All nutrients require co-factors, and, while I have often mentioned that vitamin D works with vitamins A and K to build bones, and with vitamin A and iodine to maintain and repair mucous membranes, there is one other important cofactor that vitamin D requires: magnesium. Vitamin D uses magnesium to convert it from the inactive form to the active form, thereby “stealing” magnesium from the body, which is not a problem if you have plenty of magnesium stores in your body.

But, since magnesium deficiency is already widespread, what often happens is that people who start taking high levels of vitamin D, and find that it causes negative symptoms, may be worsening their already existing magnesium deficiency. And, if taking vitamin D supplements does not raise your blood levels of D, it may be because there is not sufficient magnesium in your body which is required to facilitate its conversion into the active form.

Here is a list of some of the symptoms experienced by some people taking high amounts of vitamin D: anxiety, constipation, headaches, heart palpitations, insomnia, muscle cramps, and increased pain levels in the bones or body. These are all also symptoms of magnesium deficiency, so if you experience these symptoms while taking vitamin D, and you are not already supplementing with magnesium, it may be a good idea to try adding magnesium (400 – 600 mg elemental, daily in divided dose) to your regimen before you give up on D.   (Source)

I often recommend a simple detox bath to people that involves adding one cup of sea salt (or Himalayan salt) and one cup of baking soda to a hot bath. But recently I read a blog on the subject and found that one component I was missing was to mention that it is important that one let the water cool down before exiting the bath.

The water should be very hot in order to bring blood to the surface of the skin initially, making it easier for the salt and baking soda to draw the toxins out through the skin. This can be facilitated by taking a niacin supplement (to the point at which your skin flushes), before entering the bath.

As the water cools down (about 30 to 45 minutes later) the toxins are more easily drawn into the water via osmosis; the heat from the warmed body is pulled along with the toxins into the cooling water. One can cool the water down a bit if it is uncomfortably hot, but to have the best detoxification experience you should not add any more hot water to the bath once you are in it.

It is also suggested that for optimal efficiency you do not shower off after the bath but just towel dry, and this should usually be done in the evening, since one is often very tired after taking a detox bath.

This particular detox bath is also useful for removing radiation from the body (along with chemicals and heavy metals), but in the case of radiation it is essential that one step out of the bath before draining the tub. Otherwise the radiation will rise back into the body as the water goes down the drain since it seeks the highest density object.  (Source)

Ever since the so-called “French Paradox” was touted as the reason that the French had lower heart disease than North Americans, even though they had a diet higher in saturated fats, it has been assumed that wine drinking is essentially good for you.

But now a Czechoslovakian study has looked very closely at wine drinking by introducing wine into peoples’ lives and tracking its effects on their bodies. For one year the participants drank a moderate amount of wine, 5 days a week. For the men that was from 2 to 2.5 glasses, and for the women from one to two glasses daily.

What they discovered was that simply drinking wine did not offer much in the way of measurable benefits: it did not significantly reduce cholesterol or triglycerides, did not improve blood glucose levels, nor reduce inflammatory benchmarks like C-reactive protein (an indicator of heart disease potential). Though, at least, neither did the wine drinking show any damage to the livers of those drinkers.

However, when the researchers analyzed those wine drinkers who also exercised regularly (worked out at least twice a week), the situation changed. For those participants in the study there was a significant improvement in the benchmarks of cardiovascular health, including improvement in cholesterol levels (increased HDL and decreased LDL).

And it made no difference whether the wine was red or white. Considering that red wine is considerably higher in antioxidants than white wine, the study also demonstrated that the benefits accrued where not due to the antioxidants present in the drink.  “There may be some synergy between the low dose of ethyl alcohol in wine and exercise which is protective against cardiovascular disease,” said Milos Táborský, lead author of the study.   (Source)

As a related side note, one fitness expert, Ben Greenfield, prefers to drink his wine right after exercise. Since alcohol is a high source of carbohydrates, and since after exercise carbs are not fattening but are stored as glycogen deposits (necessary for future energy needs), he counts it as part of his post workout carb-load.

Reading

In a comment to one of my blogs (on ammonia toxicity) one reader mention how she was helped by Dr. William Walsh, who helped her work through her methylation malfunction issues. Methylation is a new paradigm based on epigenetics that can be the solution for many difficult to resolve health issues. For a brief summary of the subject follow this link to Dr. Walsh’s website.

Dr. Walsh has a book available, both on his website and on Amazon, called Nutrient Power, which offers a new direction in the treatment of psychiatric conditions, as well as other brain-related ailments from Alzheimer’s disease to autism.

“Recent scientific advances, particularly in the molecular biology of the brain, have provided a road map for the development of effective, natural, drug-free therapies that do not produce serious side effects.  Nutrient Power presents a science-based nutrient therapy system that can help millions of people diagnosed with mental disorders. The author’s database containing millions of chemical factors in blood, urine, and tissues has identified brain-changing nutrient imbalances in patients diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, behavior disorders, depression, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s disease. This book describes individualized nutrient therapy treatments that have produced thousands of reports of recovery.

Depression, schizophrenia, and ADHD are umbrella terms that encompass disorders with widely differing brain chemistries and symptoms. Nutrient Power describes nutrient therapies tailored to specific types, not umbrella solutions to individual problems, and offers a groundbreaking approach to psychiatric health care.”