February 2, 2014
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today. Six more weeks of winter. But NINE more weeks before we can get ANY Vitamin D from the sun in Iowa. Here the sun is...
January 30, 2014
Tertiary HyperParaThyroidism is becoming common among older individuals. Or maybe we are just beginning to notice what it really is. The blood tests are the same as Primary HyperParaThyroidism – high...
January 23, 2014
Again we have a patient whose Spine BMD has dropped despite good osteoporosis medication. She takes 500 mg Calcium at breakfast and at supper. She remembers that you can only absorb...
January 20, 2014
Secondary HyperParaThyroidism is the result of the ParaThyroid glands doing their job. Their job is to keep the calcium in the blood “just right”. Too often this requires stealing calcium...
January 17, 2014
High ParaThyroid Hormone (PTH) levels take Calcium out of your Bones. This is good as an occasional event to cover short periods of low calcium intake. Bones store calcium for...
December 14, 2013
Recently a patient finished her half hour visit by saying, “so there is nothing you can do for me”. We had discussed Low Bone Mineral Density (BMD) on her DXA;...
October 20, 2013
A patient recently insisted on Vitamin D2 instead of D3. She told me that she always uses plant sources because they are “more natural”. Indeed Vitamin D2 (Ergocalciferol) is more...
October 17, 2013
World Osteoporosis Day recognizes the ravages of osteoporosis on women internationally. Worldwide the risk of Hip Fracture is equal to the risk of Breast Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, and Uterine Cancer...
October 14, 2013
We have “known” for years that 25-hydroxy Vitamin D levels over 50ng/ml are “too high” (hypervitaminosis D) and often cause high Calcium levels (hypercalcemia). The Mayo Clinic designed a...
October 11, 2013
The question whether calcium supplements are good or bad for you, and how much you should take, is very controversial. That is because it is the wrong question. The answer is...