The Uber Nutrient Worth "Hundreds of Billions"
This ranks as one of the most important public health breakthroughs in decades.
A trickle of solid peer-reviewed evidence that most people are severely vitamin D deficient has turned into a flood. If the new consensus is correct, and I believe it is, increasing your vitamin D level could, for most people, add years of healthy life. It could also save the U.S. economy hundreds of billions annually…
D is not just another nutrient. Putting it simplistically, it is the über-nutrient that affects the way all other nutrients, not just calcium, are utilized. Virtually every cell in the body has a D receptor, even those in the brain. Until recently, however, few asked why. This is a particularly interesting question because there is very little vitamin D actually available in food. Most of our nutritional D, in fact, is added. Historically, the primary source of D, not only for humans, but for many other animals, has been sunshine. We convert the energy found in ultraviolet B in our skin to vitamin D. Obviously, there is something critically important about D if our prehistoric ancestors could manufacture it even during times of famine.
Now we see a compendium of solid peer-reviewed research indicating that many of our most troublesome and expensive diseases are symptoms of vitamin D deficiency. Rickets, apparently, was only the tip of the iceberg. Other diseases on the list of conditions caused or exacerbated by D deficiency include cancers, diabetes, susceptibility to bacterial and viral infections, autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, heart disease, stroke, osteomalacia or age-related bone mass thinning, osteoporosis, depression and even food allergies. Obesity, in fact, is highly correlated with vitamin D deficiency. In many of these conditions, risk factors drop within months, and by as much as 80%.
I know, I know. This is a financial newsletter, but living a longer healthier life is not just an end in itself. It is the most important component of an optimal financial strategy… The nature of exponential growth is simply this: The longer you live, the faster your portfolio grows.
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