Harm caused by vitamin D and milk
All the recent research is continuing to show a strong link between Vitamin D and positive health issues ranging from new asthma treatments and lung health to the prevention of colon and breast cancer. For instance, research is showing that a daily intake of 1,000 units of Vitamin D greatly reduces the odds of getting colon cancer by about half, and the chances of breast and ovarian cancer by about one third.
It is well known that sensible, regular exposure to ultraviolet sunlight helps the body produce Vitamin D. You cannot “overdose” on Vitamin D that is produced through UV exposure (but of course you might get badly sunburn so never over-expose your body to sunlight!). What is less well known is that vitamin D supplements can be very harmful in certain circumstances.
Among the many important functions of vitamin D is absorption of calcium. Vitamin D greatly increases absorption of calcium into the blood stream (from the food you eat), and hence into the body generally.
The danger here is that if vitamin D supplements are taken on the same day that dairy milk is consumed, the bloodstream becomes overwhelmed with calcium. This can cause harmful calcification in many parts of the body. Harmful calcification is at the root of a whole variety of diseases such as stroke, cancer and heart disease.
When dairy milk is consumed, the casein protein in milk makes the bloodstream go acidic. This happens before all the calcium in milk gets to the bloodstream. The body reacts by pulling calcium from the bones into the bloodstream (calcium is very alkaline and this helps to neutralize the blood).
Following on from the raised acidity, calcium from the milk enters the bloodstream more gradually. As this happens, too much calcium accumulates in the blood. This triggers hormones that get rid of the excess calcium in the bloodstream by dumping it all over the body. This eventually causes harmful calcification and disease.
When vitamin D supplements are taken on days that dairy milk is consumed, the problems are compounded by increasing further the amount of excess calcium in the bloodstream. Doctors have a name for this: hypercalcemia, a condition that can result in serious illness. For this reason it is important to avoid dairy milk on days that vitamin D supplements are taken.
The solution is simple: never take vitamin D supplements on days that dairy milk is consumed. Better still, switch to non-dairy milk which is far more nutritious and delicious than cow’s milk. If non-dairy milk is not available from your local store, you can easily make your own milk at home from ingredients that can be stored almost indefinitely.
Tags: Nutrition
May 15 2008 03:14 am | Nutrition