Book on Sports and vitamin D - Aug 2011

Athlete's Edge: Faster, Quicker, Stronger With Vitamin D
by Dr. John Cannell, $23 including US shipping

Amazon $4 used 2020.
320 page book is described on their website which allow looking at 12 pages and has the following summary

This book covers new ground. After extensive investigation and translation of numerous scientific reports into the English language,
  author Dr. John Cannell reveals a long-held secret once known only to Eastern European athletic trainers.
In the 1960s and 70s, it was called Sunlamp Therapy, and it gives athletes a definitive edge over their competitors, particularly for athletes who train for indoor or winter sports.
That vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, improves

• muscle tone,
• muscle strength,
• balance,
• reaction time and physical endurance, as well as
• immunity and
• general health,

is a recent discovery in western medicine.
It has application ranging from improved performance of

• standing armies in the field, to
• Olympic and every-day athletes, and even
• seniors who need to avert falls and age-related loss of muscle mass and muscle tone.

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Review of book by Bill Sardi 

• "Book will change sports training
• Note: Sardi appears to be the publisher of this book as well as an excellent Vitamin D advocate

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Excellent Vitamin D Book -For Sports and Others as well

Vitamin D issues nicely covered for the weekend athlete, the professional athlete, the Olympic athlete, and the senior citizen - basically anyone who moves
by Henry Lahore - administrator of Vitamin D Life

What I learned from the Athlete's Edge: Henry Lahore Oct 2011

• The body prioritizes the use of vitamin D – first deal with Ca/Magnesium balance pg 27
• To grow the brain cells a nerve-growth factor gene is turned on – by the use of Vitamin D pg 36
• After getting a suntan the maximum of amount of vitamin D generated by the skin drops by half +from 20,000 down to 10,000 IU per day –pg 41
• Enzymes are turned on to break down activated vitamin D in the tissues so the tissue levels don’t build up – pg 41
• Skin sensitive to the sun may be much less sensitive after the body already had vitamin D – Dr. Cannell first found this from his daughter – pg 43
• Dr. Heaney found that healthy young men use 5,000 IU of vitamin D daily – pg 58
  recall that 3,200 IU was the minimum from some other source
• Vitamin D mistakes may be similar to previous medical mistakes
  beriberi was actually due to lack of thiamine,
  pellagra was due to lack of niacin;
  birth defects were due to lack of folic acid
  In all cases itl took decades for doctors to change their attitudes: pg 74
• Even outdoor athletes can lack vitamin D:
  Use of sun block and a desire to practice during cooler portions of the day
• Vitamin D blocks the inflammation which results from sports ‘overreaching’ pg 107
• Vitamin D might be consumed by lots of exercise pg 109 presented as a hypothesis
• Muscle trainability vs month graph – peaking in Sept, the highest vitamin D month pg 120
• Elderly ‘exercise’ studies all showed best performance by those with 50 ng vitamin D pg 135
  worse if lower OR higher levels
• Germans and Russians has been using UV for Olympics for decades, then, in 1968, the rest of the world got to use UV as well– Mexico Olympics had lots of natural UV pg 163
• Finally, in 1945 UV improvement got to the US – endurance up 19% with UV pg 171
• 1999 paper about Olympics in German:benefits in reduced lactic acid build-up, lower pulse rate, etc, pg 177
• UV produces endorphins in the skin in addition to vitamin D pg 222
• Tanning has been established as causing an addiction – is this a bad thing? Pg 223
• Sensitive skins should try stocking up on vitamin D for a month before tanning pg 228
• Tanning bed bulbs of older type (not high pressure) have much more vitamin D producing UVB than the newer high pressure bulbs pg 234
  Note: many countries restrict how much UVB, and thus vitamin D a tanning bed can produce CLICK HERE for a file
• UVA actually destroys vitamin D in the skin pg 234 vs UVB generates it
  (Vitamin D Life had been suspecting this, still looking for good documentation)
  This would indicate problems with sunscreens, getting sun via windows (house, truck) etc.
• Many mammals generate vitamin D on their fur – just happens that we get most of the fur from sheep pg 235
• Vitamin D can cause or highlight a Magnesium deficiency pg 247
  Mg is used by enzymes that metabolize vitamin D ==> muscle cramps
  Made me wonder about Vitamin D ==> lower Mg ==> heart muscle problem
  Blacks need more Magnesium than whites pg 247 (news to me)
• Cholecalciferol does not circulate in the blood until 25(OH0D test level is > 40 ng pg 262
  Do not recall seeing this – VERY IMPORTANT if true - cannot find any reference in the book
• After presenting vitamin D information to your doctor, be ready for hostility– pg 66
• Modern medicine is a for-profit business. Drug companies and doctors will not make a profit if you you use them less. Pg 68
  However, HMOs stand to make a profit from vitamin D (added by Vitamin D Life)
• Uses a Q&A format: lists 14 diseases
  Answer: all 14 are associated with vitamin D AND are common among blacks
• His definitions of vitamin D levels
  <50 ng = deficiency
  (note – some define deficiency as < 40, most define deficiency as < 30, some as < 20)
  50-100 ng Optimal ( CLICK HERE for discussion/controversy)
  100-150 ng Borderline high
  150-200 ng Unnecessary high levels
  >200 ng Toxic levels (one reference says toxic level is 300 ng)
• Toxic level reached in a few days if have much more of a substance: pg 279
  water 10X (80 vs 8 glasses/day)
  Vitamin D 1000X
• “Worrying about vitamin D toxicity is like worrying about drowning when you are dying of thirst”
  1999 quote from Dr. Veith pg 283

Comments by Vitamin D Life about whole book

• He nicely has the reader think through what evolution would have done – in many locations
• He seems to feel that everyone should have 50 ng of vitamin D all of the time
  • Perhaps dark skin people have evolved to need a lower level of vitamin D CLICK HERE
  • Mentions controversy: change with season pg 237

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See also Vitamin D Life

• professional sports team takes 5000 IU vitamin D and wins championship also by Dr. Cannell
• Athletes need 50 ng/ml of Vitamin D – Cannell and Hollis May 2009
• Vitamin D book overview at Vitamin D Life updated Oct 2011

Overview Sports and vitamin D has the following summary
Athletes are helped by vitamin D by:

1. Faster reaction time
2. Far fewer colds/flus during the winter
3. Less sore/tired after a workout
4. Fewer micro-cracks and broken bones
5. Bones which do break heal much more quickly
6. Increased VO2 and exercise endurance Feb 2011
7. Indoor athletes especially need vitamin D
8. Professional indoor athletes are starting to take vitamin D and/or use UV beds
9. Olympic athletes have used UV/vitamin D since the 1930's
10. The biggest gain from the use of vitamin D is by those who exercise less than 2 hours per day.
11. Reduced muscle fatigue with 10,000 IU vitamin D daily
12. Muscle strength improved when vitamin D added: 3 Meta-analysis
13. Reduced Concussions
    See also: Sports and Vitamin D category 231 items