Let me start off this week's newsletter by making a pitch for last week's newsletter. Last week, I covered several nutrients which are extremely important to help maximize your immune function moving into the fall and winter months. For those of you who read it, I would suggest that you go back and reread and take the appropriate steps that will, hopefully, increase your likelihood of remaining healthy.

There was a study published earlier this month in the journal Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplant regarding the beneficial effects of vitamin D in helping to maintain a healthy blood pressure¹. In this epidemiologic study, medical records from a total of 237 subjects between the ages of 64 and 93 were evaluated. The average vitamin D level was only 17, with 86% having levels of less than 25. Understand that optimal blood levels of vitamin D are between 60 and 80. The vast majority of these seniors suffered with either vitamin D insufficiency or actual deficiency. The average blood pressure in this group appeared to be inversely related to the levels of vitamin D. The lower the vitamin D level was, the greater the likelihood for increased blood pressure. The authors of the study indicate that supplemental measures to prevent low levels of vitamin D in this population would be important, not only to protect the skeletal system, but also for beneficial effects for the cardiovascular system and blood pressure regulation.

There was a review article published in the October 2009 edition of Clinical and Experimental Immunology, regarding the beneficial effects of vitamin D in regard to respiratory health². It is well known that vitamin D appears to have a beneficial effect on healthy immune function. The article noted that vitamin D appeared capable of inhibiting inflammatory responses within the lungs. They noted that in population based studies there appeared to be an inverse association between levels of vitamin D in the blood stream and overall lung function.

There was an interesting study published in the September 2009 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition regarding vitamin C deficiency³. Researchers out of Copenhagen found that guinea pigs that were subjected to a moderate deficiency of vitamin C had less brain growth and did markedly worse in spatial memory compared to a group of guinea pigs that had a diet with a normal amount of vitamin C. It is interesting to note that the highest concentrations of vitamin C are actually found within brain cells, and that this vitamin appears to be extremely important to overall brain function. There have been other studies indicating that vitamin C deficiency can be quite common in certain populations such as Brazil and Mexico, where up to 40% of pregnant women have been noted to have low levels of vitamin C in their blood stream. These low levels of vitamin C are also reflected in their newborn babies. Dr. Lykkesfeldt, the lead author in the guinea pig study, noted, "We may thus be witnessing that children get learning disabilities because they have not gotten enough vitamin C in their early life. This is unbearable when it is so easy to prevent this deficiency by giving vitamin supplement to high risk pregnant women and new mothers." I recommend 1,000 to 2,000 mg per day of vitamin C combined with quercetin and citrus bioflavonoids daily.

Finally, there was a study just published in the September 2009 edition of the American Journal of Epidemiology regarding green tea consumption and abnormal cellular growth in the bone marrow⁴. A total of over 41,000 Japanese adults between the ages of 40 and 79 were studied. They filled out a food questionnaire in 1994. Over the nine years of follow up, a total of 157 cases of abnormal cellular growth of the lymphocytes and bone marrow were noted. It was found that those individuals who consumed five cups a day or more of green tea (compared to those who drank less than a cup a day) reduced their risk of developing these abnormal cellular growths by 42%. The inverse relationship was said to be consistent with both sexes and even regarding body mass index.

If you're not taking a good core multi-nutrient product, I would strongly recommend that you start doing so immediately. I know of no better and finer line of multi-vitamins than the Synergy brand from NSI® (Nutraceutical Sciences Institute®). These products have been researched and reformulated based on the latest medical literature. The Synergy line of products contain several times larger doses of vitamin D3 compared to other multis, far more than any other multi-vitamin on the market that I am aware of. I recommend everyone consume 2,000 – 4,000 IU per day of vitamin D3, Synergy contains these levels and this superior form of vitamin D. The form of vitamin C utilized is a product called Advan-C® which is gentle on the stomach similar to Ester-C®. These products also contain excellent doses of several powerful herbs and phytonutrients that are standardized for the active ingredients for maximal benefit. Synergy is one of the only multis containing effective dosages of natural trans form coenzyme Q10, a nutrient essential to every cell in the body with the heart and brain required the highest levels to provide energy.

Again, I would urge you to go back and read and reread last week's newsletter. The data contained in that newsletter could be vital to your health and the health of your family.

To review the numerous NSI® Synergy choices please click here.

1. Almirall J, Vaqueiro M, Baré ML, Anton E. Association of low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and high arterial blood pressure in the elderly. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2009 Sep 11.

2. Hughes DA, Norton R. Vitamin D and respiratory health. Clinical and Experimental Immunology. 2009 Oct. Published Online: 2009 Jul 15.


3. Tveden-Nyborg P, Johansen LK, Raida Z, Villumsen CK, Larsen JO, Lykkesfeldt J. Vitamin C deficiency in early postnatal life impairs spatial memory and reduces the number of hippocampal neurons in guinea pigs. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Sep;90(3):540-6. Epub 2009 Jul 29.


4. Naganuma T, Kuriyama S, Kakizaki M, Sone T, Nakaya N, et al. Green tea consumption and hematologic malignancies in Japan: the Ohsaki study. Am J Epidemiol. 2009 Sep 15;170(6):730-8. Epub 2009 Jul 29.