One Little Sentence Vit D AWsec

The pile of books next to my favorite reading chair keeps getting larger as I find myself taking every health book out of my local library. I am not much of a reader for pleasure but I do enjoy reading for information. The more health or medical related the more I like it. I try and take time out each day to read from some of the books.

It was about a week ago that I came across this quote from a book entitled:
"Feed Your Genes Right: Eat to turn off Disease Causing Genes and Slow Down Aging", by Jack Challem.

"In addition, grain consumption reduces vitamin D absorption." Page 195.

I was intrigued because of a recent discussion on the Chat Right Forum. A few of the women on the forum had had their Vitamin D levels tested and were taking supplements. Low vitamin D has been implicated in some forms of cancer so certainly it would be important to supplement if your vitamin D levels are low.

I then went to the internet to see if I could find any more information about the authors source of this sentence.

I found the following from an interview with Loren Cordain, PhD and author of the "Paleo Diet". Cordain is a proponent of returning to man's original ancestral diet, a hunter/gatherer diet.

"Robert Crayhon (interviewer): How do they (grains) alter vitamin D metabolism?

Loren Cordain: Epidemiological studies of populations consuming high levels of unleavened whole grain breads show vitamin D deficiency to be widespread. A study of radio-labelled 25 hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) in humans consuming 60g of wheat bran daily for 30 days clearly demonstrated an enhanced elimination of 25(OH)D3 in the intestinal lumen. The mechanism by which cereal grain consumption influences vitamin D is unclear. Some investigators have suggested that cereal grains may interfere with the enterohepatic circulation of vitamin D or its metabolites, whereas others have shown that calcium deficiency increases that rate of inactivation of vitamin D in the liver. This effect is mediated by 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) produced in response to secondary hyperparathyroidism, which promotes hepatic conversion of vitamin D to polar inactivation products which are excreted in bile. Consequently, the low Ca/P ratio of cereal grains has the ability to elevate PTH which in turn stimulates increased production of (1,25(OH)2D) which causes an accelerated loss of 25 hydroxy vitamin D."

This is in technical terms, but basically it means that a diet high in grains will keep vitamin D from being absorbed properly this is exactly what I had read in Mr. Challem's book. Sadly the american diet is about 70% grains, the current food pyrimid recommends 6-11 servings of whole grains per day. Americans are actually encouraged to eat whole wheat products as part of a healthy cancer prevention diet.

From what I just read it would be safe to say that the standard american diet keeps us from properly absorbing vitamin D, which puts us at greater risk for cancer.

Now wouldn't it have been good if the doctor who gave those women the vitamin D supplement also discussed the importance of how grains effect vitamin D absorption?

My mom was always cooking something when we were kids. She would get up early in the morning to make us a hot breakfast. In the afternoon when we would walk in the door from school, she would always have something for us to eat. I remember the smell of fresh bread or some sort of stew cooking on the stove. I never heard her complain about cooking, it was so much apart of how she expresed her love for us.

She grew up in an Italian immigrant family; a middle child with a twin sister. As a child, my mom had pneumonia which was probably caused by a combination of poor eating and less then optimal living conditions. She never recovered from it, so as an adult she suffered with bronchiectis, a chronic pseudomonas infection of her lungs. It eventually took her life.

Like myself and my older brother my mother was blood type A. I now suspect that she may have been a nonsecretor (nonnie), as is my brother. It would explain to me why she never recovered from that infection and why she spent her whole life trying to find a cure for herself. She long ago had given up on doctors and knew that she had to help herself. I remember her always trying something, from castor oil packs to macrobiotic diets, and exploring the teachings of Edgar Casey. We owned a juicer, had a cabinet just for vitamins, and ate things that my friends thought were gross.

Her illness directly effected me as a child because of how it changed her personality. I remember my mother being moody, angry at times, and depressed. As a child I had a hard time understanding what was wrong with her but now in retrospect I see a women who just didn't feel good and as such unable to behave any differently.

I forgive her.

While at the conference:

I had a curious conversation with Larry Nesbit. If there is one thing you should know about Larry, it's that he sees the world through "blood type glasses". Larry has a unique perspective on the blood type diet, he sees it from many angles but keeps it very simply. And after years of living and teaching it he has made quite a few interesting observations about people.

These reflections Larry is always willing to share, all you have to do is stand close enough to him and listen. I had occassion to do this while at the conference. Larry began by telling me to look at Dr. D. Then he stated that Dr. D is not like the rest of us. He has never had the irritation inside his body like the rest of us have experienced from eating the wrong foods, living poorly and being sick. That is why he is so calm and focused. I looked over at Dr. D, watched him a few moments and realized how right Larry was. Even when a crowd of people formed around him to ask him questions he exhibited a calm, gentle grace towards them.

Larry went on to make an analogy about having a posion ivy rash on the outside of your body. You can feel it and see it, so it's obvious as to what is wrong and it makes you upset. But if you have an irritation on the inside, you don't know what is wrong. Both directly effect your behavior. One you know about, the other you don't. This is how the world is, people are all twisted up inside and don't even know it.

My mom was one of those people, irritated on the inside.

ir⋅ri⋅tat⋅ed
   /ˈɪrɪˌteɪtɪd/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [ir-i-tey-tid] Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective
1. angered, provoked, or annoyed.
2. inflamed or made raw, as a part of the body

I like to look in peoples' shopping carts at the supermarket. I am fascinated by what other people buy and how they survive on the highly processed food I see in their carts.

Just this week I stood in line behind a women who was purchasing just about every snack pack for school lunches that the store offered. It looked like she simply went down the aisle and put one of each in her cart. The screaming kids that circled her cart may have had something to do with it, but she had allowed it.

I had to resist the urge to ask her why she would pay good money for things that were bad for her family. A few of the questions that went through my head as I stood in line with her were:

Was she thinking about her families long term health?

Did she care about her future grandchildren?

Did she understand the term "empty calories"?

What was her blood type?

It took me a minute to realize that she like millions of others is living in darkness. Fooled into believing that the food manufactuerers and the supermarkets have our best interests at heart. This lie is what I believe keeps people from reading food labels. They look at the outside of the package and see the words organic, low fat, whole grains, natural and put it right into the cart, never reading further on the package.

This same subliminal lie is promoted by Whole Foods and Trader Joes where people believe that once they step through the doors of these stores they enter a world where all the food is "healthy". Somehow the foods in these stores is immune to unhealthy ingredients. Health food stores are viewed by the public as superior to the SAD (standard american diet) supermarket. So if you shop at one of the healthy stores you are viewed as a healthier person.

It's all about the labels, and how they are interpreted.

I am a label reader whether I am in the health food store or in the SAD supermarket, I always take a look at the ingredients before the item enters my cart. I have gotten into this habit after being burned more then once thinking I was buying something "healthy", then realizing after I got home, that high fructose corn syrup was the first ingredient.

If you are following the Blood Type or Genotype diet one of the basic things you can do is take the time to read the labels on all your food items. I challenge you to start reading those labels and to teach your children to do the same.

While in High School I took physics. The professor was certainly what I would call a "Science Geek". Thick horn rimmed glasses with faded yellow lenses, a pocket protector, slicked back hair and an inability to communicate his passion for physics to a room full of pubescent students. In addition my teacher had tunnel vision, his visual field was limited, so he could only see what was directly in front of him. This made for interesting classroom dynamics because anyone outside of his field of vision had an advantage when it came to the passing of notes, cheating and talking in class. Needless to say this affliction was not an asset to his teaching.

The words "Tunnel Vision" came up in my home recently. My husband commented that I had "tunnel vision" in terms of all things blood type related. I was not particularly offended by what he said, but it did cause me to think about why he would say that.

Possibly it is because every one I meet I try and guess their blood type, from TV characters to my neighbors and coworkers. I will repeatedly say to my husband, "I think he is an O... or maybe a B". I know if he ate differently he would be able to run that marathon and actually build muscle tissue." (my husbands eyes roll lovingly and he smiles)

I recently saw some old friends that I hadn't seen for quite some time, I quickly rattled off all their blood types, they stood amazed that I remembered this detail about them. It is not that I want to remember, it seems I simply can't keep the information out of my head. If someone tells me a health complaint, in my mind I am trying to decide which GenoType they are, "must be a Gatherer if the thyroid is bothering him."
Or maybe he said I have tunnel vision because I study the lists of foods or maybe because I reread the books over and over, for tiny tidbits of information.
Or because I will wake him in the middle of the night with some dream that centered around the people I love having there lives changed by eating for their type.

I am not sure why he would accuse me of having tunnel vision but I don't mind at all.

My father in law came across my 1986 college graduation program while cleaning out some old papers. Seeing that program brought me back to seemingly endless days of studying and long sleepless nights worrying over exams. During my college years I never felt very smart so I was surprised to see Cum Laude next to my name. I had graduated with honors but some how I didn't remember that. What I do remember is being relieved to be finished with my formal education and never having to take a test again, or so I thought. That was until I learned I could become certified by the IFHI which requires, what else, a test. It has taken me a long time to decide to get this certification but my passion for all things blood type has not waned in over 10 years, and what better way to satisfy my enthusiasm but to become certified in what I believe.

The certification exam will be given at the Mini Conference in Crossville, Tennesee hosted by the Pleatau Eat Righter's. So in June I sent in my $150 and Larry Nesbit (BT 0) who spearheaded the group, registered me to take the test and emailed me the manual. The manual is a total of 80 pages, double sided, with text from top to bottom, no pictures, no graphs, just words. It's a little daunting but full of important information and reinforces some of what I already know from reading the Eat Right books. It also contains some new information and links to things in The Individualist for further study. For now I am sticking with just getting through the manual, reading it in small bits, and taking notes in the margins.

I am looking forward to the conference not just for the chance to become certified but also to be with a group of like minded people, those who share my same beliefs. As one member of the Chat Right Forum put it, "sane people".

One person I'm lookig forward to meeting is Larry Nesbit. Early in the spring I was privilaged to speak with him, his passion for all things Blood Type was very evident in our conversation. He has made it his mission to share his passion with others, so he holds classes on a regular basis and now has a thriving group of Blood Type followers in Crossville. What an amazing thing to take your passion, share it and watch peoples lives change.

My conversation with him centered around how I could start classes here on Long Island and, like Larry, share my passion. I thank him for encouraging me to put aside my trepidations and take the certification. A portion of the conference will be devoted to Larry and his persistance in helping people like me who want to get started teaching the BTD. This is one of the reasons I am attending this conference rather than the one in Arizona (although I may go to that one too).

I am looking forward to meeting you all and hope they have name tags that include our BT/GT and our chat room names, that way I will know who you are.