Molecular biologist and ultramarathon runner Dr. Andrews shares his tips on how to slow aging.

The future of antiaging is nigh with minds like Bill Andrews, Ph.D., and Isagenix Founder and Master Formulator John Anderson on the scene of telomere biology research.

Telomeres are non-coding sequences of repetitive DNA at the end of chromosomes that are linked to human lifespan — and Dr. Andrews and Anderson are seeking out natural compounds that will turn on expression of telomerase, an enzyme that restores the length of telomeres.

Keeping telomeres long by reversing age-related shortening can potentially slow the onset of poor health and increase human lifespan.

However, as we await the latest developments in antiaging strategies such as inducing telomerase activity, there are a few lifestyle changes we can make to slow down telomere shortening as much as possible.

In our interview with Dr. Andrews, a molecular biologist who has studied aging at a molecular level for more than 15 years, he shared seven of the best known ways science knows of now to slow down telomere shortening to live longer:

1. Don’t ever smoke. Smoking is not only hazardous to your lungs and cardiovascular health, but is also found to increase rate of telomere shortening, which can lead to dysfunction and instability of chromosomes.
2. De-stress your life. The more stress you have in your life, the greater risk of increasing the rate of telomere shortening and aging more quickly. How to slow it down? As simple as it might sound, the key is to always have a positive outlook on life. Plus, enjoy a vacation once in a while, enjoy friends and social activities, receive plenty of sleep every night, and try meditation.
3. Exercise regularly. By increasing amounts of physical activity, especially intense physical activity, research shows you could keep your telomeres long and healthy, even buffering the effects of chronic stress.
4. Get your antioxidants daily. When high amounts of free radicals attack cells (causing oxidative stress), they leave no stone unturned making chromosomes and their telomeres vulnerable to shortening. You can best protect yourself by getting plenty of antioxidants in your diet from eating fruits and vegetables daily and supplements.
5. Never go without fish oil. Fish oil contains long-chain omega-3 fatty acids that are well-known for being healthy to the heart, but recent evidence has shown that increasing amounts in the diet is associated also with slowing telomere shortening over time. You can get enough by eating fish a couple of times per week and by supplementing with long-chain omega-3s daily.
6. Get enough of the “sunshine vitamin.” Several discoveries have made vitamin D the most popular nutrient of the decade because of its many benefits including an association with longer telomere length. You can make sure you’re getting enough by practicing safe sun exposure and supplementing with vitamin D daily.
7. Practice safe weight loss. Maintaining a healthy weight is important to keep telomeres long. Incorporating Isagenix products into your weight-loss program such as cleansing and replacing meals with IsaLean shakes and bars is helpful for losing weight and slowing telomere shortening.

In the search for a compound to “turn on” telomerase, an enzyme that restores telomeres, Dr. Andrews and Anderson will screen thousands of natural compounds.

When people talk of “turning back the clock” or living in perpetual youth, it’s all too easy to write them off as quacks or having watched a little too much science fiction—but that’s not so when talking with molecular biologist Bill Andrews, Ph.D., who has studied aging at the molecular level for more than 15 years.

Dr. Andrews is one of the world’s authorities on the biology of telomeres, which are sequences of repetitive non-coding DNA segments found at the ends of chromosomes. Telomeres, commonly likened to the plastic tips on shoelaces (perhaps too simply, says Dr. Andrews), protect chromosomes from damage and decrease each time a cell divides and replicates.

The length of telomeres is directly linked to age. When we are born our telomeres are long,  but they shorten with each cell cycle as cells continually divide. Telomere length is the nearest measure that science has ever found to determine lifespan in humans, horses, dogs and cats—it acts as an the internal “hourglass” or “biological clock” for aging.

A genuine measure in humans for determining lifespan is groundbreaking medical science – so much that Dr. Andrews says he is delighted that his colleagues Drs. Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szozstak won a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2009 for their own discoveries in telomere biology.

His own  breakthrough finding was the detection of an enzyme called telomerase, which acts directly on telomeres to replace DNA bases that have been lost to cell division. It’s a key finding because telomerase can be produced by all types of human cells if they are given an appropriate signal, a signal that could  ”reverse aging” and increase the lifespan in humans.

Who wouldn’t want to live a longer, healthier life past 125? The potential to increase healthy lifespan is the reason that Dr. Andrews has screened thousands of compounds searching for ones that stimulate telomerase activity.

Enter John Anderson

Isagenix Founder and Master Formulator John Anderson

On Aug. 22 at Isagenix Celebration 2010 in San Diego, Isagenix Founder and Master Formulator John Anderson  announced that Isagenix will enter into the forefront of anti-aging products. He also introduced Dr. Andrews and new research they will work on together.

“Dr. Andrews developed the technology to test, verify the activity, and authenticate the effectiveness of natural ingredients that will turn back our human time clock,” said Anderson. “My role will be to search the world for botanicals, natural bacteria and other materials that hold the secrets of youth. These ingredients will undergo full screening by Dr. Andrews to verify its activity, whether or not there’s a ‘hit’.”

Giving credit where it’s due, Dr. Andrews and Anderson said the “genius” plan to work together actually came from Peter Greenlaw, a top Isagenix Associate. Greenlaw was fascinated with Dr. Andrews and his research.

But Dr. Andrews had focused almost completely on drugs and chemicals until Greenlaw suggested to him, “Why not try natural products? I know just the man you need to meet. He has been working with natural botanicals and has formulated thousands of natural products for more than 30 years.”

Dr. Andrews said the idea was brilliant, so Greenlaw arranged for Anderson and Dr. Andrews to meet together on the project. When they met, Dr. Andrews became immediately impressed with Anderson’s vast knowledge of herbs and botanicals while Anderson was impressed with Dr. Andrews.

While awaiting age reversal, slow telomere shortening

Dr. Andrews, discoverer of telomerase

As promising as the discovery of telomerase is in the science of antiaging, Dr. Andrews and Anderson say that for the time being people should focus on implementing the known lifestyle changes that reduce the rate of telomere shortening.

While on stage at Celebration, Dr. Andrews shared that these lifestyle changes included quitting smoking, exercising, and reducing stress.

Dr. Andrews also said that Isagenix products should be added to an antiaging regimen, “There have been at least three publications in the last year showing that some dietary supplements can help slow telomere shortening. When I looked at the ingredients in Ageless Essentials [Daily Pack], I found they were all in there. Isagenix put some real thought into this.”

The company’s Ageless Essentials Daily Pack features AM and PM packets containing key antiaging-focused products: Ageless Actives, Essentials for Men/Women, IsaOmega Supreme and C-Lyte.

As a person actively engaged in extending his own lifespan (he wears a pin on his suit-coat lapel that says “Cure Aging or Die Trying”), Dr. Andrews said he was delighted to start using the Ageless Essentials Daily Pack right away because of its convenience for getting all the nutrients he needs.

Ageless Essentials Daily Pack is a convenient way to receive key antiaging nutrients.

Determined to Defeat Aging

Convenience comes at a high value to a person who is as resolved to defeat aging as Dr. Andrews – determination is a defining characteristic of the man, who also happens to be a regular on the ultra-marathon running scene.

“When I or somebody else is healthy enough to run a seven-minute mile when they’re 130 years old, that’s when I’m going to know that we’ve cured aging,” Dr. Andrews said. “That’s my benchmark. I love life, I never want to die, and I plan on running a 100-mile race when I’m 100 years old.”

Dr. Andrews suggests that with healthy lifestyle habits such as regular exercise, eating right, and taking Ageless Essentials Daily Pack, we could all join him in staying healthy long enough to see radical reversal of aging in our futures.

With Dr. Andrews and Anderson working on telomerase research together, we can expect the day of increasing healthy life spans to come sooner rather than later.

One or two servings of dark chocolate per week is good for women’s hearts, a study reports.

They say chocolate is the way to a woman’s heart, and they could be right – eating one or two servings of dark chocolate weekly is good for the hearts of middle-aged or elderly women.

A nine-year observational study followed 31,823 healthy Swedish women ages 48 to 82 and found that those who ate moderate amounts of high-quality chocolate had healthier hearts.

The women who gained the most heart-health benefits had eaten one or two servings of the dark chocolate weekly, followed by those who ate one to three servings monthly. Each serving of chocolate was typically between 19 and 30 grams.

On the other hand, the women who ate one or more servings per day received no benefit, which the researchers suggest was result of  replacing other nutritious foods with the chocolate. So, enjoy dark chocolate, but in moderation and as part of a nutritious diet.

Men, take note – the quality of the chocolate matters.

Finding the right chocolate for a woman’s heart health, while avoiding the pitfalls of eating other chocolates high in fat and sugar, depends on content and value of its cocoa.

The chocolate the Swedish women ate contained higher amounts of cocoa than milk chocolate and was not as highly processed as most dark chocolate found typically in North America.

When choosing dark chocolate, seek out versions that are minimally processed and high in cocoa flavonoids for greatest antioxidant strength. Cocoa is naturally one of the world’s richest sources of  antioxidant flavonoids, which are also found in various fruits and vegetables, tea and red wine.

Previous studies have explored dark chocolate as a delicious and convenient way to gain sufficient antioxidants to support cell health, cardiovascular and heart health.

Source: Mostofsky E., Levitan E.B., Wolk A. et al. Journal of the American Heart Association.

For the best choice in Healthy Dark Chocolate, click here!

When losing weight, people should be careful to not lose essential micronutrients.

Losing weight is an admirable goal, but not if proper nutrition is lost in the process. Most popular diets do not provide adequate intake of vitamins and minerals and these could put dieters at higher risk of  nutrient deficiencies, a new study reports.

Christopher Gardner and his colleagues from Stanford Prevention Research Center and the Department of Medicine, Stanford University Medical School evaluated micronutrient quality of four diets—Atkins, Zone, LEARN (Lifestyle, Exercise, Attitudes, Relationships), and Ornish—and found each failed to provide adequate amounts of certain vitamins and minerals.

The researchers, who published their findings June 23 in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, wrote, “We found that among a free-living population trying to follow alternative weight-loss diets, the intakes of several micronutrients were potentially inadequate, which differed by diet group. Given that successful weight loss and its maintenance require adopting new dietary habits and sustaining them on an ongoing basis, the long-term implications of these potentially inadequate intakes could result in clinically relevant nutritional deficiencies.”

Study Details

In the study, participants included 311 premenopausal overweight or obese women ages 25 to 50 who were recruited from Stanford’s A TO Z trial (a large randomized trial comparing weight-loss diets). They were randomly assigned to read one of four diet books: Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution (2002) (5); Enter the Zone, A Dietary Roadmap (1995) (6); The LEARN Program for Weight Management 2000 (9th edition, 2000) (20); or Eat More Weigh Less (2001) by Dean Ornish.

Each of the diet groups also attended one-hour evening classes each week for eight weeks. The participants were told to master their assigned diet during the eight weeks, and then follow it for the next 10 months. The researchers collected data on dietary intake from the participants by making unannounced 24-hour dietary recall assessments by telephone.

Of the four different diets, the Zone fared best for micronutrient adequacy, which the authors attribute to its balanced 40:30:30 distribution of calories from carbohydrate, fat and protein. The nutrients lacking in those following the Ornish diet were vitamin E, B12 and zinc; for Atkins: thiamin, folic acid, vitamin C and iron; and for LEARN: vitamin E, thiamin  and magnesium.

Data from the study were based on food intake alone and did not include  dietary supplements. However, the authors note that the participants who didn’t take supplements prior to dieting continued to avoid  multivitamin or multimineral supplement while dieting.

Low Calories Without Sacrificing Micronutrients

When reducing caloric intake, it’s important to be aware that doing so may also lead to decreased micronutrient intake, the authors concluded. Additionally, the higher-protein, moderately low-carbohydrate Zone diet was the best in also providing nutrient-dense foods.

Choosing foods that are nutrient dense or regular supplementation with essential vitamins and minerals is critical for long-term health.

Similarly,  findings from another study (May issue of Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition), reported other popular diets such as Atkins for Life, The South Beach Diet, DASH, and The Best Life Diet also resulted in micronutrient deficiencies.

Study Reference: Gardner CD, Kim S, Bersamin A et al. Micronutrient quality of weight-loss diets that focus on macronutrients: results from the A TO Z study. Am J Clin Nutr 2010.

Editor’s note:  The above study is one great reason why people should be using Isagenix.

A few steps helps keep those with hypothyroidism happy on the scale.

If you have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, know that you may be frustrated with efforts to lose weight. This is an extremely common condition that has important health and weight implications. Hypothyroidism spares no age group, but is most prevalent in women over 60 year old.

Hypothyroidism is currently diagnosed in an estimated 27 million people in the United States. Millions more are undiagnosed, under-diagnosed or under-treated. Additionally, medical doctors are finding more often that subclinical hypothyroidism, i.e., low thyroid function without symptoms like fatigue or feeling cold, can affect people at any time in their lives simply due to poor nutrition.

Slowed Metabolism, Slow Burn of Calories

When the thyroid gland is not sufficiently active, it can lead to weight troubles. Thyroid hormones, T4 and T3, regulate the body’s metabolism—they provide every cell in the body with the energy needed to function. They are critical for burning calories. If levels of thyroid hormones are low, you burn fewer calories per day. An underactive thyroid makes every calorie count more, sometimes double. It makes losing weight a slower process or makes it twice as difficult.

Clinical signs and symptoms of an underactive thyroid are the result of a slowed metabolism—weight gain, weakness and fatigue, persistent constipation, cold hands and feet, dry and flaky skin, thinning hair, brittle nails, and a slow pulse (1;2).

Hypothyroidism Clinical Signs and Symptoms (1;2)

Weakness and fatigue

Hair that is dry, brittle or thinning

Slow pulse rate

Nails that tend to be dry, brittle or break easily

Persistent constipation

Cold hands and feet

Thick and swollen tongue

Rough, dry, or flaky skin

Keeping a Normal Thyroid Functioning At Its Best

A healthy diet supplying sufficient amounts of minerals such as iodine, selenium, iron and zinc can be key for supporting thyroid metabolism. Of these minerals, iodine and selenium are most important and often lacking in the Western diet, particularly now in health conscious people who are reducing salt intake since the best source of this mineral is iodized salt.

Suboptimal intake of iodine or selenium—or in some cases too much intake, which is rare—can lead to  subclinical or full-blown hypothyroidism. The thyroid gland converts iodine from the diet to thyroid hormones T1, T2, T3, and T4. The most potent is T3 (triiorodyronine), which is three times more potent than T4 (thyroxine). T3 is made up of tyrosine and three molecules of iodine. T4 contains an additional molecule of iodine. Selenium is needed in sufficient levels because it is required for enzymes to convert T4 to T3.

Good dietary sources of iodine include iodized salt and sea vegetables such as edible kelp (often eaten with miso soup or as a garnish) and nori (used for wrapping sushi). Good sources of selenium are animal products, seafood, dairy, and Brazil nuts. (Salts like sea salt, Kosher salt, gourmet salts, and most low-sodium salts have little to no iodine.)

Five Steps for Losing Weight with Hypothyroidism

Weight management approaches for patients with  hypothyroidism do not differ much from others without the condition. Nonetheless, here are a few tips to help achieve the greatest overall results.

Step 1: Make Sure You Are Properly Diagnosed and Treated By a Qualified Doctor

Getting a proper diagnosis and treatment from a doctor is essential to gain your health and figure back.

Diagnosis depends on results of a blood test that measures levels of thyroid hormones, free T3 and free T4, and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH). The pituitary gland should secrete more TSH when thyroid hormone level is low. When levels of thyroid hormone are low and levels of TSH are high, the tests indicate hypothyroidism. (The precise cutoff that determines hypothyroidism is hotly debated. The American Thyroid Association currently suggests that a TSH of 2.5 mIU/L or greater suggests hypothyroidism. Some practitioners use an even lower cutoff, while many mainstream practitioners tend to follow older guidelines and look for a level above 4.5 or 5.5 mIU/L.)

Doctors will typically prescribe levothyroxine (Synthroid®), synthetic T4, in amounts necessary to return levels to a normal range in the body. Many prefer to prescribe ArmourÒ thyroid, which is naturally derived, and contains both T4 and T3 thyroid hormones. A new synthetic T3/T4 combination is also on the market (Liotrix). The T3 hormone, called “liothyronine,” can also be taken, either with T4 or by itself. Sadly, T3 is often neglected by many mainstream practitioners. If no mention is made of your T3 status, it is important to ask about T3 specifically, since some people have impaired ability to convert T4 to the active T3. Lack of T3 can impair your weight-loss efforts.

Step 2: Avoid Hijacking Thyroid Hormones

When taking any of these thyroid hormones, it’s important to heed your doctor’s recommendations, as certain foods and nutrients can interfere with absorption.

For example, dietary intake of calcium or iron can inhibit thyroid hormone absorption. A general recommendation from doctors is to take thyroid hormone (usually immediately upon arising in the morning) four hours apart from calcium- or iron-containing foods.

It’s also important to avoid overconsumption of goitrogenic foods. Goitrogens are compounds that may interfere with thyroid function by blocking an enzyme, called thyroid peroxidase, from coupling iodine to tyrosine to produce thyroid hormones.

Common goitrogenic foods in the diet include non-fermented soy foods, legumes such as lima beans, and raw cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. Preparation methods, such as cooking or fermentation, reduce the amount of goitrogens in these foods. The addition of sea vegetables, like kelp, or including sufficient iodine in the diet can nearly always counteract goitrogens from crucifers and soy.

Step 3: Eat Balanced Meals with Quality Protein, Especially at Breakfast

Eating regular, balanced, calorie-controlled meals is key to losing weight with hypothyroidism. Each meal should emphasize healthy amounts (approximately 20 to 30 grams) of quality protein. Protein is the most satiating of the macronutrients—shown in studies to curb hunger for longer periods than carbohydrates and fats—and helps to preserve metabolism-boosting muscle.

The amount of protein recommended is 0.8 grams per kilograms spread throughout the day. Breakfast is the most important time to focus on protein because most people don’t get enough in the morning, the time when muscles need protein the most (with the exception of those few hours right after workouts).

Not all protein sources deliver the same results for muscle and satiety. Whey protein, for example, contains rich amounts of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), which are important for muscle, and can be highly satisfying compared to other protein sources.

Step 4: Eat Foods High in Fiber, Cut Refined Sugars and Carbohydrates

Refined carbohydrates are a source of “empty” calories that hinder weight loss efforts. Refined carbohydrates also lack dietary fiber that is important for helping provide bulk for solidifying and softening stools. Getting enough dietary fiber can help avoid hypothyroidism-induced constipation. Fiber is also satisfying, which helps reduce calories to support weight loss.

According to the National Fiber Council, the recommended intake daily is 25 to 30 grams of dietary fiber daily. Those unaccustomed to eating these amounts of dietary fiber should increase intake gradually to avoid gas and bloating.

Step 5: Exercise Regularly Throughout the Day . . . and Don’t Forget Resistance Training

Even a few minutes of exercise is enough to boost metabolism for burning more calories. So, taking a moment or two to run up a flight of stairs or do a few jumping jacks every few hours can be enough to boost metabolism and burn more calories.

Exercise contributes to weight loss by doing more than actively burning calories. Progressive resistance training combined with regular intake of quality protein will help build muscle, which in turn boosts basal metabolic rate. A higher basal metabolic rate burns more calories over time.  Muscle takes up less space than an equivalent weight of fat, so you look trim and fit, too!

A brief amount of exercise periodically throughout the day also helps keep your gut in working order. It stimulates movement of food through the gastrointestinal tract and helps you to avoid constipation.

Stay Consistent: Don’t Be Hampered by Hypothyroidism

It’s important for people with hypothyroidism to know that the condition doesn’t have to be the obstacle that keeps them from their health and weight loss goals. Having the right attitude about being treated correctly by a doctor and making the effort to lose weight can go a long way. As you take advantage of each of the steps given here, stay consistent, create goals for yourself, and make yourself accountable for those goals. You’re sure to enjoy fantastic results!

This article was written by William Davis, MD, a practicing cardiologist in the Milwaukee area. He is a graduate of St. Louis University School of Medicine and obtained his training in medicine and cardiology at the Ohio State University Hospitals and Case-Western Reserve MetroHealth Medical Centers.

Reference List

1. Kohlstadt I. Food and Nutrients in Disease Management. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2009.

2.Shils ME, Shike M, Ross AC, Caballero B, Cousins RJ. Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009.

Getting enough vitamin D may help keep your weight in check and your heart healthy.

Dr. Michael Holick of Boston University Medical Center says he’s “just one of the many scientists” exploring vitamin D, but he easily can be considered the world’s foremost authority on the sunshine vitamin.

In the 1970s, it was Dr. Holick who first isolated the major circulating form of vitamin D in plasma, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, as well as the active form produced by the kidneys.

He was also one of the first scientists to warn the medical community about the potential implications of widespread vitamin D insufficiency. When asked about the prevalence of low vitamin D status, he answers that it’s the “most common medical condition in the world, believe it or not.”

Dr. Holick has championed the cause of bringing vitamin D into the limelight for decades, writing numerous scientific papers as well as two popular books on the subject of vitamin D and health.

Getting D Facts from Dr. Holick

While seeking the latest findings from vitamin D research, David Despain, manager of science communications of the Isagenix Research and Science Team, caught up with Dr. Holick and sought out his advice on sun exposure, vitamin D supplementation and vitamin D’s potential ties to weight management, insulin resistance and heart health.*

Q: Dr. Holick, thank you for taking the time to update us on vitamin D research. Elvis Presley once said, “Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t going away.” Don’t you think this quote represents the vitamin D story?

A: Amen. Elvis was right on target. Our sun has been demonized for 40 years unchallenged. It’s quite remarkable that it’s part of the psyche of the world. But it’s caused a major problem, which is worldwide vitamin D deficiency [or insufficiency] and markedly increased risk of chronic disease for children and adults.

You can instantly make vitamin D, but if you’re avoiding the sun as most people do it puts you at high-risk of deficiency. Why is that? It’s been demonized for so long because the dermatologists have come out with the big “C” word [melanoma skin cancer from sun exposure]. And there’s no question that skin cancer is on the rise. The major reason is because back in the ’60s people used to put baby oil on and bake in the sun. Right? Now, all of the sudden, that’s starting to haunt them later in life. It increased their risk of non-melanoma skin cancer.

But often what people don’t realize is that melanoma, the most deadly cancer—which is also what they lump together with skin cancer from the sun—most melanomas occur on the least sun-exposed areas. Occupational sun exposure decreases your risk of developing melanoma. There was a study done in a group in Texas that if you had the most sun exposure as a child and young adult and you did get melanoma, then you were more likely to survive it.

Q: Would you comment on vitamin D being a hormone, and the oldest hormone?

A: Well, the reason why we say that [it's the oldest hormone] is because I asked the question several years ago. If you take phytoplankton—there’s a phytoplankton species called Emiliani huxleii has been identified as one of the oldest phytoplankton species that has been unchanged for 750 million years. When we looked at that organism, it made a huge amount of vitamin D when it was exposed to sunlight.

It’s a hormone you make in your skin, then it’s inactive. It has to go to your liver to get hydroxylated to 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which is the major circulating form, the form you should ask your doctor to test for vitamin D status. Then it goes to your kidneys where it’s activated to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, then it goes to your bone and intestines and kidneys.

Q: As a hormone, we also know now that it has a greater role on the body besides speeding up absorption of calcium for bone health. There is a link to cardiovascular health, right? What’s the state of the science?

A: As for the heart, we know that vascular smooth muscle cells have vitamin D receptors and we know that vitamin D seems to play a role in regulating blood pressure, regulating heart muscle cells in their growing activity, regulates to some degree the strength of the heart in terms of its pumping ability. That’s why it’s not at all surprising that just two years ago out of the Framingham heart study it shows that if you are vitamin D deficient you [are not providing optimal support for cardiovascular health].

Q: How does vitamin D’s relationship to heart health affect you if you are overweight?

A: This issue for obese people is particularly important because vitamin D is fat-soluble and is incorporated in your body fat. We showed many years ago that if you take an obese person and give him an oral dose of vitamin D or put him in a [UVB] tanning bed, it only raises his blood level to less than 50 percent than what a normal-weighted individual does and we’re talking about a BMI [Body Mass Index] of greater than 30. He needs two to three times more [of vitamin D than a person of normal BMI].

We know that obese people have more aches in their muscles, which is definitely due to vitamin D deficiency. They have muscle weakness. They’re fatigued. They just don’t want to go. It’s in part due to the deficiency. We also know that fat cells have a vitamin D receptor. There’s some evidence—we’re doing some research right now—that suggests that maybe vitamin D helps keep fat cells in check.

Q:  Really? By what mechanism is it that you think vitamin D could help keep fat cells in check?

A: It may regulate fat cell maturation. It may regulate fat cell fat accumulation. That’s brand new stuff that we’re taking a look at that we’ve not yet published on. We’re just beginning to look at it.

Q: Is there any relationship established between low vitamin D status and insulin sensitivity?

A: We think so. We know that from NHANES (National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey) that [there may be a relationship associated with insulin sensitivity].

Q: We’ve heard a lot about a new established relationship between vitamin D and the immune system. Would you comment on the mechanism by which vitamin D is involved?

A: Well we know is that your immune system is regulated by vitamin D. We know that the cell macrophages definitely gobble up infectious agents because of vitamin D, macrophages activate vitamin D locally, and it stimulates production of a defensive protein that kills infectious agents. A study was done to show that if you raise your blood level, that you have more activity of your macrophages in killing infective agents. If there’s anything out there that helps to support the immune system, it’s probably vitamin D.

Q: Do you agree that everyone should be checked for vitamin D status?

A: Well, that’s the problem. It’s not an unreasonable thing to do, but I can already tell you they’re deficient. We know almost everyone’s deficient. If a normal adult isn’t taking at least 1,500 to 2,000 IU from supplement and diet—and you can’t really get it from your diet—then we know you’re vitamin D deficient. And so, to try to screen everybody, all the obese people in the United States is such a huge cost burden.

In fact, Medicare is looking at this right now and wanting to control the doctors’ use of that assay. They do not want to use it as a screening tool. I don’t disagree with that. Because we know that you can very effectively correct vitamin D deficiency, treat it, and prevent it from occurring again, if you give the person enough vitamin D. So only if they have fat malabsorption syndrome, or has had gastric bypass surgery, or cystic fibrosis, IBD, or celiac sprue—all of those individuals should be tested because you can’t predict whether or not they’re going to be able to absorb the vitamin D that you give them as a supplement.

Q: What about older people? Does the requirement for vitamin D supplementation increase with older age because of declined absorption?

A: No it does not. That’s what everybody says. [Note: Elderly can absorb vitamin D as easily as younger people.] What does change with age is the ability to make it in your skin. We showed many years ago that if you compare a 70-year-old to a 20-year-old, the 70-year-old will have about a 70 percent reduced ability to produce vitamin D. But we also went on to show that you can take an older person and still have them exposed to sunlight or simulated sunlight and they make a lot of vitamin D. Your body has a huge capacity to make vitamin D. We showed that healthy adults in bathing suits getting a minimal erythermal dose get an equivalent to ingesting 20,000 IU of vitamin D.

Now you begin to understand why the 100 IU in a glass of milk or orange juice or the 400 IU in a multivitamin is probably one tenth of what we really need to satisfy our body’s requirements for heart health or for reducing risk diseases.

Q: Do you agree as other scientists have suggested that the average person should be getting at least 20 minutes of sunshine per day for adequate vitamin D intake along with supplementation?

Dr. Holick has been researching vitamin D since the 1970s.

A: I don’t know about 20 minutes a day because it depends upon time of day, season of the year, latitude, and your degree of skin pigmentation. What I tell people is, if you know that you’re going to be out in June at noon-time for 30 minutes, in Arizona, and you’re going to get a light sunburn to your skin, to go out 50 percent of that time.

Always protect your face, it’s the most sun exposed, the most sun damaged. But you can certainly expose your arms and legs and not worry about it, in my opinion. Abdomen, back, not a problem. The more skin you expose, the more [vitamin D] that you make.

Q: Do you expect the Institute of Medicine’s recommendations for Adequate Intake of vitamin D to change in the United States anytime soon to reflect findings of new research?

A: Yes, there will definitely be new Adequate Intakes. What you really care about though is not the AI recommendation, what you care about is the Upper Limit—that’s what prevents manufacturers from putting vitamin D into foods. The amounts that you can put in and the amounts that supplements can contain.

The safe upper limit right now is considered to be 2,000 IU for adults. The major manufacturers like Coca Cola or who make Minute Maid orange juice for example put only 100 IU in a glass, because if they put in any more then they start adding that up, drinking milk and taking a multivitamin, you’re over the 2,000 IU limit.

Then if you get some toxicity like a kidney stone, it doesn’t matter that it’s not due to the vitamin D, the lawyers will say that it is if you put more than you should’ve put in. So they need to increase it like to 10,000 IU in which case, then we can really have an impact on the entire U.S. population and the world’s population because they could now put more vitamin D in the food.

Q: Dr. Holick, this has been very interesting and I’m sure it will be interesting to our readers. Thank you for your time. Also, congrats on the new book. We’ll be ordering a couple of copies for our library.

A: Wonderful. Feel free to stay in touch.

* The content of this article is for scientific and educational purposes only, and has been edited for clarity. The statements in this interview are the opinions of Dr. Holick and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Isagenix. Dr. Holick is not affiliated with Isagenix and has not been compensated for his participation in this interview. For more information about Dr. Holick or his books, please visit http://www.drholicksdsolution.com.