly interpreted, not causation. A low 25D level is usually the RESULT of the disease, NOT the CAUSE of the disease. Increasing the 25D does not fix the underlying disease, and it could make things a lot worse. For example, if a person consumes exogenous vitamin D3 supplements they could really mess up their calcium. The messed up calcium will then mess up magnesium, which will mess up copper, which will mess up iron which then accumulates in the liver, which then messes up the thyroid. Fix the disease first! How do you do that? Start with my article called Healing Chronic Disease. To my knowledge, there is not a single study of people who are low in both 25D and 125D in which supplementing with oral D3 improved their disease outcome.
Why do some people say they feel better when they take vitamin D3 supplements? It's because vitamin D is a steroid. It temporarily dampens your autoimmune symptoms while causing additional long-term problems like if you took prednisone long-term. In the short-term it gives you relief, but in the long-term it destroys your health.
I am currently exploring a hypothesis that vitamin D can possibly be made from cold exposure. It has long been known, from Gurwitsch's onion experiment in 1923, that cells make and emit ultraviolet light. Since then it has been discovered that this UV light is being produced by the mitochondria of cells. In fact, mitochondria produce a fairly broad spectrum of light that ranges from 200nm to 800nm. It is known that vitamin D is made from UV-B light in the range of 290nm-315nm. So, it would stand to reason that it may be possible for mitochondria to make the necessary UV light to produce vitamin D in the skin when the body is consistently exposed to cold.
This article does NOT constitute medical advice.
Consult with your physician before making any changes to your medical plan.
Consult with your physician before making any changes to your medical plan.
More Resources:
Vitamin D is Really a Hormone: http://my-magnesium.com/hormone-d.html
Hypercalcemia and Metastatic Calcification: https://academic.oup.com/cardiovascres/article/36/3/293/298591
Renal Potassium Wasting Induced by Vitamin D: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC291035/pdf/jcinvest00315-0040.pdf
50 nmol/L (20 ng/ml) is Where the Scientists See the Lowest Mortality Rate:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/rel.../2012/05/120529102346.htm
Vitamin D Supplements Aren’t Living Up to their Hype: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/vitamin-d-supplements-lose-luster
Largest Ever Clinical Study Shows We Were Wrong About Benefits of D Supplements: https://www.sciencealert.com/the-largest-ever-clinical-study-on-vitamin-d-shows-we-re-wrong-about-its-benefits
VITAL Researchers Announce Landmark Trial Findings: http://www.vitalstudy.org/findings.html
Vitamin D is More Likely to be a Correlate Marker of Overall Health and NOT Causally Involved in Disease:
https://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g2035
Low vitamin D is a Marker NOT the Cause: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(13)70165-7/fulltext
Magnesium = D Vitamin:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/amp/324022
Lack of Magnesium and Vitamin D Deficiency: https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1741-7015-11-229
Magnesium Optimizes Vitamin D Levels: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-12-magnesium-optimizes-vitamin-d-status.amp
Magnesium Status and Supplementation Influence Vitamin D Status and Metabolism: Results from a Randomized Trial: https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article-abstract/108/6/1249/5239886
Magnesium, Vitamin D Status and Mortality: results from US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001 to 2006 and NHANES III:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3765911/ https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1741-7015-11-187
Over 12 Different Forms of Vitamin D in the Body (but doctors only measure 1):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26445902
Why I Changed My Mind About Vitamin D: http://theconversation.com/the-sun-goes-down-on-vitamin-d-why-i-changed-my-mind-about-this-celebrated-supplement-52725
Recommendation From 1983 NOT to Supplement or Fortify with D:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6350405
The Great Vitamin D Deficiency: http://www.drdalepeterson.com/The-Great-Vitamin-D-Deficiency-.html
The Darker Side of Supplementing Vitamin D: https://mindbodynetwork.com/article/the-darker-side-of-supplementing-vitamin-d
Abstract: Monthly High-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation and Cancer Risk: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/article-abstract/2687971
Abstract: Current Understanding of the Molecular Actions of Vitamin D: https://www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physrev.1998.78.4.1193
Abstract: 25-Hydroxylation of Vitamin D3: Relation to Circulating Vitamin D3 Under Various Input Conditions: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/18541563/
Summary of Roundtable Discussion on Vitamin D. Research Needs: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/18689407/
A Reverse J-Shaped Association Between Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: The CopD Study:
https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/100/6/2339/2829632
Relationship Between 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/23601272/
The Pendulum Swings on Vitamin D: https://drcarolyndean.com/2018/05/the-pendulum-swings-on-vitamin-d/
Induction of Vascular Calcification by Hypervitaminosis D:
https://academic.oup.com/ndt/article/27/5/1704/1844110
Vitamin D Supplements Are Immunosuppressive: http://microbeminded.com/vitamin-d-supplements-are-immunosuppressive/
What Vitamin D Supplements Do to Your Mineral Levels (Hint: It’s Not Good): https://butternutrition.com/vitamin-d-supplement-warning/
Vitamin D: A Narrative Review Examining the Evidence for Ten Beliefs: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26951286
Why I Don’t Take Vitamin D Supplements (Authored by a Scientist): https://gettingstronger.org/2012/11/why-i-dont-take-vitamin-d-supplements/
Vitamin D3 Supplements & My Mega Dosing Experiment: https://www.selfhacked.com/blog/experiment-megadosing-vitamin-d3/
Studies Find Vitamin D Supplements Are Not Effective and Could be Dangerous: https://www.sciencealert.com/vitamin-d-tablets-may-be-worse-for-you-then-nothing-at-all
Johns Hopkins Medicine – Vitamin D: More May Not Be Better: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/vitamin_d_more_may_not_be_better
Harvard Health - Update on Recommended Level of 25,(OH)D: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/vitamin-d-whats-right-level-2016121910893
Can you Supplement Sunlight??
https://jackkruse.com/time-10-can-you-supplement-sunlight/
Abstract: Inflammation and Vitamin D: The Infection Connection: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4160567/
The Truth About Vitamin D: Fourteen Reasons Why Misunderstanding Endures (PDF): http://www.medicinabiomolecular.com.br/biblioteca/pdfs/Biomolecular/mb-0439.pdf
Shortcomings of Vitamin D-Based Model Simulations of Seasonal Influenza: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3108988/
Vitamin D, the Sunshine Supplement, Has Shadowy Money Behind It: The Reason for the D Craze: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/business/vitamin-d-michael-holick.html
D3 Cholecalciferol is Rat Poison:
https://vet.purdue.edu/addl/news/rodenticide-revolution.php
D-CON® RODENTICIDE Ingredient Changes to Vitamin D3: https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/veterinarian-tips/breaking-news-d-con-rodenticide-ingredient-changes-to-vitamin-d3/
Merck Veterinary Manual: D3 Poisoning: https://www.merckvetmanual.com/toxicology/rodenticide-poisoning/cholecalciferol
Permanent Kidney Damage from Vitamin D Supplementation: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/vitamin-d-overconsumption-leaves-man-with-permanent-kidney-damage-1.4370261
Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D (2010) Reference Ranges Are Much Too High (PDF): http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2010/Dietary-Reference-Intakes-for-Calcium-and-Vitamin-D/Vitamin%20D%20and%20Calcium%202010%20Report%20Brief.pdf
Vitamin D is Really a Hormone: http://my-magnesium.com/hormone-d.html
Hypercalcemia and Metastatic Calcification: https://academic.oup.com/cardiovascres/article/36/3/293/298591
Renal Potassium Wasting Induced by Vitamin D: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC291035/pdf/jcinvest00315-0040.pdf
50 nmol/L (20 ng/ml) is Where the Scientists See the Lowest Mortality Rate:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/rel.../2012/05/120529102346.htm
Vitamin D Supplements Aren’t Living Up to their Hype: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/vitamin-d-supplements-lose-luster
Largest Ever Clinical Study Shows We Were Wrong About Benefits of D Supplements: https://www.sciencealert.com/the-largest-ever-clinical-study-on-vitamin-d-shows-we-re-wrong-about-its-benefits
VITAL Researchers Announce Landmark Trial Findings: http://www.vitalstudy.org/findings.html
Vitamin D is More Likely to be a Correlate Marker of Overall Health and NOT Causally Involved in Disease:
https://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g2035
Low vitamin D is a Marker NOT the Cause: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landia/article/PIIS2213-8587(13)70165-7/fulltext
Magnesium = D Vitamin:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/amp/324022
Lack of Magnesium and Vitamin D Deficiency: https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/1741-7015-11-229
Magnesium Optimizes Vitamin D Levels: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-12-magnesium-optimizes-vitamin-d-status.amp
Magnesium Status and Supplementation Influence Vitamin D Status and Metabolism: Results from a Randomized Trial: https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article-abstract/108/6/1249/5239886
Magnesium, Vitamin D Status and Mortality: results from US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2001 to 2006 and NHANES III:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3765911/ https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1741-7015-11-187
Over 12 Different Forms of Vitamin D in the Body (but doctors only measure 1):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26445902
Why I Changed My Mind About Vitamin D: http://theconversation.com/the-sun-goes-down-on-vitamin-d-why-i-changed-my-mind-about-this-celebrated-supplement-52725
Recommendation From 1983 NOT to Supplement or Fortify with D:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6350405
The Great Vitamin D Deficiency: http://www.drdalepeterson.com/The-Great-Vitamin-D-Deficiency-.html
The Darker Side of Supplementing Vitamin D: https://mindbodynetwork.com/article/the-darker-side-of-supplementing-vitamin-d
Abstract: Monthly High-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation and Cancer Risk: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/article-abstract/2687971
Abstract: Current Understanding of the Molecular Actions of Vitamin D: https://www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physrev.1998.78.4.1193
Abstract: 25-Hydroxylation of Vitamin D3: Relation to Circulating Vitamin D3 Under Various Input Conditions: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/18541563/
Summary of Roundtable Discussion on Vitamin D. Research Needs: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/18689407/
A Reverse J-Shaped Association Between Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: The CopD Study:
https://academic.oup.com/jcem/article/100/6/2339/2829632
Relationship Between 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/23601272/
The Pendulum Swings on Vitamin D: https://drcarolyndean.com/2018/05/the-pendulum-swings-on-vitamin-d/
Induction of Vascular Calcification by Hypervitaminosis D:
https://academic.oup.com/ndt/article/27/5/1704/1844110
Vitamin D Supplements Are Immunosuppressive: http://microbeminded.com/vitamin-d-supplements-are-immunosuppressive/
What Vitamin D Supplements Do to Your Mineral Levels (Hint: It’s Not Good): https://butternutrition.com/vitamin-d-supplement-warning/
Vitamin D: A Narrative Review Examining the Evidence for Ten Beliefs: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26951286
Why I Don’t Take Vitamin D Supplements (Authored by a Scientist): https://gettingstronger.org/2012/11/why-i-dont-take-vitamin-d-supplements/
Vitamin D3 Supplements & My Mega Dosing Experiment: https://www.selfhacked.com/blog/experiment-megadosing-vitamin-d3/
Studies Find Vitamin D Supplements Are Not Effective and Could be Dangerous: https://www.sciencealert.com/vitamin-d-tablets-may-be-worse-for-you-then-nothing-at-all
Johns Hopkins Medicine – Vitamin D: More May Not Be Better: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/vitamin_d_more_may_not_be_better
Harvard Health - Update on Recommended Level of 25,(OH)D: https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/vitamin-d-whats-right-level-2016121910893
Can you Supplement Sunlight??
https://jackkruse.com/time-10-can-you-supplement-sunlight/
Abstract: Inflammation and Vitamin D: The Infection Connection: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4160567/
The Truth About Vitamin D: Fourteen Reasons Why Misunderstanding Endures (PDF): http://www.medicinabiomolecular.com.br/biblioteca/pdfs/Biomolecular/mb-0439.pdf
Shortcomings of Vitamin D-Based Model Simulations of Seasonal Influenza: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3108988/
Vitamin D, the Sunshine Supplement, Has Shadowy Money Behind It: The Reason for the D Craze: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/business/vitamin-d-michael-holick.html
D3 Cholecalciferol is Rat Poison:
https://vet.purdue.edu/addl/news/rodenticide-revolution.php
D-CON® RODENTICIDE Ingredient Changes to Vitamin D3: https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/veterinarian-tips/breaking-news-d-con-rodenticide-ingredient-changes-to-vitamin-d3/
Merck Veterinary Manual: D3 Poisoning: https://www.merckvetmanual.com/toxicology/rodenticide-poisoning/cholecalciferol
Permanent Kidney Damage from Vitamin D Supplementation: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/vitamin-d-overconsumption-leaves-man-with-permanent-kidney-damage-1.4370261
Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D (2010) Reference Ranges Are Much Too High (PDF): http://www.nationalacademies.org/hmd/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2010/Dietary-Reference-Intakes-for-Calcium-and-Vitamin-D/Vitamin%20D%20and%20Calcium%202010%20Report%20Brief.pdf