September 2, 2015

Director's Letter

Carole Baggerly
Director, GrassrootsHealth

GrassrootsHealth, a Research Action Consortium

GrassrootsHealth is now a very well established research and action organization due to the ongoing efforts of many of you in helping create the D*action Project with 1000's of participants, our Breast Cancer Prevention Project and, of course our new Protect our Children NOW! projects.

Our aim is to provide you with a newsletter that highlights research results and information from our projects and from our panel scientists, with the goal of enabling you to be a better advocate for your own health and the health of your loved ones.

Coming over the next several months, we'll take you along as we launch new research projects, many of which will be crowdfunded, some sponsored by other entities. These projects will be done by GrassrootsHealth and overseen by members from our panel of scientists, with additional scientists from specialties beyond vitamin D included as necessary. These projects and partnerships will enlarge our base of scientific support and, provide yet more answers for you.

In addition, we will be working on a number of 'Special Projects' with the aim of quick turnaround time for answers that could affect your health actions in the short term.

This month, we're announcing our first 'Special Project' - Colds/Flu: What Happens to my D?

There has been a lot written about the decrease in the incidence of colds and flu (see our own chart below) and, the evidence is strong for prevention. But, what happens when you do get a cold or flu? Does it deplete the stores of vitamin D? If so, would that imply that during the course of our illness that we should take more vitamin D? If so, how much more?

We will be sending out information about this project by the end of September. Briefly, it will involve doing a vitamin D test upon the onset of the disease (cold, flu) and at the conclusion, and, keeping a diary of information on an online portal. If you are interested in possibly participating in this, please let us know and we'll send you a personal note when it's announced!

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. No, it's not."

Dr Seuss, The Lorax

We are looking to you, our loyal participants, to help research and fund these key topics, so that we can report on them, moving research into practice, NOW!

Onwards!

Carole Baggerly

Director, GrassrootsHealth

A Public Health Promotion & Research Organization

Moving Research into Practice NOW!

Your Data Your Answers

Does vitamin D prevent colds and flu?

This week we want to share your data with respect to cold and flu prevention. Does a higher vitamin D serum level decrease the likelihood of getting a cold or flu? Let's see what your D*action data has to show about this.

Click to enlarge

In the GrassrootsHealth questionnaire that accompanies each vitamin D test, participants are asked whether they had a cold or flu in the previous 6 months. This graph shows:

33% of D*action participants experienced a cold and 10% experienced a flu during the 6 months before their most recent test.
Participants with vitamin D levels ≥ 40 ng/ml reported 41% fewer cases of the flu and 15% fewer colds than participants with levels <20 ng/ml.

What have some of our panel scientists found?

Randomized trial of vitamin D supplementation and risk of acute respiratory infection in Mongolia
Carlos A. Camargo, Jr., MD Dr PH, et. al
Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology
Harvard Medical School
September 2012
Read paper

Camargo, et. al found that Vitamin D supplementation significantly reduced the risk (by 50%) of acute respiratory infections (ARI) in winter among Mongolian children with vitamin D deficiency. Classrooms of Mongolian schoolchildren were randomly assigned to different treatments in winter (January-March) with 247 assigned to daily ingestion of unfortified milk or milk fortified with 300 IU D3. Parents reported ARI occurrences during these 3 months. At baseline, the median serum 25(OH)D level was 7 ng/mL. At the end of the trial, the median 25(OH)D levels of children in the group who received fortified milk was 19 ng/mL, the control group (with unfortified milk) remained the same. After adjusting for age, gender, and history of wheezing, vitamin D halved the risk of ARI.

Randomized trial of vitamin D supplementation to prevent seasonal influenza A in schoolchildren
May 2010
M. Urashima, et. al
Division of Molecular Epidemiology
Jikei University School of Medicine
Tokyo, Japan
Read Paper

This study concluded that vitamin D3 supplementation during the winter may reduce the incidence of influenza A, especially in specific subgroups of schoolchildren. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 167 schoolchildren received vitamin D3 supplements (1200 IU/d) while another 167 received a placebo in the time period from December 2008 through March 2009. Influenza A occurred in 18 children from the treatment group compared to 31 in the placebo group.

What is your vitamin D level?

Do you know your vitamin D level going into cold and flu season? If not, test today!

Update

GrassrootsHealth Panel of International Scientists

More scientists join the fight! We've added four new researchers to our GrassrootsHealth Panel of International Scientists over the past couple months. By joining forces, we have expanded our collective knowledge and expertise in vitamin D. These scientists are committed to addressing and solving the world-wide vitamin D deficiency epidemic. We're excited to have them all on our team!

Cedric Annweiler, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Biology of Aging
University of Angers, France

Benjamin Jacobs, MBBS, MD, MSc, FRCPCH
Consultant Pediatrician
Royal National Orthopedic Hospital, UK

Spyridon Karras MD,PhD
Endocrinologist
Research Coordinator
Ahepa University Hospital
Thessaloniki ,Greece

Kalliopi Kotsa, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Endocrinology
Ahepa University Hospital
Thessaloniki ,Greece

Editor's Letter

Susan Siljander
Marketing Director, GrassrootsHealth

When someone in my family starts showing symptoms of a cold, we either sun bathe at mid-day or take extra vitamin D (or both!). That seems to work for us, as it usually cuts the cold off before it truly affects our lives (missed school or work). But, what if there were a study somewhere that proved beyond a doubt this was the best remedy for a cold? That described what happened when you give yourself extra D during a cold? Does it all go toward fighting the cold? Does it raise your serum level? If I didn't supplement more would it deplete my serum level?

It is almost like I am following an old wives tale... at the first sign of a cold - give chicken soup. But, what if there were research - from you, the 7,000+ D*action participants, about supplementing and serum levels during colds? We could publish a recommendation based on facts, on research, on science!

We are about to hit cold and flu season, I encourage you to test your levels today, and see where you are. Modify your supplement/sun regime, and keep at healthy levels over the winter!

Thank you.

Susan Siljander

Marketing Director, GrassrootsHealth

A Public Health Promotion &

Research Organization

Moving Research into Practice NOW!

Order Now

Order Your Home Vitamin D Test TODAY!

Your participation in this project funds all the GrassrootsHealth research and promotion.

Questions answered by

John J. Cannell, MD
Executive Director
Vitamin D Council

Are there some conditions where you shouldn't supplement with vitamin D?

Does vitamin K affect vitamin D toxicity?

View last week's answers

About...

Colds and Flu

Questions Answered by

Carlos A. Camargo, Jr.

MD, Dr PH

Professor of Epidemiology

Harvard Medical School

If you have a question about how vitamin D prevents colds and flu -

click here

We will only answer questions about colds and flu, please do not send other questions

We will publish the answers in a future newsletter.

We had over 40 providers complete our free online CME courses to become certified D*practitioners after Dr. Mercola published this article.

Certified D*practitioners

Become a GRH certified D*practitioner and get listed on our website by completing these free courses.

References

Randomized trial of vitamin D supplementation and risk of acute respiratory infection in Mongolia Carlos A. Camargo, Jr., MD Dr PH, et. al
Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology
Harvard Medical School
September 2012
Read paper

Randomized trial of vitamin D supplementation to prevent seasonal influenza A in schoolchildren
M. Urashima, et. al
Division of Molecular Epidemiology
Jikei University School of Medicine
Tokyo, Japan
May 2010
Read Paper

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