How does Vitamin D Deficiency affect my health?

Vitamin D is an important nutrient, actually a hormone, that helps the body absorb calcium, which is essential for maintaining strong bones and teeth. It also plays a role in the immune system, muscle function, and reduction of inflammation. Optimal levels of vitamin D: 60-90 mg/dl. Don’t let anyone convince you that this can be “too high” and to stop your supplement. They don’t know the benefits of vitamin D levels above the population normal because the population as a whole is deficient.

Up to 75% of Americans are affected by suboptimal (< 50 ng/ml) vitamin D, which significantly increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, cognitive impairment, and cancer. Having darker skin, being obese, and not getting enough sun exposure to the skin are all linked to reduced vitamin D3 levels.

Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency include muscle pain, tiredness, fatigue, hair loss, back pain, bone loss, poor wound healing, and depression. It increases the risk of statin muscle pain. However, most individuals who are vitamin D deficient have no specific symptoms. 

What causes vitamin D deficiency?

• Inadequate sun exposure. Sunlight is the optimal source of vitamin D. When the skin is exposed to UVB radiation from sunlight, it produces a form of vitamin D known as cholecalciferol, or vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 is then converted into its active form in the liver and kidneys. This particularly affects individuals who are in institutions like nursing homes.

• Dark skin. Melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color, reduces the skin's ability to produce vitamin D in response to sunlight. Melanin absorbs UVB radiation from sunlight, which is needed for the skin to produce vitamin D. This means that people with darker skin require more sun exposure to produce the same amount of vitamin D as people with lighter skin.

• Old age. The skin's ability to produce vitamin D declines with age due to a variety of factors, including a reduced ability to convert sunlight to vitamin D, decreased skin thickness, and lower levels of the precursor molecules that are needed to produce vitamin D.

• Obesity. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, meaning it is stored in fatty tissues. Therefore, people with higher levels of body fat may require more vitamin D to achieve the same blood levels as people with lower levels of body fat. 

• Diseased kidneys. The kidneys are important for converting vitamin D into a form that the body can use. If the kidneys are not working well due to a disease, they may not be able to convert vitamin D properly, leading to a deficiency of vitamin D in the body.

• Digestive tract issues (such as Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, or cystic fibrosis). Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means it needs to be absorbed in the presence of dietary fat in the small intestine. Digestive tract issues can affect the absorption of vitamin D in the small intestine. These conditions can cause inflammation or damage to the intestinal lining, which can interfere with the absorption of dietary fat and, consequently, vitamin D.

• A vegan diet without proper supplementation. Vitamin D is primarily found in animal-based foods such as fatty fish, liver, and egg yolks. Therefore, people following a strict vegan diet that avoids all animal products are at risk of vitamin D deficiency.

• Sunblock. When the skin is exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, it triggers the synthesis of vitamin D3, which is then used by the body. However, using sunblock or sunscreen can reduce the skin's ability to produce vitamin D, as it blocks the UV radiation from penetrating the skin. It's important to find a balance between protecting your skin from harmful UV radiation and ensuring adequate vitamin D levels.

How can I treat vitamin D deficiency?

• Increase sun exposure. Make an effort to get a healthy amount of sun exposure without putting yourself at risk for skin damage or skin cancer. It's recommended to get a moderate amount of sun exposure, typically around 10-15 minutes per day, without sunscreen, on the arms, legs, and face.

• Eat vitamin D rich foods. Foods that are rich in vitamin D include salmon, sardines, tuna, egg yolks, fortified milk, and shiitake mushrooms.

• Vitamin D supplements. Supplementation can bring your levels into the optimal range. We recommend a combination of Vitamin D3 and Vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 enhances vitamin D absorption, delivery, and the binding of Vitamin D3 in the appropriate tissues, enhancing its activity and benefit. Vitamin K2 also improves arterial elasticity and insulin sensitivity. The product we stock and recommend is called "K Force."  

How do I know if I’ve properly treated my vitamin D deficiency?

Get a blood test measuring the serum concentration of 25(OH)D3. A “normal” level of vitamin D is at least 30 ng/mL or higher. However, our “optimal” range is 60-90 ng/ML. 

If you have been diagnosed with vitamin D deficiency and have started taking supplements or made changes to your diet, get your vitamin D levels retested after a few months.

What should I know about Covid-19?

Be Empowered. Be Safe. Be Resilient and Resistant to COVID (and other threats) to your health and well being.

At the CureCenter, we believe that working to reverse and cure chronic disease not only improves overall health, but also protects you from infection and other consequences of viruses such as Covid-19. In our experience, resilience and general immunity that accompanies good health is more effective (and safer) than any available vaccine.  

There is abundant evidence early treatment protocols, regardless of vaccination choices, can reduce severity of illness, hospitalization, and death from Covid-19. This includes optimized vitamin D levels to 50+ mg/dl.

The CDC has admitted that chronic disease severely increases risk of serious illness or death from Covid-19. The large majority of Covid deaths occur in those with diabetes, arterial disease, obesity, and hypertension. Almost nobody with a vitamin D3 level above 50 died from COVID.

So why are most public health officials not pointing out this obvious opportunity to improve health, reduce mortality overall? It is a combination of complacency and complicity with Big Food, Big Pharma and the rest of the medical industrial complex that is making more profit from vaccines and non-generic therapeutics than from prevention and effective early treatment.

Recently, new voices are suggesting that vaccine promotion should be stopped:

• Watch: Bret Weinstein speaks with Dr. Aseem Malhotra

• Watch: Dr. John Campbell discusses mass Covid vaccination

Should I get the Covid-19 vaccine and/or boosters?

Our advice: Think for yourself, consider your circumstances, and then decide. 

The older and sicker you are, the more the vaccines make sense. The healthier and younger you are, consider the risk as well as the purported benefit. Seek information from a variety of sources. Debate, not censorship, is the hallmark of science. “Science” is a process, not a person or specific recommendation or consensus opinion, no matter the source, their seniority or their position of authority.

Covid exposure risk will wax and wane. New variants will emerge. “Vaccines” have not been as effective or safe as originally hoped/hyped. These “vaccines” have made the most sense for highly vulnerable populations but make little, if any, sense for children and young healthy adults, especially in pregnancy. It is the antithesis of safety to recommend these undertested injections in pregnancy for the safety of mother and baby. There have been so many examples of public health recommendations that violate basic time proven principles, especially informed consent and do no harm.

Their main benefit thus far has been reduction in hospitalization and death from Covid-19 in high risk individuals. However, they do not prevent infection or spread. Since this is the usual expectation of vaccines, one would logically ask if they are, in fact, vaccines at all. It is especially important to understand that vaccination has always been intended to protect the vaccinated. Coercing vaccination of the low risk to protect the high risk is inappropriate and ineffective.

At this point in time, there is no way to know enough about the long term safety or efficacy of the mRNA “vaccines.” They were rushed into use far more rapidly than other approved vaccines without proper testing or trials. There is also no evidence that immunity from vaccines is superior to immunity from infection with Covid-19. In fact, the opposite is more supported by evidence and history.

At the CureCenter, we believe in our patients taking an active role in their own health. We suggest that you seek out information and think critically and with less emotion based on what you find. We also suggest that you form an opinion while considering motivation and bias of the sources you seek out. It is also always a good idea to “follow the money.”

If you are convinced of the benefit of the mRNA vaccines, get the vaccine. Advocate for protection for your community, but please do not demand that others decline if they come to an opposite conclusion. Mandates, vaccine passports, and coercion are authoritarian measures that increase resistance and rarely change minds. All individuals should be free to choose and accept the consequences of their own choices. You get a vaccination to protect yourself, not others.

A few additional things to consider:

• Covid-19 proves fatal or severely harmful mainly to those with heart disease and diabetes. There is strong evidence that the mRNA vaccines exacerbate arterial endothial inflammation. Both of these can be prevented, reversed, and even put into remission. Control of preexisting arterial inflammation makes inflammation induced by spike protein less severe and less of a threat.

• Hyperlipidemia is one of the few comorbidities that was associated with REDUCED risk of death. Why? Could it be that the common treatment for hyperlipidemia (statins and other anti inflammatory strategies) actually mitigated the inflammation in COVID and saved lives?

• If you get spike protein inflammation either from infection or injection, it won’t be as serious if your arteries and metabolism are already healthy.
  Further reading: A study on Covid-19 factors

• Ignorance may be bliss, but it’s a terrible choice. Be empowered by understanding and improving your arterial age and metabolic health.  Get started.

It’s better to address underlying root causes of issues related to Covid death than to jump directly to an unproven vaccine.

How can I most effectively prevent serious illness or death from Covid-19?

The best way to prevent serious illness or death from any infection or disease, including Covid-19, is to be resilient, treat it early and avoid its source. This involves lifestyle changes such as healthy diet and exercise, proper sleep, reduced stress, and supplements and/or medication when appropriate. 

If you or a loved one needs to reverse known or suspected chronic disease, such as arterial disease or Type 2 Diabetes, we suggest you visit the CureCenter Website to schedule a quick and painless 5-minute CureScreen carotid ultrasound. We will use this to determine your threat and put you on the best CurePlan for prevention of events by stopping progression.

If you already know about arterial disease, diabetes, prediabetes, or other chronic illness, start by requesting a complimentary Discovery Zoom Call with Dr. Backs. He will explain how we develop a personalized CurePlan with measurable results that document and motivate improvement in your health.

Don’t allow fear of exposure to Covid-19 keep you from necessary care for other conditions, including support for your mental and oral health. 

We offer telemedicine consultations, including for Covid-19 early treatment options. Complete the registration. Click here to get started.

What will my other providers say about my CurePlan?

Ideally, you should be able to trust your providers, from nurse practitioners to specialists, with your overall health and wellbeing. We all want to think of our doctor as “the best” and trust their advice.

Sadly, most “providers” are now employees of organizations that determine what they can and cannot offfer. It is reasonable to ask, “Can I trust those who control my providers’ paychecks?”

Here are some helpful questions to ask yourself when determining if your provider is right for you:

• What did my provider do to identify my chronic disease?

• What are they offering to CURE (not just manage) it?

• Do they wait and watch while it advances toward a more serious event such as heart attack or stroke?

• Do they offer you what they do for themselves?

When asked to detect “presymptomatic” arterial disease, most providers will schedule you for a stress test. The benefits of stress tests are only in the assessment of symptoms. They miss all but the most advanced state of coronary artery disease. False positives or equivocal tests lead to coronary angiograms and often unnecessary life altering stents.

Stop! Ask yourself, “How does this help me when I have no symptoms?” before agreeing to this approach. The only stent my patients have needed in the past 10 years was to fix the failure of a stent placed for a blockage in the absence of any symptoms. The other stent placed was done so in spite of measurement of no reduction in flow before stent placement. Unbelievable but true.

For more information, we recommend reading the book Prevention Myths by Drs. Ford Brewer and Todd Eldredge. 

Many modern providers are constrained by convention, guidelines, groupthink, complacency, and financial incentives to monitor and manage arterial and other chronic disease. They profit more from invasive, lucrative procedures and rehabilitation than they ever would from prevention. This is the business model that serves “health care” more than people. Surgery, stents and rehab are more profitable than healthy patients. You are not the customer in this model. Your chronic disease is the product.

This is not an attack on individual providers who work within the health care system, including your PCP and specialists. It is a sad observation of its brokenness and the corrupting nature of third party payment, employment of providers, and consolidation of healthcare into fewer and larger institutions. These institutions are dominated by those who have never uttered the Hippocratic Oath or watched a patient suffer in person.

You can do better.

At the CureCenter, we practice Proactive Medicine: Most of us are past the point of prevention. We tend to talk about prevention but act to fix a problem.

Our program reveals “presymptomatic” disease and “prevent” complications from progressive arterial disease. We expect to reverse your chronic disease and prevent untimely death or disability due to stroke, heart attack, or other major health events.

Side effects include feeling and looking better, more mental clarity and energy, and other positive effects. The goal is to live long, healthy, and happy.

Request a Discovery Zoom Call and start down the road to health today.