Month 1, Day 31

At last, Month 1 draws to a close!  Only 8 more months left of the tuberculosis drug INH.

One thing I am incredibly glad for is SUNSHINE!  The spring was long in coming and we are still expecting more storms before my garden can truly be planted.  Nevertheless, the sun has been peeking it's way through in all of it's golden glory the last few days.

I spent some time in the sun yesterday.  In about 10 minutes I had a line that told me the sun had found my white, pasty skin and kissed me with UV and Vitamin D.

In fact, as much as I love the sun I want to be extremely conscious of Vitamin D intake since INH depletes it.  Vitamin D has been traced to all kinds of interesting maladies, not the least of which is arthritis, my newly despicable friend.

So, to that end, here are some Vitamin D facts:

1. INH really drains Vitamin D: "After a single dose of isoniazid the concentration of 1 alpha-,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, the most active metabolite of vitamin D, fell by 47% (P less than 0.01) and was reduced throughout the study." (Source)
2. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to influenza, cancer and heart disease.  It also plays a major role in weakening of bones. (Source - Wikipedia)
3. Vitamin D plays a crucial role in activating the immune system.  If the T-cells can't find vitamin D, they won't activate...in other words, you get sick. (Source)
4. Humans make 90% of our Vitamin D through sunshine (Source)

 Vitamin D intake sources (from SunshineVitamin.org):

Sunlight Exposure (full body exposure)*	3,000 – 20,000 IU
Salmon (3.5 oz. of fresh, wild salmon)	600 – 1,000 IU
Salmon (3.5 oz. of fresh, farmed salmon)	100 – 250 IU
Fortified Whole Milk, 8-oz. glass**	100 IU
Fortified Multi-vitamin	400 IU

Source: Holick, MF. Vitamin D Deficiency. New England Journal of Medicine, July 2007

* Sun exposure to the arms and legs for 10-15 minutes. The amount of vitamin D produced depends on the intensity of the UVB in the sun and many other factors. Darker-skinned individuals may need 5-10 times more exposure than a fair-skinned person to make the same amount of vitamin D. In northern climates sunlight is too weak in parts of the year to make any vitamin D – a period referred to as ‘Vitamin D Winter’.

** Vitamin D is supplemented into milk. It doesn’t occur naturally in milk.

Interestingly, the experts recommend 25-50 micrograms per day.  In my multivitamin, I get 1000 IU's per day.  Hmmm....translation please?

1 microgram = 40 IU's

So, if my math is right (and it may not be so let me know if not) me taking 1000 IU's per day is only equal to about 25 micrograms.  Then, minus my 47% for INH is about 12 micrograms that I'm getting per day.  That is a poor number for something so vital! If I want to get the full 50 micrograms recommended, then I need a total intake of approximately 4000IU's (accounting for the INH factor) per day.  Ick.  Whta makes more sense  is to just lay out in the sun for about 10 to 15 minutes and soak it in.

So, I'd like to renew my commitment to Vitamin Sun over the next few weeks.  Something incredibly important normally has become vital with my friend, INH.

Here's some more good info on Vitamin D - Get your summer sun dose for the winter months!