Papers showing a correlation between vitamin D ‘deficiency’ and cases of rickets in children are being used to promote supplementation. However there appears to be no evidence that supplementation cures or prevents rickets. The purported correlations are just that: correlations.
Dietary modifications that increase intake of the substance are likely effective because they necessarily decrease the intake of other substances which interfere with calcium regulation.
Vitamin D deficiency among northern Native Peoples: a real or apparent problem? – Peter Frost
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3417586/pdf/IJCH-71-18001.pdf
“a high meat diet seems to reduce the risk of rickets independently of vitamin D intake“
“Modern diets also contain substances that react with calcium or phosphorus to form insoluble salts, thereby depleting the body’s supply of usable calcium and phosphorus. Such substances include phytic acids in commercially processed cereals, sodium bicarbonate in baking soda, and aluminium hydroxide in antacids. Cereal induced rickets has been reported by several authors”
“Thus, among northern peoples, the purported association between rickets and low vitamin D levels may be more apparent than real.”
Louis Kervran was adamant that there is no calcium transport from the gut to the bones and that all bone calcium is manufactured on site via transmutation of other elements such as magnesium or potassium. Calcium is stored in the bones and then transmuted back to magnesium should there be a need to do so.
Almost all studies neglect the possibility of transmutation and so will invariably equate a low level of something with insufficient intake and consequentially recommend supplementation as the solution.
Treatment of rickets and tetany with a single massive dose of vitamin D: Vitamin D shock therapy – H Vollmer
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022347639801676
What is claimed: “Rickets and tetany can be cured by peroral administration of one single dose of 600,000 international units of vitamin D.”
What they actually observed:
- Levels of calcium and phosphorus in the blood became normal
- X-ray evidence of calcification (of bone) shows within one week
- Muscle spasms and irritability ceased within two days
“The most impressive effect is the rapid rise of serum calcium“
“Hyper-normal values of serum phosphorus may occur after vitamin D shock therapy. They usually decline to a normal level in from two to four weeks after the treatment.”
What they didn’t do: Cure rickets
Rickets is a chronic problem of regulation and a (temporary?) deposition of calcium is surely not a cure for this?
Other studies have shown that a large dose of vitamin D3 will cause a sudden and dramatic drop in the concentration of storage D. An excretory pathway has been opened in response to what even the authors of the paper describe as ‘shock therapy‘
Questions to be asked:
- Did they measure the levels of storage D after 600,000 units of D3 were administered?
- Did they measure the effect on Active D concentrations?
- If the answer is ‘no’ then they may not attribute the results to changes in those concentrations.
They were impressed with the rise of concentrations in the blood of Ca and P.
- Where did all the calcium come from?
- Why is there too much phosphorous and where did it come from?
99% of all calcium in the body is stored in the bones
Similarly almost all of the phosphorous is in the bones.
Apatite is identified by the chemical formula Ca5(PO4)
Irritability and muscle spasms are associated with Magnesium deficiency. Kervran gives good arguments to show that Ca and P are transmuted from Mg in about equal amounts. Modern diets seem to result in low magnesium levels.
A steady supply of of calcium in the blood is needed for various functions in the body. Too much calcium can calcify kidneys and cause heart and brain problems.
The bones act as storage and regulator for calcium.
Interpretation of the study.
A sudden change (decrease?) in storage D results in a sudden deficiency of active D causing calcium production to cease and a compensatory release of Calcium and Phosphorous into the bloodstream from the bones.
Calcium is now supplied from the bones rather than transmutation so there is no need to use up Magnesium. Magnesium levels are now restored and cramps and irritability disappear.
This will deplete the bones in the long term and actually cause rickets instead of preventing or curing. The correct cure here is more Magnesium.
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