My New Website!!

I just launched my new website that aims to educate others on health and wellness.  I hope everyone enjoys it!  Check it out at:

www.PursueAHealthyYou.com

Today's Miracle Pill... Bet You Can't Guess What It Is.

If I had a dollar for every time someone ask me if there was ONE pill that could cure everything I'd be a very rich and happy retired pharmacist sipping my umbrella drink on a tropical island right now. Of course there is no such thing as a miracle pill but the latest evidence based medicine would suggest there is a pill that comes close. In fact this pill is really, really inexpensive and readily available to anyone who wants it. I bet you anything you'd never guess what it is. You want to take a stab at this one?

The answer is vitamin D and no I'm not kidding. I feel so strongly about the overwhelming evidence that vitamin D has on us that I couldn't keep it a secret any longer. So let's get down to business!

Vitamin D comes in a few different forms. The most common forms are Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Cholecalciferol is the natural form of vitamin D found in the human body and is the preferred product when taking supplemental vitamin D. You can read more about the different vitamin D forms here - Vitamin D pharmacology. Many people get vitamin D naturally from the sunlight which their skin converts to cholecalciferol in the body. But vitamin D can also be obtained in the diet although in small quantities that fall short of your daily needs.

So will taking vitamin D cure everything and prevent 100% of any human ailment? Of course not and it would be inappropriate and irresponsible for me or anybody else to tell you this. But will vitamin D drastically improve your long term health? Absolutely without question! Adequate vitamin D levels have been proven through evidenced based medicine to improve your chances against heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, dementia, autoimmune diseases, arthritis, gout, and the list goes on and on. Dr. Frank Lipman wrote an excellent article detailing many of the important aspects of vitamin D titled Vitamin D:What You Need to Know.

Dr. Soram Khalsa recently wrote an article about how studies have shown that adequate vitamin D supplementation reduced breast cancer risk by as much as 50-60%. Now find me a prescription medication that can do this. You can read the full article titled Breast Cancer, Integrative Medicine, and Vitamin D for more information.

Life Extension recently published a comprehensive article on vitamin D in which they studied the results of over 13,000 patients who supplemented with vitamin D and routinely checked their vitamin D levels. They found that inadequate vitamin D levels were found in approximately 85% of these patients. They also noted that vitamin A, often found in many multivitamins in the retinol form (not the beta-carotene form), actually works against vitamin D and it's positive health benefits. They recommend that your multivitamin has no more than 1,000 units of vitamin A in it for this reason. I would encourage you to read their article titled Startling Findings About Vitamin D Levels in Life Extension Members.

What is considered a "good" vitamin D level? First off, the most accurate vitamin D test to have done is the 25-hydroxyvitamin D level which is also known as 25(OH)D level. Your doctor can order this test if you ask. After reviewing multiple articles on vitamin D supplementation I've found that the experts deem a 25(OH)D level of 50 ng/ml the minimum level to adequately prevent the many chronic illnesses that can affect us. NOTE: You need to know your number!! Many labs and even physicians might tell you that you are fine and that you have a "normal" vitamin D level but many of them are also considering a level of 30 ng/ml or above a "normal" level even though the latest scientific literature convincingly proves otherwise.

Can you have too high of a vitamin D level? Vitamin D toxicity is almost non-existent in the documented literature but there seems to be a lot of misinformation and fear among patients and health care practitioners that this is not the case. Please read the Vitamin D Council's page on toxicity here - The Truth About Vitamin D Toxicity.

You're probably asking how much vitamin D should I take? That's a great question and varies depending on each individual. The elderly and individuals with darker skin tones do not readily convert as much sunlight to vitamin D as most others. You may also need more vitamin D if you don't spend much time outside in the sun or are in a northern climate which keeps you inside more than your southern neighbors. As a general rule most people need at least 4,000 units of cholecalciferol per day and some may need up to 10,000 units per day. Before you go and start taking a vitamin D supplement I recommend that you talk to your physician about it and get a vitamin D level done. That way you can individualize your dose with your physician's help to best meet your health needs. Another note for those who have the following conditions you need to talk to your doctor before starting Vitamin D therapy - sarcoidosis, severe kidney disease, primary hyperparathyroidism, and any condition that has resulted in an elevated calcium blood level.

Vitamin D has really come into the spot light over the past few years and more research is being done as we speak to try and determine how and why it works like it does in the human body. But there is just too much proven scientific evidence on the health benefits of vitamin D to ignore in my opinion. As a pharmacist I'm always searching for the safest and most effective way to produce positive health outcomes and to prevent disease in people. And even though prescription drugs have their place in treating patients I would much rather see all of you out there take proactive steps to delay the day that you have to start on the powerful drugs that I work with every day. My goal is to see all of us take steps to prevent the chronic diseases that plague most Americans by eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and taking a minimum amount of necessary supplements. And if you choose only one supplement to take I highly recommend that it be vitamin D (cholecalciferol). It's your life and your health and I think you deserve to be the best that you can be. With your physician's help you can make great strides in achieving optimal health. Now go out there and educate yourself and take control of your own destiny!

Your Health - Help Me Help You.

Aaahhh yes to be young and healthy again! You hear this all the time from those that are either not healthy and/or older than you. Your health is incredibly important to you and all too often taken for granted until you don't have it one day. And while there are many hardworking nurses, therapists, physicians, and pharmacists like myself doing their best to make you healthier when you need us your health is primarily your responsibility. Let me repeat this - your health is primarily YOUR responsibility.

There's a barrage of topics I could cover that could help you improve your health and well being but in this specific post I'm going to focus on something that drives all of us health care providers insane on a daily basis. And that is the lack of health information available in a organized fashion for us to use when treating a patient as yourself. Unfortunately information regarding a patient's medical history in the health care field is about as organized as the chaos that surrounds a Mardi Gras celebration on the streets of New Orleans in February. Currently all the different health care providers (physicians, hospitals, pharmacies, clinics, etc.) are not readily sharing your medical history with one another to make things easier when attempting to treat you. Why you ask? Because we don't know every place you've seeked out for medical attention and our computers don't "talk" to one another since they are all set up separately by each and every different health care facility. This invariably leads to a health care system that is under performing and extremely inefficient.

This is where you come in. You can be a major asset in helping us get you back on your feet again. The way you do this is by organizing your own Personal Health Record (PHR). A Personal Health Record is basically an organized file of information on your entire medical history. This can either be compiled the old fashioned way in a binder with a bunch of paperwork or better yet in an electronic form such as on your computer or online.

To learn more about the basics of a PHR you can watch this video




There are also a couple of podcast audio files available to explain what a PHR is and how it works here - www.healthcare411.ahrq.gov/podcast.aspx?id=6 and www.healthcare411.ahrq.gov/podcast.aspx?id=179.

I personally recommend starting a Personal Health Record in an online format. There are many different vendors out there offering free PHR sites. To help you get started in choosing an online PHR website I would suggest you read this short article with some very good tips on what to look for - www.smartmoney.com/deal-of-the-day/index.cfm?story=20080501-personal-health-records&split=0.

I would also use the website made by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) - www.myphr.com. I found this site extremely helpful and easy to use. You can search for a specific PHR vendor here - www.myphr.com/resources/phr_search.asp.

I would like to make it clear that the majority of PHR websites are not HIPAA covered. That means that they are not legally required to follow the privacy act put in place by our federal government. Only actual health care providers and institutions (hospitals, clinics, insurance companies, etc.) are legally required to follow HIPAA rules and regulations. However, some of the websites do everything in their power to abide by all the rules and policies set forth by HIPAA. They are referred to as being HIPAA compliant. Make sure you take the time to actually read the websites privacy policy and that you are comfortable with the level of security and protection that they give.

With your help we can make health care much more efficient and eliminate costly mistakes because of the lack of information available about ourselves as patients when services are provided by the many talented health care providers out there. I urge you to take action now and spread the word about this wonderful opportunity so that one by one we can make our world a healthier place.