GrassrootsHealth, a consortium of scientists, institutions and individuals committed to solving epidemic Vitamin D deficiency worldwide, announced the kick-off of the Canadian leg of its new D(*)action public health action program, targeting 2,000 Canadians to be a part of a global Vitamin D study.
The announcement comes on the first day of "Vitamin D Deficiency Month" in Canada. By the end of February, an estimated 97 per cent of sunlight-deprived Canadians will be Vitamin D deficient, according to University of Calgary research.
"It is time for action when it comes to the Vitamin D deficiency problem in the world. We have read all the studies about the effects of a low serum count. We now need Canadians to get tested and get their serum levels up to the 40-60 ng/ml range," said Carole Baggerly, Director, GrassrootsHealth.
Baggerly is a breast cancer survivor who is spreading the word about how natural Vitamin D levels can decrease overall breast cancer risk by as much as 80 percent.
GrassrootsHealth launched the D(*)action worldwide public health campaign to address epidemic levels of Vitamin D deficiency by spreading the word through D(*)action -- a testing, education and action campaign. Canadians who join D(*)action will be tested two times per year during a 5 year program to demonstrate the public health impact of Vitamin D, also known as the "Sunshine Vitamin".
A Canadian IPSOS-Reid study commissioned last fall by D(*)action supporter Dr. Marc Sorenson revealed that 91 per cent of Canadian women do not know their Vitamin D blood levels, and only 21 percent say their physicians have even discussed Vitamin D with them. Vitamin D deficiency is now linked to significantly higher risk of most forms of cancer, as well as heart disease, osteoporosis and multiple sclerosis.
"Vitamin D deficiency is connected to a variety of disorders from the basic winter "blahs" to over 30 varieties of Cancer," said Dr. Reinhold Vieth, University of Toronto, Mt. Sinai Hospital and member of the GrassrootsHealth group of scientists. "Canadians need to get tested and the D(*)action study will allow us to further define what we all need to know about what it takes to get to the recommended range (40-60 ng/ml).
Dr. Vieth added, "Using public health statistics, we expect to see a significant decrease in the incidence of diseases from breast cancer, colon cancer, type 1 diabetes, hypertension and even the flu and colds. This is our opportunity to put all this information together in an expedient manner with the fastest public health impact."
The D(*)action Scientists' Panel -- 30 worldwide expert Vitamin D scientists -- recommends that the hydroxyvitamin D serum levels should be between 40 and 60 ng/ml (100-150 nmol/L). The panel states that any risks of Vitamin D inadequacy considerably exceed any risks of taking 2000 IU/day of Vitamin D3, which the NAS-IOM regards as having no adverse health effect. For a nominal fee, Canadians can be a part of a growing global movement to eliminate epidemic levels of Vitamin D deficiency.
"By focusing on the serum level where there is substantial agreement, we easily take care of the difficulty inherent in recommending the dosage required to reach that end-point. And the end-point is what's important -- dosage levels will vary considerable based on the individual, but the serum level recommendations are the same," said Baggerly.
Speaking Out On Vitamin D Deficiency
As part of the D(*)action campaign, Dr. Vieth and Carole Baggerly are available to present "Diagnosis & Treatment of Vitamin D Deficiency" seminars about Vitamin D deficiency and D(*)action to health organizations, public health associations, the public, cancer support groups and local communities across Canada.
"We are helping Canadians to get tested and get educated - it is a growing health crisis and costs the health care system billions of dollars every year in addition to costing the individuals considerable pain, disease and lowered quality of life," said Baggerly.
How Canadians Can Get Tested
GrassrootsHealth is sponsoring the use of blood spot test kits for a $30.00 (USD) fee to each individual. The tests are to be done twice a year by each individual along with the submission of some basic health data. The kits are only available by participation in the study and sharing some health data. A five year study will be conducted with the data accumulated from the individuals tested to evaluate the results of the program in disease prevention and to help create a long term plan for public health. Interim results will be posted on [url=http://www.grassrootshealth.net]http://www.grassrootshealth.net[/url]. The first group of results showed that fully 60 per cent of the initial population was below the recommended 40-60 ng/ml level.
"New Vitamin D research is appearing on everything from autism to diabetes dementia to osteoporosis and over 300 other diseases and disorders," said Dr. Vieth. "Participate in the study, get tested, get your serum levels to the 40-60 ng/ml range and learn all you can about Vitamin D and how it affects your health."
About D(*)action
The D(*)action project is an international public health project to solve the Vitamin D deficiency epidemic. Currently, the project is in Japan, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the United States. For more information on joining the D(*)action study visit: [url=http://www.grassrootshealth.net]http://www.grassrootshealth.net[/url]
