Dr. Matthews has been influencing many groups to increase Vitamin D
High Schools, Army, ICU, FDA, UN, Blacks in Congress, etc.
- Surgeon on a mission to promote vitamin D - Dec 2012
- UN invited Dr. Matthews to speak about Vitamin D in both Sept and Oct 2018
- Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (Wash D.C) invited Dr. Matthews to speak to them on Vitamin D – Sept 2018
- FDA decided to double vitamin D in milk after talking 4 times with by Dr. Matthews – July 2016
- Vitamin D Helps Atlanta High School Athletes - Feb 2012
- Hospital ICU added high dose vitamin D - malpractice lawsuit costs dropped from 26 million dollars to ZERO - Oct 2016
- Vitamin D and Glutamine resulted in 2.6X reduction in trauma center mortality rate – Dec 2014
- Fastest US High School sprinters are both at the school taking lots of vitamin D (Matthews) May 2016
- US Army learning about benefits of vitamin D to trauma – Matthews Dec 2013
Update by Dr. Matthews - Sept 2018
In 2012, I told military generals that vitamin D deficiency (the most common nutritional deficiency in the world) is a national security threat, readiness issue, associated with rising military healthcare costs (Tricare), and the loss of very talented soldiers from stress fractures. In 2012, stress fractures in basic and advanced military training cost the Department of Defense (DOD) over $100 million and rising every year. I also coined the term, “super soldier” which is a soldier that can handle more stress during training and combat with fewer injuries, faster recovery from injuries, and better cognitive performance under stress.
The military convinced the government to start a “free lunch program’ in the early 1940’s during World War II because most American teenagers were malnourished and this diminished military readiness. History is repeating itself. Hopefully, the rest of the country and the world will follow the military’s lead once again, and address the most common nutritional deficiency in the world. You simply can not have optimal health with the majority of soldiers and U.S. citizens having low vitamin D levels. I humbly thank the military leaders/generals for simply listening and addressing this worldwide epidemic.
Natick’s Performance Readiness Bar Sept 2018
- “Data is being collected and analyzed from 4,000 recruits who consume the PRB in order to determine exactly how such a supplement affects their performance during Basic Combat Training and into the first four years of their service.”
- “The Air Force is also conducting a similar study, with Special Warfare candidates offered nutritional supplements.”
See also VitaminDWiki
- Stress fractures in basic training associated with 2.5 ng less vitamin D – meta-analysis Nov 2014
- Stress fractures – 83 percent had less than 40 ng of vitamin D – Sept 2015
Fortification with Vitamin D
Fortification works, even if food is cooked, but govts rarely fortifiy with enough
Govts, food producers, and families can fortify:
milk, yogurt, beer, bread, cereals, cooking oil, soups, jams, jellys, honey, snack bars, etc.
Some interesting fortification articles
- Biofortification with Vitamin D - several studies
- Vitamin D fortification in Europe preventing 27,000 Cancer deaths, could prevent 129,000 – May 2022
- Vitamin D fortification could eliminate 1 in 10 Cancer deaths in the EU – May 2022
- After years of adding vitamin D, Finland now has 38 ng levels - March 2022
- Fortification with Vitamin D works – 16 studies of Danish experience – July 2021
- Vitamin D fortification of beverages – Review March 2022
- Bread fortified with Vitamin D - many studies 13+ studies
- International Conference of Vitamin D Fortification of Food (India) – Sept 2018
- 2400 IU of vitamin D needed to get most Northern adults above 20 ng – June 2020
- Vitamin D home fortification- don't wait 100 years for your govt
Military
- Increased stress fractures during military training if low vitamin D (now in UK as well as US) – Jan 2016
- Stress fractures in 1 in 5 women during Army basic training – April 2018
- Huge increase in Vitamin D supplementation in the US military (2005-13) – Oct 2016
- No military trainee consumed Vitamin D RDA (most were also low in Magnesium) – July 2018
- Increased Bone strength during military training – with just 800 IU of vitamin D and Calcium – RCT April 2014
- Military and Vitamin D - many studies has many studies
and has the following chart of Vitamin D levels during training
Overview Sports and vitamin D has the following summary
Athletes are helped by vitamin D by:
- Faster reaction time
- Far fewer colds/flus during the winter
- Less sore/tired after a workout
- Fewer micro-cracks and broken bones
- Bones which do break heal much more quickly
- Increased VO2 and exercise endurance Feb 2011
- Indoor athletes especially need vitamin D
- Professional indoor athletes are starting to take vitamin D and/or use UV beds
- Olympic athletes have used UV/vitamin D since the 1930's
- The biggest gain from the use of vitamin D is by those who exercise less than 2 hours per day.
- Reduced muscle fatigue with 10,000 IU vitamin D daily
- Muscle strength improved when vitamin D added: 3 Meta-analysis
- Reduced Concussions
See also: Sports and Vitamin D category279 items
1,000 Vitamin D + Calcium snack bar helped military training in summer a bit - RCT March 2019
Comment by VitaminDWiki: 1,000 IU is a very small amount
Calcium and vitamin D supplementation and bone health in Marine recruits: Effect of season.
Bone. 2019 Mar 19. pii: S8756-3282(19)30097-3. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2019.03.021
Gaffney-Stomberg E1, Nakayama AT2, Guerriere KI3, Lutz LJ4, Walker LA3, Staab JS3, Scott JM5, Gasier HG5, McClung JP4.
1 Military Performance Division, United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA 01760, United States of America. Electronic address: erin.g.stomberg.civ at mail.mil.
2 Military Performance Division, United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA 01760, United States of America; Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oakridge, TN 37830, United States of America.
3 Military Performance Division, United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA 01760, United States of America.
4 Military Nutrition Division, United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA 01760, United States of America.
5 Department of Military and Emergency Medicine, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, United States of America.Stress fractures are common overuse injuries caused by repetitive bone loading. These fractures are of particular concern for military recruits and athletes resulting in attrition in up to 60% of recruits that sustain a fracture. Army and Navy recruits supplemented with daily calcium and vitamin D (Ca + D) demonstrated improved bone strength and reduced stress fractures. The aim of the current study was to evaluate whether Ca + D supplementation improves measures of bone health in recruits undergoing United States Marine Corps initial military training (IMT), and whether the effect of supplementation on indices of bone health varied by season.
One-hundred ninety-seven Marine recruits (n = 107 males, n = 90 females, mean age = 18.9 ± 1.6 y) were randomized to receive either Ca + D fortified snack bars (2000 mg Ca and 1000 IU vitamin D per day) or placebo divided into twice daily doses during 12 weeks of IMT. Anthropometrics, fasted blood samples, and peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) scans of the tibial metaphysis and diaphysis were collected upon entrance to- and post-training (12 weeks later). Half of the volunteers entered training in July and the other half started in February. Time-by-group interactions were observed for vitamin D status (25OHD) and the bone turnover markers, BAP, TRAP and OCN. 25OHD increased and BAP, TRAP and OCN all decreased in the Ca + D group (p < .05). Training increased distal tibia volumetric BMD (+1.9 ± 2.8%), BMC (+2.0 ± 3.1%), and bone strength index (BSI; +4.0 ± 4.0%) and diaphyseal BMC (+1.0 ± 2.2%) and polar stress strain index (SSIp; +0.7 ± 2.1%) independent of Ca + D supplementation (p < .05 for all). When analyzed by season, change in BSI was 67% greater in the Ca + D group as compared to placebo in the summer iteration only (T*G; p < .05). When categorized by tertile of percent change in BSI, recruits demonstrating the greatest changes in BSI and 25OHD entered training with the lowest levels of 25OHD (p < .05). Taken together, these data suggest that Ca + D supplementation reduced indices of bone turnover and the decline in 25OHD over training in volunteers that started training in the summer was prevented by supplementation. Baseline 25OHD and trajectory may be important for optimizing skeletal health during IMT.
1000 IU Vitamin D appears to have less benefit than summer vs winter military training much - RCT May 2019
Effects of vitamin D supplementation on salivary immune responses during Marine Corps basic training.
Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2019 May 16. doi: 10.1111/sms.13467
Scott JM1, Kazman JB1,2, Palmer J1,2, McClung JP3, Gaffney-Stomberg E4, Gasier HG1.
1 Consortium for Health and Military Performance, Department of Military and Emergency Medicine, F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD.
2 Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine.
3 Military Nutrition Division, Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, United States, Natick, MA.
4 Military Performance Division, Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, United States, Natick, MA.Vitamin D's role in regulating immune responses may increase during periods of elevated psychological and physiological stress. Due to the high demands placed on US Marine Corps recruits undergoing 12 weeks of basic military training, we hypothesized that vitamin status would be related to markers of innate mucosal immunity, and daily vitamin D supplementation would augment immune responses during training. Males (n = 75) and females (n = 74) entering recruit basic training during the summer and winter volunteered to participate in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Subjects received either 1000 IU vitamin D3 + 2000 mg calcium·d-1 (n = 73) or placebo (n = 76) for 12-weeks. Saliva samples were collected pre-, during (weeks 4 and 8), and post-training (week 12) for measurement of salivary SIgA and cathelicidin (indices of mucosal immunity) and stress (α-amylase). Initial (baseline) and post-training serum 25(OH)D levels were assessed. Results were as follows: Serum 25(OH)D levels were 37% higher in recruits entering training in summer compared to winter. A positive relationship was observed between baseline 25(OH)D levels and SIgA-secretion rates (-SR). When stress levels were high during summer training, baseline 25(OH)D levels contributed to an increase in SIgA-SR and cathelicidin-SR, the latter only in males. Vitamin D supplementation contributed to the changes in SIgA-SR and cathelicidin-SR, specifically SIgA-SR was higher in the treatment group. These data highlight the importance of vitamin D and mucosal immune responses during arduous basic military training when stress levels are increased.
Short URL = https://is.gd/MilitaryDArmy Training trying performance readiness bars with 1400 IU of Vitamin D (Dr. Matthews) – Sept 201816221 visitors, last modified 12 Oct, 2019, This page is in the following categories (# of items in each category)