Welcome to what is already promising to be a very exciting vitamin D new year.
We are reaching a point of active implementation and formal publication on many fronts:
Vitamin D and Pregnancy
Encouraged by
our paper last year showing a significant decrease in preterm births associated with higher vitamin D levels, we have continued to work with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and will be publishing some very exciting papers on vitamin D and birth outcomes later this year. Our initial sponsor for this project was
Select Health; additional sponsorship has been provided through Dr. Wagner's
Kellogg Foundation Grant as well as from GrassrootsHealth directly.
On January 26, Dr. Roger Newman, the leader of the project at MUSC, will give a presentation at the Society for Maternal and Fetal Medicine's
Annual Pregnancy Meeting to share some preliminary results.
A result of the ongoing activity, we have a new project about to start at Palmetto Health Richland in Columbia, SC with Dr. Berry Campbell, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, as the lead. Palmetto Health is the largest health care system in the South Carolina Midlands region. With seven hospitals, Palmetto Health Richland is the largest (649 beds) and will be hosting the newest Protect Our Children
NOW! implementation project.
Another project currently in the definition phase is underway in Arkansas, its leading sponsor is
Bio-Tech Pharmacal.
Anyone who wants to help sponsor such a project with pregnant women (testing, supplementation, education), is encouraged to
contact us.
Vitamin D and Cancer
GrassrootsHealth participated in the analysis of a very exciting RCT on cancer and vitamin D. The analysis definitely showed a decrease in incidence of cancer associated with higher vitamin D levels. Preliminary results were presented at the American Public Health Association conference in October and final results are expected to be published early this year. We look forward to sharing more of this research with you soon.
There are cancer centers ready to 'implement' a new standard of care for cancer patients based on the ongoing positive information about vitamin D and its impact on cancer.
Please note the details below about the case study from Fairfax Hospital where a woman with pancreatic cancer took 50,000 IU/day and cured her pancreatic cancer. One of co-authors of the paper is DL Trump, MD, FACP, CEO and Executive Director of
Inova Schar Cancer Institute, VA and has been a GrassrootsHealth panel member for 9 years.
Another paper reported below, 'Repurposing Vitamin D as an Anticancer Drug' presents a message of, 'get on with it! We'll track the results as we go.' Within GrassrootsHealth, given the science available to support anticancer effects associated with vitamin D, and that vitamin D is so inexpensive, safe, and easy to use, we believe that it's 'non-use' should be justified!
Omega-3 - Supplements and Testing
Last month, we did a survey about your use/priorities of omega-3's. Here are some of the responses:
Why do most people take omega-3?
#1: brain and heart health
What is the most important factor in choosing your supplement?
#1: purity/quality
What type of omega-3 do you take?
57% fish oil
41% krill oil
11% foods/other
Are you interested in an omega-3 index test?
80% said yes
As noted earlier, we're considering doing a project involving the measurement of omega-3's and, of course, its interaction with your vitamin D levels and health outcomes. We'll be working more with this information over the next month to help design a useful offering for you and your health. Thanks so very much for your input on this.
Sponsorship and D*action Enrollment
Thanks to generous donations in December, we are offering a discount for participation in D*action for the month of January - only $50. This offer has been well-received and within the first day we had 60 new participants. (Coupon code = JAN17OFFER,
order here)
Also, one of our sponsors,
VitaminDWiki, had an uptick in web traffic for that day of 65%!
We will continue offering these special programs to encourage D*action enrollment through targeted sponsorships throughout the year. The stronger D*action is, the more we can publish and help move public action on vitamin D.
If you would like to be a sponsor for February,
donate today! Sponsors over $1000 will receive mention from GrassrootsHealth.
In summary, we'll see lots of implementation
ACTION this year, much in part to your participation in this very healthy endeavor. Keep spreading the word, taking charge of your vitamin D health.
Research Top 10
