Check your Vitamin D level!

Vitamin D Newsletter

Newsletter

Autism

Gerry from Edmonton writes:

Dr. Cannell:

I am a family physician in Edmonton, Alberta Canada I was fascinated by the information regarding plausible causation of autism and vitamin D and would love to have more information on this. Over the past two years testing and then repleting patients with vitamin D has revolutionized my practice with so many conditions improving. I have been absolutely astonished at how many different diseases respond.

Dr. Cannell replies:

You are not alone. One of the Kaiser hospitals in California is now drawing 25(OH)D levels on all of their subscribers. I know of at least 10 clinics doing the same and treating with adequate doses of vitamin D. They all report that a wide variety of diseases respond. The one exception is advanced cancers and that is to be expected as poorly differentiated cancers lose the ability to activate vitamin D and lose the vitamin D receptor. However, if I had an advanced cancer, I'd still take 20,000 IU per day.

As far as autism goes, I have been unable to interest any autism researchers, even those drawing routine blood of the children, and even at my alma mater, UNC School of Medicine. I continue to believe that gestational and/or early childhood vitamin D deficiency is a major cause of autism. My paper is being distributed this month although I doubt any researchers will act on it. 

Page last edited: 20 July 2011