Vitamin D, Magic Mushrooms

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by NLN

Terrific articles, Michaelangelica!

Tar
This one really amazed me
(Don't tell the moderators I have posted most of it here)

Eating Radiation: A New Form of Energy?

In a bizarre alternative to photosynthesis, some fungi "eat" radiation--with the role of chlorophyll taken by melanin, a chemical also found in human skin.

By David Ewing Duncan
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Here's a possible solution to both the energy crisis and what to do with highly radioactive waste from nuclear reactors: use the radiation as food.

It sounds like something out of a comic book, although scientists already know that fungi will eat asbestos, jet fuel, and plastic. It has also been shown to decompose hot graphite in the ruins of the Chernobyl power plant, which melted down in 1986. The plant's release of large amounts of radiation appears to have attracted black hordes of fungi. But how does it work?

According to Ekaterina Dadachova and her colleagues at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in New York City, the fungi Cryptococcus neoformans and two other species use melanin, also a pigment found in human skin, to transform radiation into energy to use as food for growth. Researchers believe that melanin is present to protect fungi from stress, such as radiation, and that certain species use this molecule for metabolic reactions.
Dadachova's lab discovered that exposure to radiation caused the melanin in these species to change shape, increasing its ability to impact metabolism and growth. The results appear in Public Library of Science (PLoS).

Dadachova tells me in an e-mail that the most amazing aspect of the finding is that this process is an alternative to photosynthesis, "with melanin playing the role of chlorophyll and ionizing radiation; the role of visible light.
" Melanin converts the energy from the radiation into chemical energy used by the fungi, she says.
"The mechanism of this process needs to be established. It took at least two decades and the work of several research groups to determine the mechanism of photosynthesis."

This suggests that nature itself has produced yet another "alternative energy" scenario that is completely unexpected.

The uses of this discovery could range from a disposal method for nuclear waste to a food source for long space voyages during which fungi could grow using radiation from outer space, although future astronauts may not find fungi very appetizing.
Dadachova suggests that the fungi might be used as a biofuel to be grown in high-altitude regions where radiation is prevalent and nothing else can grow.

Does this mean that one day huge fungi farms on the slopes of the Andes or the Himalayas will provide us with fuel for our cars, along with fungi steaks for astronauts heading to Mars?

One other interesting aspect for humans: using melanin raises the possibility that this chemical also converts radiation from the sun into food for our skin cells, but only in minute amounts.

Citation:
E. Dadachova et al., "Ionizing radiation changes the electronic properties of melanin and enhances the growth of melanized fungi." PLoS ONE. 2007 May 23;2:e457.

Article in News@Nature.com:
Ledford, Heidi, "Hungry fungi chomp on radiation," published online: 23 May 2007

Technology Review: Eating Radiation: A New Form of Energy?

[Michaelangelica]

In utero and in childhood, not getting enough vitamin D can cause growth retardation, skeletal deformities and increase the risk of future hip fractures. In adults, too little vitamin D can lead to or exacerbate osteopenia, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, fractures, common cancers, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases and cardiovascular diseases.

In the July 19 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Michael Holick, director of the General Clinical Research Center at Boston University School of Medicine and director of the Bone Healthcare Clinic at Boston Medical Center, published an overview of his work on vitamin D.

According to Holick, it has been estimated that one billion people in the world are vitamin D deficient or insufficient.
Without vitamin D, only 10 percent to 15 percent of dietary calcium and about 60 percent of phosphorus is absorbed by the body. This can have a direct effect on bone mineral density.

One Billion People Don't Get Enough Vitamin D

D minus. Vitamin D can also be obtained from fortified milk and sunshine—and many kids should be getting more of both. In another new study, reported in the July issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers found that 55 percent of outwardly healthy children and teenagers they tested didn't have enough vitamin D to grow healthy bones. Dark-skinned children were particularly likely to be short of the bone-building vitamin, according to Babette Zemel, an author of the study and director of the Nutrition and Growth Laboratory at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The reason: The melanin that makes their skin dark also blocks ultraviolet rays, which the body uses to make vitamin D. In winter, when the sun was weakest, more than 90 percent of blacks in the study were vitamin D deficient.

The older teenagers tended to have reduced levels of vitamin D even when they drank plenty of milk. That may be because they play outside less than younger kids do, Zemel says. Her advice: Point kids outside, and wait a few minutes before putting on sunblock; 10 minutes of midday summer sun provides 10,000 international units of the vitamin—more than enough for a day. (Like melanin, sunblock prevents the skin from making vitamin D, so a bit of lotion-free exposure is necessary to grab the benefit.)

Children Found Lacking in Vitamin D - US News and World Report

Sweeping cancer edict: take vitamin D daily
Recommendation comes on heels of U.S. study suggesting supplement slashes risk of disease by as much as 60 per cent

MARTIN MITTELSTAEDT

From Friday's Globe and Mail

June 8, 2007 at 12:00 AM EDT

TORONTO — The Canadian Cancer Society plans to announce Friday that all adults should start taking vitamin D, coinciding with the release of a groundbreaking U.S. study indicating the supplement cuts the risk of cancer by an astounding 60 per cent.

The move is believed to be the first time a major public-health organization has endorsed daily use of the sunshine vitamin as a cancer-prevention therapy for an entire population.
. . .
The society says whites should take supplements containing 1,000 international units a day during fall and winter, the six months of the year when sunlight falling on Canada isn't strong enough for skin to fulfill its vitamin D role. Those with dark skin, who don't go outside frequently or wear full body clothing for cultural or religious reasons, such as veiled women, should take 1,000 IU year-round.
. . .
Among the cancers linked to low levels of the vitamin in previous research are those of the breast, rectum, ovary, prostate and pancreas, as well as multiple myeloma.

globeandmail.com: Sweeping cancer edict: take vitamin D daily

So, instead of all this hysteria about taking supliments, what ever happened to the FDA proposal to give mushrooms a burst of sunlight before going to market? This elevates their Vit D levels drastically. (see early posts).
I mean mushrooms used to grow in fields, not caves.

[Michaelangelica]

So what is the optimum exposure?

Incidence Of Melanoma On The Rise

Science Daily — Over the past several decades, the incidence of melanoma – the most serious form of skin cancer – has steadily increased in the United States. From 1995 to 2004, melanoma has increased by more than 1 percent per year in this country – in sharp contrast to overall cancer rates that have steadily decreased by 0.6 percent per year during this time. u

While dermatologists and other public health officials work together to try to reverse this alarming trend, key findings from a successful multi-faceted intervention program designed to increase sun-safe behavior in children could play an important role in decreasing melanoma in future generations.

Speaking recently at the American Academy of Dermatology’s Summer Academy Meeting 2007, dermatologist Martin A. Weinstock, MD, PhD, FAAD, professor of dermatology and community health at Brown University in Providence, R.I., and chief dermatologist at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Providence, presented a summary of recently published research on the rising incidence of melanoma and trends in sun exposure.

“While the increase in melanoma rates from 1995 to 2004 was not specific to one age group, we did notice an increase in the youngest age group (from ages 15 to 30) and in the age 60 and older age group,” said Dr. Weinstock. “The possible reasons for this increase in younger and older Americans are not documented, but one possible explanation could be more exposure to UV radiation – which we know is the most preventable risk factor for melanoma.”

Lots more at
ScienceDaily: Incidence Of Melanoma On The Rise

[Michaelangelica]

Cracking the D-Vitamin Code
Because of growing evidence about the benefits of vitamin D—for bone health, muscle function, and possibly even prevention of some cancers and other illnesses—many Americans are trying to consume more D and thus are turning to supplements.
Recently, several readers have asked what they should look for in D supplements. Here’s what you need to know . . . On supplement bottles, look for D3 (also called cholecalciferol) on the ingredients list or in the “Supplement Facts” panel

Table of Contents : August 2007
Same site, yet they don't make the connection.

Make Room for Mushrooms
Although mushrooms are fungi—neither plant nor animal—they are usually regarded as vegetables and count toward your nine-a-day fruit-and-vegetable goal. The most common ones are button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus), but specialty mushrooms—chanterelles, enoki, maitake, oyster, and shiitake, for example—are increasingly available and affordable, thanks to year-round indoor cultivation. The best reason to eat mushrooms is for their flavor, which becomes especially savory when they are cooked. Called umami, and considered the “fifth taste,” the flavor comes from glutamic acid, a natural version of the flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG). But mushrooms are also an overlooked source of nutrients.

[Michaelangelica]

Vitamin D Supplements Appear To Be Associated With Lower Risk Of Death

Science Daily — Individuals who take vitamin D supplements appear to have a lower risk of death from any cause over an average follow-up time of six-years, according to a meta-analysis of 18 previously published studies in the September 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

ScienceDaily: Vitamin D Supplements Appear To Be Associated With Lower Risk Of Death

If vitamin D3 levels among populations worldwide were increased, 600,000 cases of breast and colorectal cancers could be prevented each year, according to researchers from the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD).

This includes nearly 150,000 cases of cancer that could be prevented in the United States alone.

The researchers estimate that 250,000 cases of colorectal cancer and 350,000 cases of breast cancer could be prevented worldwide by increasing intake of vitamin D3, particularly in countries north of the equator.

The study examines the dose-response relationship between vitamin D and cancer, and is the first to use satellite measurements of sun and cloud cover in countries where blood serum levels of vitamin D3 were also taken.

Lack of Sunshine Causes One Million Deaths a Year - Articles
In Australia this week a beautifual young 26 YO girl died from skin cancer it seems after using too much solarium time. She already had a partially bronzed Asian skin. She asked young girls to please forget the tan and look after their skin.

Melanoma victim warns of solarium risks

By Heather Ewart

Posted Wed Aug 22, 2007 9:45am AEST
(The 7.30 Report)

* Video: The dangers of a deadly tan (7.30 Report)
* Video: Extended interview with Clare Oliver (7.30 Report)
* Video: Extended interview with Craig Sinclair (7.30 Report)
* Map: Melbourne 3000

The battle waged by health experts to convince young people in particular about the dangers of tanning appears to be a losing one.

According to Melbourne's Peter MacCallum Hospital, melanoma is the most common form of cancer in the 15 to 30 age group and increasingly it is being linked in part to a veritable explosion in the number of outlets being opened by the unregulated solarium industry.

Melanoma victim warns of solarium risks - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

The dangers of a deadly tan

Print

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Broadcast: 21/08/2007

Reporter: Heather Ewart

The battle waged by health experts to convince young people in particular about the dangers of tanning appears to be a losing one. Clare Oliver, a young woman whose most precious wish is to live long enough to see her 26th birthday next weekend, offers heartfelt advice on the dangers of a deadly tan.


Cancer Council Australia: Cancer Council Australia

Emily's Foundation: Emily Tapp Melanoma Foundation Inc.

The 7.30 Report - ABC

Solarium skin cancer victim Clare Oliver, 26, dies
Article from: The Sunday Times


September 13, 2007 08:00am

CANCER victim Clare Oliver has died in hospital from melanoma after spending her last days campaigning against the unregulated use of tanning salons.
Ms Oliver, who turned 26 late last month, had campaigned in her final days to raise awareness of the dangers of tanning salons.

Ms Oliver who died of aggressive melanoma, captured Victorian hearts when she spoke out against tanning and solariums.

Her plight sparked the government to action with Health Minister Daniel Andrews promising to frame legislation to ensure that tanning salons adhered to age limits for clients and insisted on parental consent forms from customers aged between 16 and 18.

Solarium skin cancer victim Clare Oliver, 26, dies | PerthNow

So how much sun is a good thing?

[Michaelangelica]

OCKHAM'S RAZOR - Vitamin D
Sunday 25 November, 8.45am RN
Endocrinologist Dr Jenny Gunton is concerned that 1 in 10 normal healthy people are unaware that they have a Vitamin D deficiency - mainly because they work indoors and use sunscreen when outdoors, effectively blocking their production of this vitamin. She is also investigating a possible link between low Vitamin D levels and diabetes.

Ockham's Razor

[Michaelangelica]

Is Vitamin D the "Nutrient of the Decade?"


Vitamin D, also known as the “sunshine vitamin,” has been associated with so many health benefits that it may become the “nutrient of the decade.”

While federal officials have resisted increasing the daily recommended level of vitamin D out of fears of overdose toxicity, increasing evidence suggests that the currently recommended intake levels are not adequate to prevent the serious diseases linked to low vitamin D levels.

Vitamin D has been found to;

Strengthen bones
Reduce tumor growth
Lower your risk of cancer
Reduce your risk of multiple sclerosis
Lower your risk of diabetes
Through most of human history, sunlight was the primary source of vitamin D. Based on how much time you spend in the sun, you may also need additional sources, such as from foods (vitamin D is found in oily fish like salmon, mackerel, bluefish, catfish, sardines and tuna) or vitamin D3 supplements.

Researchers like Bruce W. Hollis believe that the current top recommended daily level of 2,000 I.U. for vitamin D is far too low. Dr. Hollis has been giving pregnant women 4,000 I.U. a day, and nursing women 6,000, with no adverse effects.
Sources:
New York Times February 19, 2008

Is Vitamin D the "Nutrient of the Decade?" - Articles

Dr. Mercola's Comments:
If you live in the United States in an area where, in the winter, you are regularly digging out from snow, unable to go outside without a heavy sweater or coat, or find yourself looking up at yet another gray, cloudy sky, your vitamin D levels are probably too low.
. . . (same link above)

[Michaelangelica]

The Mushroom Master: An Interview with George Vaughan (Part 1)
The Mushroom Master: An Interview with George Vaughan (Part 2)
The Mushroom Master: An Interview with George Vaughan (Part 1)
The Mushroom Master: An Interview with George Vaughan (Part 2)

[Ahmabeliever]

How very interesting. The title made me laugh, especially as you'd started the medical MJ thread too. I'm thinking, good grief, he's calling MM's medicine I gotta see this.

It seems nature provides again - less sun and the fungi arrive.

I wonder what animals get vitamin D from when it snows?

I wonder what the vitamin D content of mycelium (mushroom root mat) is under the ground when mushrooms are fruiting and recieving sun. And if the mycorrhizal fungi in the root mat deliver excess vitamin D to plants when fungi fruit as well.

This may happen, keeping plants with adequate vitamin D until it gets too cold then the fungi rot and the nutrition taken into the soil by bacteria and other organisms for winters store of vitamin D... At a quantum stretch....

Natural is always better than synthetic. I'll be freezing field mushrooms this Autumn with this knowledge (knowledge being Michael's posts not my theorising...), thanks Michael.

Sun, then field mushrooms, then frozen, the diet plan.

I see you read Dr Mercola, he's very good.

[Ahmabeliever]

I'd eat fish but I don't eat any fish over sardine size anymore. Toxins get passed up the food chain if you're eating large predatory fish (ie tuna) their toxicity level will be many times higher than the same weight of smaller fish. The toxins of what they eat are accumulated in the fish.

That's why I'm into aquaponics, well, one reason, mercury free omega 3, and vitamin D it seems.