Dr John Cannell  interview notes by Henry Lahore Dec 2009
Dr. Cannell started the Vitamin D Council in 2002
Vitamin D is a steroid hormone pre-cursor {Should we be calling it Hormone D?}
1,000 genes are directly controlled by vitamin D (via "vitamin D Receptor" = VDR)
People are now using sun screens and even cosmetics which are worn all of the time which stop vitamin D, cosmetic industry has been successful.
If the shadow is longer than you are, then you are not making ANY vitamin D.
Vitamin D winter – at high latitudes Cannell believes that you can get NO vitamin D in the winter.
Winter is about 4 month long in Southern Canada. You can tan then, but not get vitamin D.
Aha experience which changed life for Dr. Cannell. People naturally make 10,000IUs – 20,000IUs in 30 minutes in the sun on the beach – doubt that nature is wrong.
Big discrepancy with the 400 IUs specified by the government.
Vit D promotes differentiation of cells and influences cell death.
He asks a question: Should you wait while you are vitamin D deficient for the 10-20 years when the studies are done?
He feels that there is little risk to end the deficiency now.
20% of physicians order the wrong vit D blood test. The right one = 1 25… the wrong one is 1 25 …
OK to take 5,000 IUs per day for 6 months and see.
There are a few, extremely rare, diseases for which adding vitamin D is contra-indicated. (primary hypothyrothroidism (sp?) is one)
The higher the vitamin D level the less likely to get cold of flu. He described studies which have shown the mechanism.
If 50ng/ml is the correct amount, then it will change a lot of medical studies. At 50 ng/ml 97% of US is vitamin D deficient.
Since, for example , we only know the rate of heart disease with 50year old men who are vitamin D deficient.
( Note by Henry: In many cultures with extreme longevity people work out of doors all of their lives,
    typically on farms, getting lots of vitamin D, have been found to have virtually no heart disease. See, for example, Healthy at 100 by Robbins)
Co-factors to consider adding to vitamin D3 are: Boron, Magnesium, Zinc, and Vitamin K (prevents calcification of those areas of the body which do not need it and promotes calcification in areas which do need it. Best to have vitamin K2, but body can create K2 from K1 in green leafy vegetables.). Many Americans are deficient in these co-factors.
D2 is a different substance than D3. Not made naturally. D2 is the only vitamin D which doctors can prescribe.
The first and most well known function of vitamin D is Calcium regulation.
The body makes this use of vitamin D the highest priority, and if you are deficient the body will not use vitamin D for any other functions.

Some vitamin D is washed off of the skin. Did not state how much.
Dr. Cannell wonders what the significance was of starting to use soap which removes the skin oil which has the vitamin D.
Dr. Cannell is not a believer in the cholesterol theory of heart disease.
Several studies show that Statins function by increasing the levels of vitamin D, so he asks why not skip the Statins and just take the vitamin D.
There were 5 drugs which were used to lower cholesterol before Statins, but none reduced heart attacks.
Talked about Autism and vitamin D. He had written a paper on it a few years ago, and it has been supported by others since then. Infants have an OK level of vitamin D until about 18 months when they are taken off of formula/milk and given fruit juice, which has no vitamin D. It is about this same time that Autism starts up. Then, lacking vitamin D, the infants have little ability to deal with toxins – such as mercury, lead, etc.
Dose: At about 40ng/ml about half of the people do not store vitamin D. He believes that the lack of storage is a good indication that 40 ng/ml is not enough. By 50ng/ml 90% of the people store vitamin D. {Note the chart in the main vitamin D web page which shows that the levels in the blood stream spike then return to that kind of level after a few months.}
Dr. Cannell also discussed the problems toxic levels of vitamin A now in cod liver oil. A fraction of Americans have sub-clinical toxicity for vitamin A, but he knows of no report of Americans have toxic levels of vitamin D.
– End