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Life in 6 Land

Tag Archives: Vitamin D

Exercise & Me

The results never have ceased to amaze me since changing my diet and taking my health into my hands since I don’t believe my personal physician has the best intentions for me. That based on his recommendation to supplement my “deficiency” with 50,000 IU of Vitamin D weekly. I continue to discuss my disappointment, Vitamin D, possibly changing doctors and “playing doctor” with other individuals who follow Dr. McDougall’s way of life. But why harp on that? I can control each aspect I just brought up. I have added exercise to this lifestyle change this last week.

I dusted off the copy of Power 90 I purchased from a late night infomercial back in 2003 and made it through Sweat I/II and Cardio I/II four days this week. This after breaking my red, 13 pound resistance band when performing the lawnmower exercise. Probably all the better since the 20 pound, blue band seems to answer the call. Friday was a rest day, but I was back at on Saturday, pulling off the sheets that cover the Bowflex Revolution.

While no where near the level of “expert” or even casual user, I spent time at work sifting through the the manual and looking at the different exercise routines possible. I then settled on two routines that were similar in nature after comparing 3 different work outs. The first was a 20 minute upper/lower body workout that would alternate body parts every other days.

The other 2 work outs are circuit training one listed as ‘Anaerobic/Cardiovascular’ in nature and the other as ‘True Aerobic” work out. The aerobic work out lists some of the same exercises as the anaerobic, but adds 30-60 seconds of aerobic rowing in between each exercise. I did a circuit of each yesterday, before finishing up with some bench press exercises and calling it a day after about 45 minutes.

Aside from getting healthier with this way of eating, the addition of exercise should help me achieve my goals come April, which should coincide with my next blood test to see where my Vitamin D level is after supplementing on a weekly basis. After a week, the exercising has been fun, I have enjoyed it and I think breaking up the routine will help keep things fresh and keep me interested. I have a long way to go before I can say I am where I want to go. Three months of training should be a very good base from which to build.

Neither exercise or this way of eating will cease after April, which will be approximately 6 month since making the decision to change my diet, giving up meat, dairy products and oil, while going to a plant-based whole food diet or in the words of Rip Esselstyn, living “plant strong.” This will go to show my doctor that even though the improvement on my blood, the loss of weight and overall health I gain is just a start, the next 3 months should speak volumes when we meet.

Vitamin D(on’t)?

It’s been an interesting journey the past 3 months, as I have taken my health into my own hands. With the big changes, some would call “extreme” I have experienced better than anticipated results in a short period of time. But all is not good, sure my health is improving based on my PSA screening, weight loss and my dietary habits. As my doctor eluded to yesterday, this is a start. In my opinion a damn good start.

The more research I do online, the more confusion I am faced with. As I mentioned yesterday in ‘Doctor’s Opinion‘ I was not in full agreement with what my personal doctor had to tell me. Not being trained in the medical field, how do I go about disputing what my doctor is saying? For example the more light that is shed on Vitamin D “deficiency” I have my level of 23 is not considered low. In the opinion of Jeff Novick, MS, RD, “I would never personally take any action based on the results of any one test. Any test, that may lead to an intervention, should be confirmed with a second test, maybe even from a different lab.” He went on to say, “As of today, over 20 is considered sufficient and not insufficient by many many national and international health organizations.”

After further reading and referencing Dr. McDougall’s newsletters I am convinced that my doctor doesn’t seem to be looking out for my personal health. Why should he? Healthy people don’t need doctors. If there is no medication he can prescribe or test to run, I am not making him any money. In fact, I can’t agree with him when it came to what I ate and what I plan to do for the future.

Right now though, the more I read the more I need to question what I am being told and prescribed. As for the Vitamin D supplement, maybe it requires me to pay out of pocket in order to get a second test to confirm the first. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) stated that, “North Americans have serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations above 20 ng per milliliter, which is adequate for bone health in at least 97.5% of the population” (source). While this paper actually was discussing Vitamin D in a cancer prevention roll, there was another interesting finding. “The report provided evidence suggestive of a significantly increased risk of pancreatic cancer at high 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels (≥40 ng per milliliter). An increased risk of esophageal cancer at higher 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels has also been reported” (source).

My doctor, with his prescription of 50,000 IU (1 pill a week for 3 months) hopes to raise my Vitamin D level between 40-60. With some of the above information found after the fact, I am beginning to think the doctor is not out for my benefit, but that of his wallet. I am having a very difficult time swallowing the information he provided me, contrary to what I have recently found in established medical journals. Now with an increase in Vitamin D my body could be more cancer prone? Did I miss the benefit of adding this supplement somewhere? Thankfully taking my health into my hands has been eye opening, but I am not sure I will accept his prescription and take it for 3 months.