vitamin D cure for RA | Arthritis Information

I'm about to buy this book:

The Vitamin D Cure, by James Dowd MD and Diane Stafford is published by John Wiley on January 23 at Ł13.99.

because it does sound interesting.

There's also a newspaper article on the subject you can read if you're interested.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/health main.html?in_article_id=508283&in_page_id=1774

anna
I have been taking vitamin D for years . I still have RA.I actually take lots of vitamins they do make me feel better but I still have my bad days.

The system added a 20% to the thread - take it out and the link works.

Anna,

I'd be interested in reading this book. He ties a lot of things APer's say into his premise. Like the removing gluten and the dietary changes. I especially liked the link to the big 3 - calcium, magnesium, and potassium - to chronic diseases. I think this guy is essentially doing the CPNhelp protocol except he doesn't mention antibiotics.

My only concern is the MP people think the ratios of D are the problem. The reveiw doesn't mention the other 3 tests. According to them the problem is in how we react to the ratio and that D is a powerful steroid hormone - like pred. So, of course, symptoms would go away.

There is supposed to be a new paper coming out on the 1st that stands the D controversy on it's ear. I'm interested in reading that too.

Pip

I can't wait until everybody gets on the same page with this! Hubby is now getting D supplements, even though he had no problems/symptoms/complaints. We had dinner with a friend who is a GP this weekend, and hubby mentioned he was on D. Friend scratched his head, look confused, said only middle aged women at risk for osteo needed to supplement D. I said n-o-t-h-i-n-g....I've heard so many theories, we'd still be there!!!!!I have sarcoidosis, not ra but they have a lot in common. I have been researching the antibiotic treatments in depth. My research has lead me to the Marshall Protocol, which is sort of a step up from the Road Back Foundation-its much more involved than just the abx.

I am not saying that I believe or support this information but it seems to make some sense. If you feel like reading more on vit D and the ratio that Pip was talking about, check this out.
http://www.marshallprotocol.com/forum2/10821.html

I always wonder if the Vitamin D from the sun makes a difference than artificial D from a pill.

ADDED:

I have to admit though, when i got sick was after i started a business at home and hardly went outside until the evenings when the sun was gone. So lack of the D might make sense. I still don't go out much cuz of the business and being sick.

bubbagump39462.6381481482I don't know much about Vitamin D curing RA, but there is research that suggets it may prevent it...

Vitamin D May Prevent Arthritis
Research Links Vitamin D Deficiency to Rheumatoid Arthritis

Jan. 9, 2004 -- Move over vitamins A, B, C and E. It is beginning to look like the long ignored vitamin D is every bit as important for preventing disease as you are.

New research makes the case that vitamin D helps protect older women against rheumatoid arthritis -- an autoimmune joint disorder of unknown cause. Recent studies have also linked deficiencies of vitamin D to other disorders such as certain cancers, heart disease, diabetes, and even unexplained pain but its role in human autoimmune disease is less clear.

The studies are far from conclusive, but researcher Michael Holick, MD, says there is every reason to believe that the supplement plays a much bigger role in disease prevention than has been recognized.

"Vitamin D has always been considered sort of a ho-hum vitamin," Holick tells WebMD. "People think they get plenty of it from the sun or in their diets, but these days that just isn't the case."

Vitamin D and Rheumatoid Arthritis

The latest research drew on data from the Iowa Women's Health Study, which followed almost 30,000 women, aged 55 to 69, for 11 years. Over the course of the study, the women were questioned about their eating habits, their use of nutritional supplements, and other health-related issues.

During the trial, 152 of the women developed rheumatoid arthritis. The investigators found that women whose diets were highest in vitamin D had the lowest incidence of rheumatoid arthritis.

Women who got less than 200 international units (IU) of vitamin D in their diets each day were 33% more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than women who got more, researcher Kenneth G. Saag, MD, tells WebMD. Saag is an associate professor of medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The association remained significant even after the researchers adjusted for other suspected rheumatoid arthritis risk factors, such as smoking. And even though many foods with vitamin D are also high in calcium, the vitamin's protective effect seemed to be independent of how much calcium the women ate.

The findings are reported in the January 2004 issue of the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.

http://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/news/20040109/vita min-d-may-prevent-arthritis

This is very interesting to me.

I just went for a pre exam for a routine colonoscopy. They did a V-D test as they believe that it is important in keeping your colon healthy. Sooooo,,,,,,,,,,,,, I was low in V-D, scoring 27 and should be between 32-80.

The doctor has prescribed 50,000 iu to be taken 1 time a week for 6 weeks and then 50,000 iu 1 time a month thereafter. I started it today. I have RA and fibromyalgia. I talked to RA's office today and my RD said no problem - take it. I will get a more in depth talk with RD at the end of month when I visit him.

The personnel at the colon doctor said as an aside that the VD is supposed to be beneficial to fibro patients too.

Karen