The Vitamin D Cure
by Diane Stafford, James Dowd
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Book Summary Information
Author: Diane Stafford, James DowdEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-01-14
ISBN: 0470131551
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Wiley
Book Reviews of The Vitamin D Cure
Book Review: Skeptical
Summary: 1 Stars
Though I've read the book, I haven't tried the "cure" yet so perhaps I'm not qualified to write a review. But as I read it, particularly the case histories of the people who have been "cured" of depression, aches, brain fuzz, etc I couldn't help feeling I've heard it all before. Because I have, in books about everything from candida to inflammation, which dovetail some of the recommendations here and books that contradict the recommendations here.
Some of the purported health benefits of vitamin D can be supported by research found elsewhere, but the megadoses he recommends are dangerously high unless you are under a doctor's care and have been diagnosed with a deficiency. While he makes that caveat, he still encourages readers to self-diagnose a deficiency based upon a couple of questions and provides sources for the high dose supplements. That concerns me.
The diet plan is just a rehash of the "Paleolithic Diet" (uncredited) which cropped up 20 years ago and is based on the idea that we should eat only what our caveman ancestors ate because they never got degenerative diseases. Then again, they didn't live long enough to.
The author makes some pretty sweeping generalizations, and presents a severely restricted menu plan that nobody is going to be able to stick with for very long without a financial incentive. For example, while a hundred books are now touting the miracle of anti-inflammatory diets that are rich in whole grains, Dr. Dowd puts grains off limits.
In fairness, I can already hear commentators saying "Try it first...it saved my life!" But I find it difficult to swallow diet information from somebody who repeats popular myths like "green tea is rich in Vitamin K." (p. 92 hardcover) True...if you digest the leaves. The amount in a cup of tea is negligible. He also states the best time of day to take vitamin supplements is "in the morning right after you eat." Well maybe, unless you're a woman over about 45 whose stomach acid is pretty low at that time of day due to hormonal changes. All the menopause books out there recommend taking them later in the day.
I do plan to increase my vitamin D supplementation to 1000 IU daily, seeing as how I live far north and would probably benefit by boosting that. If that's not effective, I'll get tested to see if I have a deficiency that needs more supplementation. And I agree it is good to limit high acid foods and/or balance them with alkaline ones. But the rest of it just feels like the usual perfectionist diet for the severely anxious. Make it harsh enough, and people will experience a placebo effect just because they're paying such a high price in terms of self denial. I know for myself from long experience that many of the symptoms he describes are most consistently managed with stress reduction techniques, meditation and exercise. Diet absolutely figures in, but there's no magic bullet. But his recommendations are simply too severe and not sustainable. People will end up feeling like failures when they sneak a piece of cheese, and therefore will feel stressed, get anxious, tighten their muscles, have pain, and 2 years from now will be looking for yet another "cure."
And there will be one. If you hop from one food miracle cure to the next, let me recommend Health Food Junkies: Orthorexia Nervosa - the Health Food Eating Disorder by Steven Bratman and David Knight.
Summary of The Vitamin D Cure
Groundbreaking new research has traced the source of a wide array of to a single common factor-vitamin D deficiency. Leading rheumatologist and researcher Dr. James Dowd reveals the causes of vitamin D deficiency and offers a simple, easy-to-follow five-step program that can eliminate or alleviate a host of seemingly incurable conditions, such as arthritis, in as little as six weeks. Better yet, by staying on the program, you can enjoy robust health and improved fitness for the rest of your life.Vitamins Books
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