Stinky Sulfur Award Warns about Unapproved "Vitamin D" Drug Disguised as Vitamin
The vitamin industry cannot be taken seriously. The well-known Vitamin D Council proves this. Their ability to shove falsified science down the throats of unsuspecting consumers makes even the most scandalous drug reps envious. Anyone who can crank out this much bogus shit without being tagged as con-artists deserves an award. Hopefully, consumers will reject “D propaganda” and regain their health before it’s too late.
The Vitamin D Council states that we need to raise our levels of vitamin D. But what are optimum levels and who defines them?
Thanks to statistical contortionism, the real answers were buried faster than Dr. Oz drops down for pharmaceutical fellatio. But if you can understand “greater than and less than” math, you can cut the crap.
You need sunshine to be healthy, not vitamin D pills
Since 1997, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has shown that blood levels equal to or slightly greater than 15ng/ml of a substance known as 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-D) are indicative of a healthy vitamin D level. This can easily be achieved from moderate sun exposure. You can slosh through all the studies that prove this if you want.
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism published the vitamin D levels of 93 healthy young adults who were regularly exposed to sunlight in Hawaii. The median 25-D level was 31.6ng/ml.
The Canadian Medical Association Journal revealed the average 25-D levels of a cross-section of healthy Calgary citizens. It was 23ng/ml.
Another study on healthy Bangladeshi women found that approximately 80% of the women had a 25-D level under 16ng/ml.
A 1992 study of healthy full-term infants from China revealed serum concentrations of 25-D ranging from an average of 5ng/ml to 14ng/ml.
According to Dr. John Cannell, founder and Executive Director of the Vitamin D Council and his colleague Dr. Michael Hollick, these levels are too low. “We have long advocated maintaining a 25-D level of greater than 60ng/ml. But even those suggested levels might be too low, we may need to revise our suggestion to say that a target level of 80ng/ml or perhaps 100ng/ml should be adopted, insisted “D spin docs.”
Are you starting to see the bigger picture?
Prove It
15, 31, 23, 14ng/ml vs 100ng/ml! Let the beating, I mean the translation begin.
When you translate Cannell’s bullshit logic, it states that “optimal” vitamin D levels should be three times greater than the average level recorded in the blood of healthy, young Hawaiian sunbathers! That means sunshine will never be enough.
Their underlying message is uniquely crafted to convert healthy people into patients. This tactic comes from Drug Pushing 101. Dr. Cannell and the Council are seasoned pros at it, too.
Converting Healthy People into Pill Poppers
The Vitamin D Council has every American, including new born babies, convinced that they don’t have optimal levels of “vitamin D.” And because no amount of sunshine will create those levels, you’re forced into overdosing on a shit sandwich loaded with drugs disguised as vitamin D2 and D3, which are vastly different “biochemically” than food or sunshine-derived vitamin D in your body.
Are you starting to smell the sulfur?
Telling us that we need exorbitant levels of 25-D lurking in our blood, by choking down a man-made pill is like throwing caution to the wind and arrogantly implying you’re more powerful than the sun.
Wait, I can actually relate to that. I wish I could dominate natural law even more so…
I wish I could inhale the sweet smoke of tobacco without trashing my lungs.
I wish MDMA didn’t melt neurotransmitter production.
I wish my kids realized how imagination trumps education to exceed all teachers expectations.
I wish I could drink my body weight in tequila and wake up feeling refreshed, ready to eat a bullshit sandwich without puking.
But it’s impossible. And every now and then, a large group of scientists intervene for a reality check. Enter the Institute of Medicine (IOM).
Commissioning a full-fledged investigation by the Tufts Evidence-based Practice Center, the IOM asked experts to look at all the available vitamin D science to date and measure the validity of the vitamin D claims. After a meticulous examination, the report’s conclusion stated that, “the majority of the findings concerning vitamin D, calcium, or a combination of both nutrients on the different health outcomes were inconsistent.”
Psychiatrists Disguised as Vitamin D Tyrants Fight Back
Tyrants don’t take to science easily. They always fight back. And the vitamin D council is doing so by inventing a new disease known as “Vitamin D Deficiency Syndrome,” or VDDS.
According to Dr. Cannell, VDDS exists for anyone with 25-D blood levels equal to or less than 25ng/ml who also have two or more of the following conditions: osteoporosis, heart disease, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, certain cancers, depression, chronic fatigue or chronic pain. And since sunshine won’t help you meet this artificial level, most of us are going to qualify as patients based on the faulty, 25-D blood test.
Dr. Cannell has been sniffing pharmaceutical cotton for so long, he thinks his shit don’t stink. Did you know that Cannell’s previous gig was as a psychiatrist in a hospital for the criminally insane? Now you do. Psychiatrists are master disease branders and drug pushers. It’s no surprise that once your diagnosed deficient by his standards, he’ll sell you his own “vitamin danger” as, “Dr. Cannell’s Advanced D.”
Truth be told, vitamin D2 and D3 are man-made drugs, suitable for rat poison, not vitamins. And the University of Colorado reminded the scientific community of this danger when they published, “In fact, baits containing large quantities of vitamin D are used very effectively as rodenticides (rat poison).”
Popular poisons Quintox and Rampage prove this. They contain less than 8 percent vitamin D per serving and will kill a rat in 1 to 4 days, which means vitamin D wouldn’t make it past clinical trials if it were treated like the drug it is!
When ingested, synthetic vitamin D products mobilize calcium from the rodent’s bones into its bloodstream, producing hypercalcemia, kidney failure, central nervous system depression and heart failure – all signs of parathyroid dysfunction. Pigs fed vitamin D3 in doses equivalent to human intake suffer the same fate! And humans aren’t immune to “D danger.”
Nutritionists Abandon Science to Join “D Circus.”
Nutritionists are unaware. Male cheerleader turned nutrition guru, Johnny Bowden (Whoops, I spelled his name wrong.), proves it. Vitamin D pills are his crown jewels, and he likes “bromancing the Dr. Cannell stone.” He often uses statistical contortionism to push it as a non-toxic cure-all, akin to water! He doesn’t understand that, unlike water, it’ s a “cumulative poison;” meaning that it’s absorbed by fat cells and festers internally for months. It’s called bio-accumulation. And that’s where small, daily ingestion becomes dangerous, the repeated use over time gives way to side effects – death in slow motion. Water on the other hand gets passed through readily after used, and doesn’t snuggle into the far away corners of our fat cells.
Nutrition clowns who abandon science to join the vitamin D circus always miss that.
Writing for the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism, scientists showed that vitamin D consumption, decreases parathyroid function and may depress bone turnover to some degree. Trevor Marshall, PhD, professor at Australia’s Murdoch University School of Biological Medicine and Biotechnology demonstrated that it suppresses the immune system, concluding that, “The comprehensive studies are just not showing that supplementary vitamin D makes people healthier.”
Fortunately, when produced by our skin, in response to sunshine, the intelligence of our hormonal system protects us from toxicity by rapidly breaking down the vitamin D-like compounds, which is why nobody has ever been damaged by sun-induced production. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for oral ingestion of the franken-chemicals, D2 and D3.
Bullshit logic or nutrient logic? Pills made in a lab, or sunshine? You decide. In the meantime, may this award prove that the Vitamin D Council is nothing more than a thinly disguised veil for a Vitamin D Medicine Show – a scientific pantomime. Sunshine and select, naturally occurring, vitamin D rich foods will always optimize our levels, no matter how “low” they might be according to the ill-found standards of pill pushers.
sten bjorsell, 
Gayl and 48 others are discussing.362Toggle Comments
Lucile Bosche´ 9:46 am on November 22, 2010
Please provide a “sensible” multi-vitamin brand name that doesn’t contain vitamin D2 oe D3. I can’t find one!
Diane 9:47 am on November 22, 2010
I moved to Washington and got breast cancer two years later. I caught it early. Didn’t show up on mammogram, yet. Research showed cancer patients have low vitamin D levels. Dr. says I could stand outside in the nude 362 days a year in Washington and never get enough vitamin D. So I supplement. Do you recommend one over others? I turned down radiation and chemo, do my own natural regimen, and am still cancer free three years later. Dr. says continue to do what I’m doing, whatever it is. Wish I could get enough D just by being in the sun.
m 9:48 am on November 22, 2010
Hi Shane, I get it that sun is best, but those of us in northern climates can’t get it. I have figured out that I am absolutely solar powered, come fall I want to hiibernate for the whole winter and then I start craving carbs like there is no tomorrow AND I wouldn’t care if there was a tomorrow. I started on Vit D in tablet form, and then they disappeared so I tried the capsules, which didn’t make my body happy at all, so I finally read the label and it was filled with soybean oil. No wonder I didn’t feel well, huh? Okay, so what do we sunshine impoverished people do? the sun goes away and I get sick, but I know they cannot replicate all the wavelengths in the sun. Would love to hear your ideas.
Minky 9:49 am on November 22, 2010
Shane,
You so eloquently expose the truth and remind us that just ’cause it’s in a study doesn’t mean it’s the best thing for us. I have been trying to get minorities to get more sun for years. They seem to think that because their skin is already dark that they don’t need it. “It’s not about the tan!” is what I always tell these osteoporotic black women, usually not at risk.
Thank you for the Stinky Sulfur awards! I enjoy them and share them with others.
Minky, Osteo-Care Fitness Nurse (www.RestorativeFNRainbowNutrition.com)
Paula 9:52 am on November 22, 2010
I will bring this article to my pediatrician. Although he is into natural stuff he wants me to give my baby a multivitamin containing vitamin D. I told him I will not unless I find a natural multi (like cod liver oil that I think Shane mentioned in some past article).
Thanks Shane for this valuable info
John 9:52 am on November 22, 2010
Shane, an article of interest, and I like your brazen style to get your point across.
The problem is that as we live further away from the Equator, our exposure potential and absorption rate is decreasing.
Then we should pretty much expose ourselves about 80% of our bodies for 15 or so minutes to get an effect of an estimated 10,000 units.
Then if we do so, we should not shower for 24 hours to not let the Cholesterol-vit D-3 production be nullified, either by the warm to hot water wash-off, or the rubbing with a towel.
People with bad livers have problems producind the cholesterol needed on the skin, People with Statin drug use are handicapped as well therefore.
Shane, do you know that there is a company which makes a product of Vit D-3 which is essentially the fatty-oily product of the hairs of sheep raised in New Zealand?
I would like your educated take on how much we should get of Vit D-3 to remain healthy?
Thanks for the elucidation.
John
Jessie 10:02 am on November 22, 2010
I appreciate the review of valid studies and details; could use less of the crass language which isn’t needed to make very valid points that stand alone. Articulate language and worthy information always trump worn out swear words that actually detract from legitimacy. I agree 200% with the health stance taken. How about some approaches for those of us stuck inside during long winters? And why have recent Vitamin D recommendations been changed so extensively, when years ago the ‘oil-based’ vitamins were all categorized as potentially over-dosable? THX!!!!
James 12:59 am on August 4, 2011
Jessie… if you want touchy feeling language…it’s probably a good idea to go somewhere else…we are in the age of doing heatlhy things and not apologizing for it… and… bottom line.. no one ‘forced’ you to visit the website… thanks for playing… bye … now…
Anonymous 10:05 am on November 22, 2010
I’m confused b/c since supplementing with Vit D3 I am no longer depressed, my nails are growing and if I get sick I take 1,000iu’s x my body weight for 3 days and haven’t needed any antibiotics. When I had depression my D3 levels were 27ng/mL and my cholesterol was 128. Both too low. Now my Vit D3 is at 127ng/mL and my cholesterol is improving.
Justin 10:43 am on November 22, 2010
For those enquiring as to what Shane would suggest as a supplement can watch his video on the Vitamin D scam here
http://www.youtube.com/user/ThePeoplesChemist#p/u/13/2wYuHA5P-OQ
Darlene Jensen 10:57 am on November 22, 2010
My chiorpractor says I should be taking vitamin D. He is saying that Vitamin D pills made by Metagenics is what he advises. what are your thoughts on this? Also, do you have any advise as to what supplements to take that would help the problem vitaligo the skin problem? thanks.
Irene Beaumont 11:02 am on November 22, 2010
Hello Shane, I’m a healthy 71yr old female. I don’t take any medications.The only thing I take is CO-ENZYME Q10. Love all the info you provide.Bought your over the counter natural cures book. Thanks a lot!
Sylvia 11:09 am on November 22, 2010
Thank you Shane for having the courage to speak up against our lying goverment/healthcare officials. It seems now you cant believe anything that Dr’s , pharmacist, certainly not the FDA have to say its a shame people care more about greed then actually helping people get better. I too live n a very northern climate
(Alaska) and they push vit d3 like candy up here, whats interesting is the native community in the villages that live off of the land don’t seem to have these vit d3 deficiency’s and they get less sun then even Anchorage of Fairbanks. Confirmation of what you say about taking cod liver oil….
Thanks !!
Glenn 11:10 am on November 22, 2010
I see by the research that Canadians who experience little sun exposure are still at similar levels to the Hawaiians. So maybe I’m missing something. Does sun exposure really have anything to do with D levels? Also, I think that an earlier commenter has a point about your language. It doesn’t bother me but if you are trying to reach a broader audience, I think sticking with the science and avoiding the name calling would make your observations more palatable.
Jerry 11:48 am on November 22, 2010
Is cod liver oil safe to take if you cannot get in the sun? If so what is a good product? What amount would be safe for a nursing mother?
Paula 11:52 am on November 22, 2010
Dear Shane,
Is 20 minutes daily in the sun enough to get adequate amounts of Vitamin D? Do you have any other advice for those of us who believe what you’re saying? Thank you for working so hard to keep us informed. I really appreciate it.
Anita 12:01 pm on November 22, 2010
Shane, I can testify to the fact that the artificial vit d3 is not good for you. I was diagnosed with very low levels and put on a supplement of you guessed it d3 and some months later couldn’t figure out why I was so tired and getting more so every day. Then I read your advice and woke up. I, too, live in the POacific Northwest–in Washington state and don’t get enough sun. I’ve stated taking a cod liver oil to get my vit D and am feeling much better now. Thanks again for all of your information!
Suzanne 12:13 pm on November 22, 2010
I love your information. It’s confusing because I am a holistic nutrition student. I just finished my coursework and am starting to write my thesis at a university that believes in supplements. I’m now not sure who to believe and how to teach my future clients. Please help and respond to some of these comments, especially mine.
Do you have some sources that show that you are right so that I can show my school what I have learned. Maybe then they will change what they are teaching.
sjk 12:20 pm on November 22, 2010
Life in Alaska…..maybe 3 hours of sun during the dead of winter and no clouds. Supplementing vitamin D seems to be the only way for this extreme. What should we do way up north?
Misty 12:23 pm on November 22, 2010
Synthetic supplements are never good. I advise my clients get in a UVB tanning bed a few minutes each week.
I personally own one myself and used safely, this provides me the exposure I need.
Eat your grass fed offal meats and take a tbs. of quality Cod Liver Oil daily.
Robert Scott Bell 12:27 pm on November 22, 2010
As the Australian rock band AC/DC once asked, “Who’s got the biggest balls of them all?”
Clearly, it’s Shane Ellison.
Way to rock the health world with sound, science-based nutritional perspectives, albeit laced with language a bit too colorful for some.
They’ll get over it.
In the mean time, thanks for continuing to warn of the dangers of excess Vitamin D-motherapy.
Bill Sardi 12:39 pm on November 22, 2010
Need to stop writing for shock effect. And written at a time when the Food & Nutrition Board is about to re-evaluate vitamin D needs. In an era of sun phobia, you claim sunlight is enough? The minimum amount of vitamin D prescribed by government health authorities, 200 IU, won’t avert rickets in young black children, and the upper safe limit is not enough to raise blood levels. This criticism is irresponsible and misleading. Trevor Marshall is an electronics engineer.
Jason 12:42 pm on November 22, 2010
Rat study of vitamin D is bogus. Vitamin D is known poisonous to rats, similar to Chocolate to dogs. If using the same logic, does that means we human should not eat chocolates?
Steve 6:14 pm on November 22, 2010
I tend to think your right about this D2-D3 issue but would like more evidence to prove it. Also, you would come across much more as a professional by cleaning up the foul language. I would like to share this article with friends but decline because I know they would not appreciate the language.
KG 6:28 pm on November 22, 2010
Way to go Shane! Publishing a study to refute the false PR. Humans evolved to this point without synthetic vitamins!
Bill Marak 7:37 pm on November 22, 2010
Thanks for your comment, Bill Sardi.
I’m with you. I take 10000IUs of D3 daily and find it keeps me healthy all year long. I do get a fair amount of sun in the spring and summer and reduce my intake to 5000IUs during that time. I think Shane is a little bit off base here.
Jim 7:41 pm on November 22, 2010
Taking vitamin D3 capsules has many benefits.Winter “blues” disappear,HDL goes up,C Reactive Protein levels drop,insulin responses improve,blood sugars go down,bone healing is accelerated and fractures are reduced.Vitamin D3 assists in a multi-factor program reducing heart scan scores(coronary calcium scoring on an EBCT scan,Agatston scoring system)and reduces cardiovascular mortality.According to the Track your Plaque forum, hundreds of people have have taken vitamin D3 capsules to raise their 25 hydroxy D levels above 60ng/mL without suffering any ill effects over a long period of time.
Above 35 degrees north latitude and below 35 degrees south, you can’t make any vitamin D from sunlight exposure from November to February.
The People's Chemist 9:45 pm on November 22, 2010
@Jason, I’m not sure where you’re located, but I could hear the wooshing sound of my article passing over your head from here.
Theobromine, an active ingredient in chocolate, is toxic to dogs. It’s also dangerous for humans to consume, as seen in any toxicology 101 book. This is one reason why chocolate isn’t pushed as a “vitamin” for daily use. To compare the safety of a so-called vitamin to an an indulgence like chocolate is as ludicrous as Bill Sardi trying to masquerade as a writer on my blog. Are you guys having a bromance in the same bathroom stall? It smells like it.
The People's Chemist 9:47 pm on November 22, 2010
@ All participation here, thanks for letting your voices be heard! This is where making a difference matters.
Gary Powell 11:11 pm on November 22, 2010
Shane. I never recommend a synthetic vitamin because I have seen too many bad effects in people using them. Reading the comments makes me wonder just where some of the writers are coming from. I lost all time for Bill Sardi some years ago as a result of his opinionated writings with no real substance in them. Jim sounds like he is a drug company rep reading it all straight off a label.
I see several people near me who have been on the synthetic D vitamins and although they do feel good for a few months they then start complaining they are down with what they believe to be Chronic Fatigue and short temper and pain in the liver area. Those who bothered to listen and change to a natural source soon found the CFS and other symptoms leaving them.
That’s fact, not theory.
Now although I have a lot of respect for you and what you do, how about showing your readers some respect and keeping the language toned down a bit. You can find plenty of words in the English language to describe the cesspit called Big Pharma etc without resorting to schoolyard language.
Keep ‘em coming
Michelle 12:24 am on November 23, 2010
Shane, why are you insulting people for saying what they think? That’s not the way to endear. I know of people that did get over the cold faster with vitamin D3. I also used to live in WA state and there is NO sunshine whatsoever. It fogs to the ground under three layers of cloud cover. Sometimes street lights stay on all day, in the winter, it’s so dark. Since most Washingtonians aren’t going to eat whale blubber raw there, can you offer some helpful alternatives?
Ed Karam 5:39 am on November 23, 2010
We learned all our life that too much sun will give us skin cancer.
Now it looks its much more bigger chance to die from vitamin d deficiency then a skin cancer.
Then we learned that animal fat will give us heart disease, but again now it looks like that not enough animal fat (less vitamin d) will give us heart disease.
And now this article. Something is really smelly with the VDDS.
Jake 8:14 am on November 23, 2010
Shane: Can you please shed some light on the “natural” form of vitamin D that comes from Sheeps Wool? It seems a bit strange to me that this would be called natural? Is it something the body can actually absorb and utilize? Thanks!
Auburn 8:43 am on November 23, 2010
Just so you understand, your article is “bullshit”.
John Polifronio 6:35 pm on November 23, 2010
I’m not the least bit concerned about your “language,” but am concerned about your science. Stick to the facts, and lay off the constant bombardment against D, with lurid nonsense about rat poison and emotional language disguised as science. There are far too many “nutritional” hustlers on the web, as there are in every field. The people are always the losers in this situation. Many “web-nutritionists” offer a gullible public a combination of fact and fiction, in an effort to conceal the latter with a sprinkling of the former. Instead of creating clarity, you simply deepen the confusion. Tell me how almost the entire nutritional world considers the urgency of Vit. D, beyond doubt? Tell me further, how it is possible, that “all” your competitors on the web, are clearly guilty of knowingly placing people’s lives in jeopardy with so called “false” claims about the need for Vit.
D? If you can make such charges, of completely contradictory claims being made by you against your competitors on a matter as serious as the need for Vit. D., you invalidate the entire “natural” approach to health and disease, by making all the people promoting Vit. D. appear to be ignoramuses and frauds. If you have access to “proof” for your claims, give it to us. But it will take more than the efforts of one man yelling claims that Vit. D is a hoax, to convince most of us.
Chuck 11:03 pm on November 23, 2010
I think one of the main points of Shane’s Stinky Sulfur award is that humans don’t need much REAL vitamin D to be healthy. Captain D (John Cannell), and his D Council, are trying like hell to convince Americans that the government NIH recommendation of 15 ng/ml is too low.
But studies of healthy populations (who do not supplement with synthetic D and live in sun deprived areas) prove otherwise. Their average 25 hydroxy D levels are 30 ng/ml or less, not the 60-100 that Captain D recommends. Yet they are perfectly healthy people.
Cannell has breached the public’s trust by founding a council that promotes dangerous synthetic D, then selling his own version of it at the following website (Copy and paste link into your address window):
http://sites.purityproducts.com/advanced_d/default.asp?source=google_vitd&s_kwcid=TC|8337|john%20cannell||S||3993631193&gclid=CI3lw4mRmqUCFRhg2godtRnWHA
Note the uncanny resemblance between Doc Cannell and snake oil salesman Doc Johnson on this website:
http://www.docshows.com/
Did Captain D have another gig before his stint at the insane hospital?
Let’s cut through the marketing bullshit. The only thing deserving of being labeled “vitamin D” is from Nature’s sources: either sun, or food. All else are toxic lab creations being passed off as healthy vitamins on uninformed consumers.
Sun deprived folks can get adequate real vitamin D from eggs, tuna, mackerel, sardines, salmon, beef liver, and unfortified cod liver oil such as Nordic Naturals and Carlson’s (Make sure vitamin D is listed on the label as a range and not as a fixed value).
Fortified foods such as cereals, juices, vitamin D milk, yogurts, margarine, and most cod liver oils are laden with synthetic D.
The irony of the whole thing is that health conscious consumers rail against drug companies, yet the daily multivitamins they are taking are made mostly by drug companies.
Shane Ellison, chemist, is uncovering the tip of a massive submerged chemical iceberg, one that has been slowly sinking our health ship since the chemical revolution began around 1925.
You won’t see bleeding edge information like this anywhere else, not on Mercola’s website (he sponsors the D Council), not on Weil’s site, not from Dr. Oz, Blaylock, or the dipshit Doctors show on daytime TV.
I think Ellison’s “attitude” is caused by the gravity of the situation, by the aggressive purveyors of toxic chemicals that are dominating the news and popular media with the vitamin D promotion craze. They are literally getting away with murder, and are getting paid very well by their unsuspecting victims.
Dead rats don’t lie.
Judyl 4:33 am on November 24, 2010
Thank you Shane for giving us the “rest of the story” whether popular or not! It is good for us to know that there are other scientific positions. Reading the above comments is interesting – and remembering that a spoonful of cod liver oil was an old remedy for some. An interesting example of Pseudo Science being pushed on us is about sodium fluoride – told in the foreword of “Minerals and the Genetic Code” you can read as a preview on Amazon. I bet most readers have no idea of what the first historical use was of sodium fluoride! Realizing that most companies are hiding science to push their products is a first step toward health. Just remember that it had to go to court to decide that cigarette smoking helps cause cancer!
Lynn Parks 12:57 pm on November 24, 2010
All of you “northerners” could consume raw milk from grass fed cows (a great source of natural vitamin D and the cow did all the “outdoor” work for you). You could also supplement with a high quality fermented cod liver oil with high vitamin butter oil (green pastures).
Shane, LOVE that you type like you talk and use words like “bullshit” because, really…that’s what it is!
Chuck 1:41 pm on November 24, 2010
Beware of the latest vitamin D scam: Donald Barrett and his “Vitamin D Initiative”. This is the dude with the slicked back hair that interviewed Kevin Trudeau on many of his infomercials. Barrett’s 30 minute infomercial is airing repeatedly in major markets across the U.S.
He offers “free”vitamin D for death…oops, I mean life. All you have to do is pay a monthly shipping and handling fee for the rest of your life for the privilege of being slowly poisoned by his products.
The true science on vitamin D supports exactly what Shane Ellison claims in his Stink Award. If you do a Pub-Med search of all the latest vitamin D papers, studies, and articles written since 2005, you will find that the “vitamin D science” behind the D craze has been generated by five members of the vitamin D Council who have been co-authoring, promoting, and hyping each others so-called “science” papers. They use the old science magic trick of using “correlation” to imply “causation”. And the masses are falling for it!
The main player is Dr. Michael Holick, followed by Dr. Bruce Hollis, Edward Giovannucci MD,
Cedric F. Garland PhD, and Robert P. Heaney MD. These doctors, along with Captain D, have pulled off the scam of a lifetime by creating a body of false science which is being endlessly regurgitated by popular media.
The motivation is money, plain and simple. Synthetic vitamin D is cheap. More and more people are trying to cash in on a gullible public by quoting the so-called science, then offering their version of Toxi-D.
Ellison’s message is that Vitamin D is poison and it that it bioaccumulates in adipose (fat) tissue. Small daily doses don’t decrease the danger, it’s still poison. Over time, vitamin D causes humans to experience the same fate as rodents that eat the rat poison – hypercalcemia, kidney failure, central nervous system depression and heart failure.
Read the back of any fortified cod liver oil label. You will see a warning about hypervitaminosis or vitamin poisoning from ingesting too much vitamin A or D. Longer term damage from bioaccumulation hasn’t yet been scientifically proven, but it will be. Ellsion is leading the charge in this area.
Until it is proven, do you want to take the chance that vitamin D won’t slowly kill you and your family?
Katherine 4:26 pm on November 24, 2010
Shane, Gary, and Chuck:
Thank you, kind sirs. Gary, I had (past tense) been taking D3 for about six months, and had started experiencing the same symptoms that some of your folks had. Since I’m a rather cold-blooded analytical type (or so I’ve been accused), I knew it had to be one of three supplements I had recently added. Removing all three, then reintroducing each one separately narrowed it down.
Most people tend to treat any opinion they have as inviolable. Hence, many feel that being told what they are doing is killing them is seen as a direct personal assault instead of an attempted rescue.
For those of you who are taking personal umbrage at the thought of giving up your beloved D supplement, perhaps you’d like to replace it with Lipitor… or any one of the thousands of synthesized chemical concoctions which the FDA, Big Pharma, and your family doctor are certain you should be taking.
Lynn Parks, I’m going to borrow your metaphor, if you don’t mind
… Shane has ‘done all the hard work’ for all of you, all of us. No, he is not God, but he is darned well informed and educated. If you don’t want to learn, why are you here? I would imagine that most of you who have drawn exception to what Shane is trying to educate you about probably tout yourselves as being right uptown when it comes to supplements, etc… have you bothered to do the research yourselves? While you’re at it, Google any one of the popular prescriptions and start reading about the actual testing, the attempted recalls, – and the failed recalls which are due to the FDA and congress being bought off. Start with Bisphenol-A… then come back and tell us again how Shane does not know what he’s talking about.
Chuck, you’re awesome. So is your knowledge.
Shane, you are, too.
Critical thinking… can’t live without it… literally.
jim stockdale 11:59 pm on November 24, 2010
Hey shane, I just wanted to thank you for the cutting edge health info.I used to take synthetic vitamins and when I did I would always feel strange after taking them.It seems like most of it would be urinated out in a green stream about an hour after taking them.I guess its the body trying to rid itself of the toxins ingested.I have to say that your health advice and products have improved my health considerably.I lost 25 pounds and gained 5 pound muscle with your AM/PM fatloss discovery program and have given up sugar completely. I am in the best shape of my life thanks to your products and advice. Thank you Shane.
The People's Chemist 9:16 am on November 27, 2010
Appreciate the post Jim. There is a growing trend that is being ignored: People are moving toward “vitamins” and starting to feel like shit, inevitably because they are choking down franken-chemicals disguised as nutrients to fill the void of “essential nutrient depletion.” This is counter to the “nutrient logic” discussed in my book, Over-The-Counter Natural Cures, and must be stopped if we are going to live vibrantly healthy.
RC 4:41 am on November 26, 2010
Shane,
Thanks for taking extremely complex nutritional issues and providing clear scientific sanity for the layman. It’s apparent that any substance that seems to have beneficial effects on the body will be over sold by modern day hucksters. Vitamin D seems to be the latest “cure-all” advocated by the the so-called “health experts”. Keep your science based truth coming!
The People's Chemist 9:13 am on November 27, 2010
Thanks RC! I’m glad you were able to see my message clearly here, which was simply, “Sunshine is better than Vitamin D pills/hormones made in a lab.”
Tori 9:50 am on November 26, 2010
Nothing says you’ve hit the nail on the head like your critics pointing out your LANGUAGE alongside their so called facts and rebuttals.
Perhaps you “experts” should take intro to philosophy- arguments ad hominem aren’t proper form and they make you look like you lack credibility. Though- the facts do that quite well enough, I’d say.
Shane, give ‘em hell. I don’t think your swearing prose is for “shock value” and anyone who knew your musical preferences would be able to see that- let alone those who know or have followed you for some time.
davide 10:45 pm on November 26, 2010
sunshine is better than taking vitamin d supplments, we get it, there are bogus vitamin d pills out there but I want to see the science that proves people who don’t get much sun don’t improve with good vitamin d3 supplements, by claiming everyone who promote vitamin d3 is a huckster you are questioning the integrity of some very fine people..for example chemit Raymond Francis,Dr Russel Blaylock, Mike Adams just fr starters
Tori 8:59 am on November 27, 2010
A huckster’s a huckster no matter how wide spread their influence and no matter how much you want to believe that they are fighting for the greater good. You cultivate a following based on “how much you care” and then poison them with shit at a profit, you’re every bit as bad as the assholes in Pharma. Yeah, I went there. Someone has to question their integrity- a Judas goat leads sheep to slaughter, and no matter what creed it’s bleating, the sheep still die.
The People's Chemist 9:08 am on November 27, 2010
@Jake, lanolin is an oil produced by the sebaceous glands of sheep, then it’s further processed to form pharmaceutical-grade vitamin D. Neither lanolin or so-called “vitamin D” from the sheep has been proven safe for consumption.
Ken 8:57 am on November 29, 2010
Judging from the color of my urine You really do have to question the bioavailability of many vitamins. I now get my B vitamins and folate from Lewis labs brewers yeast and my urine now looks normal again. Like Shane says food based nutrition trumps the synthetic kind every time even in far lesser amounts. I would like to also add that I have been taking Cardio FX for almost a month now and this alone has made me feel better than any vitamin I’ve ever taken
The People's Chemist 8:29 am on November 30, 2010
This just in from the NY Times and Institute of Medicine…more evidence supporting The Stink Award!
“The very high levels of vitamin D that are often recommended by doctors and testing laboratories — and can be achieved only by taking supplements — are unnecessary and could be harmful, an expert committee says.”
“The very high levels of vitamin D that are often recommended by doctors and testing laboratories — and can be achieved only by taking supplements — are unnecessary and could be harmful, an expert committee says.”
Get the whole article at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/health/30vitamin.html?_r=1&ref=health
Always dedicated to leading edge science, TPC
Steve 8:23 pm on May 4, 2011
I was considering buying your book… Does it contain the same language as I see here?
Ken 11:18 am on December 1, 2010
Everyone should get a good laugh from this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1K3s0ir74Y
The People's Chemist 8:06 am on December 3, 2010
The Council is now saying that since the skin produces 50,000 IU we need to raise our oral intake…They are lost. Yes, the skin produces the hormone in mass amounts, but its 90% broken down before it ever leaves the skin courtesy of heat/friction. Hormones are SITE SPECIFIC…and this
is why we don’t eat testosterone, estrogen, hGH or any other hormone, it’s DANGEROUS. Ask a rodent.
Nigel Kinbrum 1:29 pm on December 5, 2010
Hi.
RE Vitamin D as rat poison:- I have only two words to say….Dose & Context. Warfarin/Coumadin is used as rat poison but it’s also an anticoagulant drug prescribed to people with DVT or Atrial Fibrillation.
Would you like to comment on the studies I’ve linked to in my blog post Vitamin D?
Cheers, Nige.
P.S. There’s no preview here so I have no idea if the above link will work.
The People's Chemist 6:45 pm on December 5, 2010
@Nigel. Coumadin is used in EMERGENCY medicine and has been an asset to human longevity. BUT ITS NOT SOLD AS A NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENT. (I’m yelling at the top of my lungs for good reason, not just to be an asshole). In other words, coumadin is not put in vitamin pills or sold over-the-counter, or put into cod liver oil, or dropped into the mouths of babies, like vitamin D, because ITS LETHAL WHEN USED INCORRECTLY! Comparing the two is yet another limp attempt to rationalize vitamin D use.
Nigel Kinbrum 9:17 am on December 6, 2010
@Shane. As you have missed the point that I was trying to make, I’ll spell it out. EVERYTHING that’s good for you IN THE RIGHT AMOUNTS (e.g. Water, EAAs, EFAs, Vitamins, Minerals, Prescribed Medications) is lethal WHEN USED INCORRECTLY (i.e. in vastly excessive amounts). Therefore, you can’t use that as an argument against Vitamin D3 supplements. The cholecalciferol produced by the action of UVB on the 7-dehydrocholesterol in sheep’s lanolin is identical to the cholecalciferol that’s in food. Therefore, you can’t use that as an argument against Vitamin D3 supplements. Your article has a lot of scaremongering language & opinions but little scientific evidence to back them up.
The main argument about Vitamin D3 is “how much is the optimum amount?” My article provides scientific evidence that the amount you consider to be adequate is inadequate. I think that we’ll just have to agree to disagree.
Cheers, Nige.
Cathy T 9:07 pm on December 6, 2010
I tune into the Dr. Oz show on TV. He sure pushes Vit D and multivitamins. I’m not really sure about him. He never really gives much of an answer about things. He also pushes the aspirin as cancer prevention & for the heart health. Any comments on him?
The People's Chemist 9:35 pm on December 6, 2010
@Nigel, I’m not a mind reader, I only go off what you post on my site, which was a comparison of vitamin D to coumadin. If you had something else in mind, you should have written that. And like many of the “nutritionists” online, you didn’t reference scientific information, you copy and pasted info from The Vitamin D Council and the like.
We’ve already heard the antiquated line of, “everything is bad in the wrong amounts.” Get over it. It’s called toxicology.
That which is found in wool is not meant to be swallowed by man…Eating wool is as ridiculous as arguing for eating synthetic hormones, which never match those made by our body (HPLC proves this as does NMR)! Ask any athlete who dared to take testosterone and got busted.
Further, just because something is made by the skin, doesn’t mean you should be eating it! Should I be eating testosterone just because my AC/DC big balls produce it? Should I eat hydrochloric acid, just because my gut churns it out daily?
I’m not here to agree with you on anything, even if it is “to disagree.” This isn’t about belief systems.
I’m just here to say that pills will never match sunshine. And they’re damn risky. So, you better be ready to bet your life on “your study.” I am.
- TPC
Nigel Kinbrum 2:12 pm on December 8, 2010
Shane, I’ll try to make this my last comment as this discussion is going nowhere.
“I only go off what you post on my site, which was a comparison of vitamin D to coumadin.” I was trying to make a point. Sorry you didn’t get it.
“you didn’t reference scientific information” I provided a link to dozens of peer-reviewed studies.
“you copy and pasted info from The Vitamin D Council and the like” I did not.
“We’ve already heard the antiquated line of, “everything is bad in the wrong amounts.— You’re the one using the antiquated line in your argument against Vitamin D.
“Eating wool is as ridiculous as…” That’s a Strawman argument.
“Should I be eating testosterone..?” No, and not just because oral testosterone undecanoate is ineffective. Oral oestrogen on the other hand is very effective. Ditto oral corticosteroids.
“This isn’t about belief systems.” That’s why I linked to scientific evidence to support my argument.
“I’m just here to say that pills will never match sunshine.” I agree. On the other hand, gelcaps won’t increase the risk factor for skin cancer and there’s no UVB in the UK at the moment.
“And they’re damn risky.” If they’re made in someone’s garden shed, probably yes. I buy gelcaps manufactured to USP standards so I’m getting a fairly precise amount.
“So, you better be ready to bet your life on “your study.— I linked to dozens of studies. Also, I have improved blood test results to bet my life on.
Cheers, Nige.
The People's Chemist 5:51 pm on December 8, 2010
Tragedy. Vitamin D researchers will want to pay close attention. Vitamin D Expert Dr. Frank C. Garland recently died of cancer…He was a leading advocate of vitamin D supplementation in pill form:
http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/scimedemail/la-me-frank-garland-20100831,0,561171.story
m 2:11 pm on December 9, 2010
HI, for those of you who say we “notherners” can drink raw milk. I can’t FIND raw milk where I live. They shut down the last place it was known to bwe available, and even if I could get raw cows milk, there is NO GREEN GRASS for them for half of the year up here. I cannot afford one of those fancy UV light machines, and I am not sure they are a good idea anyway. I wish Shane would comment on these things.
Steve 8:28 pm on May 4, 2011
I see a lot of “I wish Shane would comment on this” Do your own research. Just remember no one knows everything. No one is right 100% of the time no matter who it is, Shane included.
Robert 2:42 pm on June 2, 2011
I too was sucked into taking vitamin D3 but almost immediately on starting I felt unwell; when I ceased taking it I was back to my usual feeling of well-being. I tried it once more and again felt unwell so trashed the purchases. I reside in the northern climate and I am 80 and have never felt the need for vitamin D supplementation and I am healthy and in good shape for my age and continue to feel that I have a future. Never ignore one’s own observations.
The People's Chemist 3:46 pm on August 14, 2011
Thanks for sharing Robert! That is a testimony reflective of so many who get sucked into vitamin D hype…Sadly, many of them can’t get out. – Shane
Gayl 5:26 pm on August 30, 2011
I beg to disagree – when you say “healthy” even in Hawaii, I am betting these are young people who are not regularly out in the sun 1) enough and 2) without sunscreen.
If you check levels of people who are out in the sun without sunscreen and in a bathing suit or go tanning on a regular basis, the average levels are in the 60s and 70s. (Yes, I have done this.)
It is also a much needed nutrient for the appropriate function of T cells that live in our mucosa and are the first defense against pathogens.
Vitamin D supplements alone cannot raise levels to “natural” sun exposure levels in most cases any way. Vitamin D2 is essentially worthless as a supplement. There is no supplement to reproduce the health benefits of a lifestyle filled with fresh air and sunshine.
Please tell me what vitamin D rich foods give us enough D and the quantities we need to consume to accomplish this – I eat plenty of fish and eggs, but most of this world does not.
And they DO NOT say that you can’t get enough from the sun…they say most people don’t or won’t.
I have taken people off of their antidepressants, improved their cholesterol levels, have gotten them away from flu shots all with appropriate improvement in their D levels. So before you start hollering at something because it is becoming “mainstream” do a little personal research.
The People's Chemist 10:39 pm on September 1, 2011
You’d lose your bet then, cause the the study compensated for that, of course. Yes, vitamin D in
it’s natural form, made biologically (our skin, or food source) is essential. But, the chemical being made in the lab and disguised as nutritive vitamin D, is poison…Don’t play poker with me either, or even try to talk cholesterol. See Over-The-Counter Natural Cures (SourceBooks, 2009) to see why there is no such thing as “high cholesterol.”
sten bjorsell 8:51 pm on September 18, 2011
Since I upped Vitamin D3 intake from 1,000 iu per day to 5,000 my effort angina disappeared.
Before I started to take vitamin D3 at all I awoke nearly every night with chest pain. After reading the Vitamin councils’s D-stand and carefully starting with 1,000 IU D3 per day the night episodes vanished. I was on seven heart medications. Every single one of them “short term gain and long term pain.” Today – 5 years later – I am free of them all. I think it is thanks to Vitamin D. Anectdotially, Sten.
The People's Chemist 2:22 am on September 19, 2011
Thanks for sharing Sten. Glad you got off the meds. No doubt, vitamin D is GREAT. This article is simply advocating the use of it in natural form, rather than risking the side effects of a synthetic mimic.