Vitamin D really a hormone and not a vitamin?

[Kathe]

Sparky I was thinking about the post you made the other day about Vitamin D not really being a vitamin at all but a hormone induced by UV light. If that is the case, and it makes all the sense in the world that it is, these are my thoughts on it.

I've been teaching natural hormone classes for 10 years. There are many different hormones in the body and to supplement you have two choices.

(1) Bio-identical or real hormones. These are EXACTLY as your body manufactures on it's own. Your body recognizes these as an exact match like a key into a keyhole. If there is one molecule off then it is not an exact match and the body looks at it as foreign and there will either be (a) negative side effects or (b) it will not be as effective and even taken in large doses will not have the effect needed.

(2) Synthetic or non-real hormones. These are manufactured in a lab and taken as shots, pills, supplements, etc. These are not recognized by the body as bio-identical and will have one of the two negative effects mentioned above.

An example of this is progesterone. Your body produces this naturally and it is a wonderful hormone. If your body isn't producing enough then you can supplement. You have two choices. Either bio-identical progesterone cream which is applied to the skin and has no known negative side effects and that your body recognizes the same as it produces on its own or synthetic, which is called progestin, which has severe side effects including cancer. A big difference.

So if this is true, that vitamin D is really a hormone, then it makes total sense why I have customers coming in for vitamin D that have been put on supplements, drops, etc with no real difference in their levels but tanning for just a month has brought their levels to normal.

The human body was created to be a fantastic thing. It knows the difference between something natural (bio-identical) and not natural (synthetic). You can't fool it very often.

Definitely going to be looking into this more. Thanks Sparky!

[kpowr82]

Kathe, I posted a little while ago about my thoughts of Vitamin D supplements. I'm wondering if you can let me know if you come across anything regarding this in your research.

Since you obviously know your stuff about hormones, I pose this theory to you:

We know that for orally ingested steroids NOT to be broken down by the liver, they must have a methylated side chain added. Methylated compounds have varying degrees of toxicity in regards to our liver. Even mild methylated compounds can elevate liver values.

All over the internet, you can see that the MOST effective and HIGHLY touted Vitamin D supplements are methylated. This makes sense since indeed Vitamin D supplements are essentially PRO-HORMONES and must be methylated to prevent breakdown in the liver. So if people start taking 2,000 IUs of Vitamin D supps a day, wouldn't it stand to reason that these supplements would cause a high degree of liver toxicity and dangerously elevated liver values?

I think we're going to see this as being a real threat in the near future as people jump on the vitamin D supplement bandwagon.

[kpowr82]

BTW, the above theory is based on ORALLY ingested Vitamin D supps, not injectable sources.

[kpowr82]

hmph, it's seems very few people are interested in the science of UV, I guess they're too busy posting about how much their salon is down.

[Kathe]

I know.

[sparky]

90% or more of our clients don't give a flying rat's a$$ about it, they just want a TAAAAAN !

I remember some radio ads talking bout that, '''da UVA dis, da UVB dat, we just want a tan!"

[DB9276]

Kathe, since you have been teaching these classes on hormones..

What is the big stink about Suzanne Somers, or whoever, taking these bio-identical homones?

Is it the amount she is consuming?

[frankie]

Is Vitamin D Really A Vitamin??