Skunky, I appreciate your input and realize that some people take issue with Dr. Mercola. Here are just a couple of papers on vitamin D and its effect on the immune system. It truly does not matter to me if others up their vitamin D intake or not. My point is that - as in so many instances in western medicine - the natural, common-sense, low-cost way of disease prevention is overlooked (or even derided) in favor of the pharmacological treatment of symptoms without regard to the underlying problem.
Example: Had I not been doggedly persistent in identifying the cause of Critter Jr's chronic fatigue, he would no doubt be on some sort of "chronic fatigue" medication to the enrichment of some pharmaceutical company and to the detriment of my beautiful son's long-term health. Dr. Tommy John at Sacred Heart was instrumental in his diagnosis of gluten sensitivity, thinking to check for the gluten antigen in his bloodwork. And I am eternally grateful to Dr. John for that. BUT, not one but two gastroenterologists we saw as a result of that test assured us that gluten was not the cause of his fatigue and mental fog. To gauge his reaction to gluten, both encouraged him to have an upper sigmoidoscopy to biopsy his small intestine, which would only be accurate if we re-introduced gluten (I had eliminated most gluten following his blood results) to his diet for six weeks prior to the test.
After a few days ingesting gluten, C Jr. was nearly zombie-like, so my internet quest for a better alternative began. I found it in EnteroLab, a Texas lab run by a gluten specialist gastro doc, which measures for gluten, casein and dairy in a simple stool sample. The lab was also able to do DNA testing for gluten and celiac genes - all for under $400. The bottom line is that both local gastro docs were wrong. Gluten and casein were indeed causing my son's chronic fatigue. And we found out that his father and I each contributed a gene to said sensitivity, putting us in the gluten-sensitive category, as well. We modified our diets to eliminate gluten and casein and my son is once-again vibrant, funny, talkative and alert. As an added bonus, I lost weight and the mild arthritis I had in my hands completely disappeared. I shudder to think what would have happened had I not been a pro-active proponent of our health.
I know you get frustrated with patients questioning doctors' authority, and using the internet for research, and I understand that. There will always be those who simply refuse to take responsibility for their own health, and who want a pill to make the symptoms go away. That's fine. Give them all the pills they want. But DO NOT force me, in a purportedly free country - to have a foreign substance injected into my or my son's body - the safety of which HAS NOT been proven - to "prevent" a disease which is no more serious than the yearly seasonal flu. The internet is a godsend to those of us with the intelligence to discern valuable and useful information, and I am grateful that my physician is receptive to, and not threatened by, my efforts to keep my family healthy.
Vitamin D and Autoimmunity: Is Vitamin D Status an Environmental Factor Affecting Autoimmune Disease Prevalence? -- Cantorna 223 (3): 230 -- Experimental Biology and Medicine
http://www.direct-ms.org/pdf/VitDMS/HayesImmuneReview.pdf
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTEQLSzsOPI"]YouTube - Doctor Admits Swine Flu Vaccine is more Deadly Than Swine Flu Itself, Will Not Give It To His Kids[/ame]
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