Artemisinin has startlingeffects on malaria patients; in its first clinical trial, all 18 patients giventhe herb felt better
within hours and recovered within days.Chinese herbalists haveused the leaves of the Artemisia annua, or sweet wormwood shrub, to treatmalaria for more than 1,500 years. In the 1960s, artemisinin was identified asthe active anti-malarial ingredient.Quest labs is the largestcommercial lab in the US and they use this company to measure 25 hydroxy Dlevels. Your test results will not be accurate and you can not use the valuesin the table above unless the D is measured with a DiaSorin assay. However, ifyour lab is not using the DiaSorin assay you could ask them to switch to thegold standard.Dose Your
Vitamin D Once You Know Your LevelsVitamin D is a fat solublevitamin and can be quite toxic. The book will have far more information than isin this brief review and will further highlight the importance of testing.She has researched thissubject for a number of years and, to the best of my knowledge, is one of themost experienced clinicians in this area. She has provided me with much of thefoundational background for this review, and I am very grateful for her willingnessto bring me up to speed in, not only this area, but also omega-3 nutrition andvitamin K.Ideally, the best place toget vitamin D is from your skin being exposed to the UV-B that is in normalsunlight. Unfortunately, the amount of sun reaching most of the U.S. is onlysufficient to generate a vitamin D response for about three months of the year.It's the primary cause ofsunburn caused by overexposure to sunlight. The darker the pigmentation or moretanned your skin, the less UV-B penetrates. The timing of your sun
exposure isalso a major factor. The actual dosing of your sun exposure is quite complex,since it involves knowing the amount of UV-B and one's skin color.It is a major variable andis influenced by a number of factors:Latitude -- the further north youare the less there is Time of Year -- virtually noneavailable in winter in continental U.S. Clouds-- can block UV-B Pollution -- smog and ozone canblock UV-B Altitude -- the higher up you arethe more UV-B reaches you It is important to know thelevel of UV-B exposure. Unlike the typical American strategy, more is better,that is not the case for UV-B exposure. It is very similar to water. Skincancer is largely related to the over abundance of omega-6 oils that we have inthis country. So, changing the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 oils in your diet isone the keys to prevent this. That is why receiving your vitamin D from the sunis the best option if possible.It is commonly thought thatonly occasional exposure of the face and hands to sunlight is"sufficient" for vitamin D nutrition. Indeed, this exposure can provide200-400 IU vitamin D during those months when the appropriate sunlight isavailable, but for most of us this is an absolutely inadequate exposure to movevitamin levels to the healthy range of 45-50. Unfortunately the vastmajority of us living in the U.S. just do not have access to the proper amountof sun most of the year. However the vast majority of people in the U.S. cannot possibly receive enough UV-B to generate vitamin D from September to midApril. Please also remember thatjust because it is sunny and hot outside this is absolutely no indication ofthe UV-B level that is present. If you don't know the latitude of your city youcan use a latitude finder. If you have trouble finding it you can find it inour store. Natural vitamin A is also in the cod liver to support your immunesystem and the oil is full of the beneficial omega-3 fats that nearly all of usare deficient in.If this is the case do notuse the cod liver oil--the fats are spoiled. Mercury is not oil soluble andtherefore, is not present in the cod liver oil, so this problem is avoided. Itis the equivalent to the vitamin D3 formed on our skins from UV-B. You shouldstay away from the synthetic D2 as it is the one that has been showo havetoxicity at the higher dose ranges. You will only want to use vitamin D3.There is no doubt thatvitamin D2 is a synthetic analogue of vitamin D, with differentcharacteristics. It is inappropriate to regard vitamin D2 as a vitamin. Having said that let meemphasize that the vast majority of the readers of this newsletter can notpossibly receive enough UV-B to generate vitamin D from September to May. Pleaseremember that just because it is sunny and hot outside this is absolutely noindication of the UV-B level that is present. It is one of the best tastingbrands on the market. Natural vitamin A is also in the cod liver to supportyour immune system and the oil is full of the beneficial omega three fats thatnearly all of us are deficient in.If this is the case do notuse the cod liver oil the fats are spoiled.We have irreversiblypolluted the environment by burning coal for electricity and there is more thanenough mercury in the waters of the world to contaminate virtually all of thefish. Mercury is not oil soluble and therefore, is not present in the cod liveroil, so this problem is avoided.It will be important tomake certain that you are taking calcium while you are receiving the vitamin D,or it will tend to take calcium out of your bones.