D

Posted by Bob on October 31, 1998 at 13:06:42:

In Reply to: Calcium + Vitamin D = GOOD 4 U posted by Njili on October 31, 1998 at 11:49:39:

: It's rather simplistic but, from the reading I've done on meeting calcium requirements, I've come away with a mental picture (undoubtedly incorrect, but it serves the purpose) of my stomach with a screen at the bottom. If I drink milk, it's molecules are so small that they (and the calcium they contain) just go right on through the screen and out of my system before I can use them. Vitamin D, I picture as a sticky molecule that attaches itself to the milk/calcium molecule thus making it too big to get through the screen. With the milk/calcium/vitamin D molecule stuck in your stomach, your system has time to grab onto the calcium and incorporate it into the many parts of your body that need calcium. One of the best sources for vitamin D is the sun. One of the best sources of calcium is milk. If you were staying indoors a lot while taking your chemo therapy, I dont imagine you got very much sun and so if you didn't incorporate extra vitamin D into your diet, most of the calcium from all that milk you drank just went through the little screen in the bottom of your stomach (notice how I've now given you a screen too?). One molecule of Vitamin D can stick onto only one molecule of calcium. If you dont have enough calcium, the extra vitamin D is wasted and if you dont have enough vitamin D the extra calcium is wasted. You try and balance them.

: When you buy milk, look for the 'filtered' milks, (In Canada usually called TRUTASTE or TRUFILTER or PUREFILTER or something like that) because they have extra vitamin D added. I also take cod-liver oil capsules during the fall/winter/spring when our sun (North of 49) is so low that it doesn't give us any appreciable vitamin D.

: P.S. I just looked at the bag I get my milk in and a cup of it provides 44% of daily requirement for vitamin D and 33% of daily requirement for calcium. I try for a lot more because of my mispent youth when 'if it didn't have alcohol in it, I didn't drink it'.

: Please forgive the over-simplification. I dont mean to sound like I'm talking down to you. It's just the mental picture I use and I'm not very good at explaining things so I'm just trying to draw an image if I can.

: If there's anyone on here who can explain more clearly the how's and why's of getting enough calcium, I'd sure appreciate hearing from them.

I have been told that to "potentuate"--sort of
jump start--the uptake of calcium I should take
twice or so of the daily requirement of D for a
couple of weeks (while taking calcium tabs) and
then drop back to a normal D intake while
continuing the calcium. I was told that too much
D could be harmful but that there was no reason
to fear too much calcium. Bob