Greetings! In today’s class we shall learn about another vitamin that the Son of righteousness has given, to sustain our life! And that is vitamin D!

 

 

 

Vitamin D

“In order that growing children may develop normal teeth and bones it is essential, first of all, that their diets contain liberal amounts of mineral bone-building materials–chiefly calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin D is a further essential, for it aids in the absorption of calcium and phosphorus from the food. If the food is none too rich in calcium and phosphorus, vitamin D enables the body to make the best use of what there is. Vitamin D also corrects or offsets certain unbalanced portions of calcium and phosphorus in the food which are not the best for purposes of bone building.

“The exposure of the body to the rays of the sun creates some vitamin D from a substance present in the skin, but under modern conditions of living this means of providing vitamin D is not always reliable.

“In the absence of Vitamin D, growing bones do not deposit normal amounts of calcium and phosphorus, and as a result they are easily deformed. The Vitamin D deficiency disease known as rickets is often associated with marked deformities of the limbs, chest, and head...In addition to liberal amounts of both calcium and phosphorus, the diets of all children should include suitable amounts of vitamin D from a very early age. Pregnant and lactating women also should receive vitamin D regularly.

Note the importance of being out of doors, especially children. The sunshine seems to be nature’s best provision for this vitamin. The main action of vitamin D is to prevent excretion of calcium and phosphorus from the intestine, increase their absorption and mobilize them for activity. Its action is also associated with the acid-base balance.

The most popular sources have been fish liver oils. However, this is not secure from non-animal sources the help this vitamin gives. One reason for this is that unfavorable effects are reported about cod liver oil. For instance, it is more or less toxic and sometimes causes fatty degeneration of muscle, including the heart, producing heart lesions.

Vitamin D From Non-Animal Sources

To those who wish to secure the benefit vitamin D gives without the use of animal products, the following information is offered.

First, General Sources

Some of the sources for Vitamin D can be found in the following foods:

Beans, raw spinach, raw young carrots, corn germ, whole wheat, coconut oil, green leafy cabbage, sweet potatoes, and fresh oranges.

Inasmuch as this vitamin is needed only in small amounts, the first step to take is to see that as much as possible is secured from natural foods suited to the age of the individual.

Second, Natural Foods Help Each Other

It should be understood that when a ration consists of natural foods and is in perfect balance, one part helps the other parts to function perfectly. An example of this is seen in the fact that when the ration is high in alkaline foods the vitamin D is more efficient and therefore less of it is needed. What great lesson can we learn from this?

Third, Soy Beans

It should be remembered that the Chinese people down through the centuries have not used cod liver oil, but soybeans have been a staple food , and they have been well protected from rickets. We Americans are only beginning to realize the phenomenal food value of this legume.

Manifestly we will benefit by using the soybeans freely in our food. They are many ways of doing this, some of which will be discussed in a later class.

 

Fourth, Viosterol

When vitamin D is needed, it is now available from a vegetable source in viosterol, which is irradiated ergosterol, a yeast product. This is 150,000 times more potent than is cod liver oil and therefore must be used with discretion under the advice of a physician. One preparation is put up in corn oil, one drop of which contains 166 units of vitamin D, which is 100 times stronger than cod liver oil. A day’s requirements is 400 units.

Fifth, The Same Help from Citrus Fruits

It is not believed that vitamin D acts directly upon calcium and phosphorus to cause calcification, but that it retards excretion and increases absorption as already stated in the beginning of this section. Manifestly, any other food which has the same action on calcium and phosphorus will do the same work as vitamin D does. It has now been learned that the citric acid and alkalies in citrus fruits perform this function.

Dr. G. K. Abbott in commenting on the foregoing statement says: “In brief, and with a simple statement of fact, grape juice and orange juice, in their end-effects and even in their manner of effect, act precisely as does vitamin D upon calcium and phosphorus in correcting the harmfulness of a diet unbalanced by an excess of cereal food…The use of lemon juice on spinach and various other greens, and on all salads, is a most highly beneficial practice. It makes a maximal calcium ration available to the body from vegetables by increasing its absorption from these sources, and, of course, decreasing also the excretion of calcium by the kidneys and the intestinal mucosa.

Hitherto it has been considered that an adequate calcium ration could be obtained only or principally from milk. However, this vitamin-D like action of the acid-organic salts of fruits, if carried out by the free use of salads with lemon juice, would serve to provide the larger calcium ration which could otherwise be obtained only from an entire quart of milk daily.”

The juices of these fruits and vegetables are highly suitable for use with babies and children, as well as the whole foods with adults.

A two-year experiment was made on 341 children in one school. The first year they all had a standard ration which included one quart of milk daily; 78 percent of them developed new cavities in the teeth. The second year the same diet was given but with the addition of 16 oz of orange juice and the juice of half a lemon daily. With this one addition during the second year, the number of new cavities was reduced 57 percent, gum troubles reduced 83 percent, and growth rate increased 75 percent.

Conclusion Concerning Vitamin D

A minimum amount of calcium will accomplish a maximum amount of work if the diet contains the other necessary factors to make this possible. Those facts are explained in the foregoing. From among the five suggestions here given, it is easily possible and practical for any person of any age to secure the needed elements from non-animal sources to protect the teeth and bones. It must be remembered, however, that for a child to have normal teeth in youth and adult life it is necessary that the mother have a proper prenatal ration.

Join us next week and invite a friend! We shall study about vitamins in general, as well as two vitamins in specific. The first vitamin aids in growth and in heart muscle function, and in the function of the reproductive cells. It appears to occur in a lot of food, at least in small quantities. The second vitamin is associated with liver function, and the proper clotting of blood. Any ideas? Share your what you think these vitamins are in the comment section below (before Nov. 21), and receive a FREE gift!

 

 

 

*Study Adapted from Abundant Health, by Julius G. White