The Silent Epidemic: Are You Low on Vitamin D?
Episode Highlights
- How vitamin D acts as a hormone and master gene regulator
- Why nearly half the world is vitamin D deficient—even in sunny places
- The personal story of Dr. Kumar’s grandmother and how deficiency affected her
- How sunlight turns cholesterol into vitamin D through photoconversion
- The historical rise of rickets and how cod liver oil changed medicine
- The clinical difference between osteomalacia and osteoporosis
- Muscle, metabolism, mood, and immunity—all affected by vitamin D
- Optimal blood levels based on ancestral health data
- The Vitamin D Hammer protocol for immune support
- Importance of pairing vitamin D with K2—preview of next episode
Show Notes
In Episode 6, Dr. Kumar unpacks the global epidemic of vitamin D deficiency—why it’s so prevalent, how it silently impacts health, and what to do about it. From personal stories to historical insights and modern clinical research, this episode explores the essential role of vitamin D in regulating genes, fighting inflammation, supporting cognition, improving muscle strength, and even preventing cancer.
Dr. Kumar also shares a powerful home protocol called the “Vitamin D Hammer”—a high-dose immune response strategy that’s helped his family bounce back from viral illnesses. And he explains why vitamin D doesn’t work alone: it needs its partner, vitamin K2—a topic that sets the stage for Episode 7.
References & Resources
- Vitamin D deficiency: A global perspective (PMC9066576)
- Vitamin D and Health (NEJM)
- Vitamin D and fall prevention in the elderly (J Am Geriatr Soc)
- Vitamin D and cardiovascular risk (ScienceDirect)
- Women’s Health Initiative: Calcium and D trial (NEJM)
- RECORD trial: Calcium, vitamin D, and fractures (Lancet)
- Vitamin D and cancer risk (PubMed)
- Vitamin D and autoimmune diseases (PubMed)
- Vitamin D and Type 1 diabetes prevention (JBMR)
- Vitamin D regulation of the immune system (Nature Communications)
- Vitamin D and cognition (PubMed)
- Neurodegeneration and vitamin D (PubMed)
- Vitamin D and mitochondrial health (PubMed)
- Vitamin D and metabolic syndrome (PMC)
- High-dose vitamin D in children (Trials Journal)
- Vitamin D and influenza (PubMed)
- Vitamin D and immune regulation (Frontiers in Immunology)
- Vitamin D and public health nutrition policy (Frontiers in Nutrition)
- Vitamin D comprehensive review (PMC7657391)
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