Maybe next up should be a conversation with a pediatrician and/or a child psychiatrist to discuss prescribing SSRIs to young children. A co-worker of mine has a 7 year old with mild behavioral issues. The issues are only with the mother and do not interfere with school or sports or even other family members. There is no history of anxiety or depression. There are no symptoms indicting OCD and there is no major trauma that would lead one to suspect PTSD. Seems like an excellent case for cognitive therapy or something similar for both child and mother. Instead they prescribed Zoloft. I did a cursory literature search and it does not seem to be indicated in this situation. There don't seem to be many good long term studies on the effects of SSRIs on children as they grow.
However, as we all know, drugs are frequently prescribed outside their approved uses. I am in a different field and don't know how common it is to prescribe SSRIs to this patient population. I would be very curious to hear an interview that discusses how common it is, whether it works better than therapy alone, and what the long term effects are of starting an SSRI in a population this young. To that matter, it might be interesting to hear about the different types of therapy (if any) that are shown to be effecting at managing common behavioral issues in small children.
Thanks for this information about SSRIs. The recommendation for "considering" taking a multivitamin tablet in pregnancy is inadequate.
Low maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D in pregnancy increases the risk of pre-term birth, preeclampsia, autism, intellectual disability and other neurodevelopment disorders such as schizophrenia and ADHD. https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/#3.2
50 ng/mL 125 nmol/L circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (made in the liver from ingested or ultraviolet-B -> skin produced vitamin D3 cholecalciferol) is needed for proper immune function. This is 2.5 times the level the kidneys need to regulate calcium-phosphate-bone metabolism, but few doctors or immunologists know this or understand that many types of immune cell require a good supply of 25-hydroxyvitamin D as an input to its intracrine (inside each cell) and paracrine (to nearby cells) signaling systems. These play a crucial role in each cell's ability to respond to its changing circumstances. Neither vitamin D3 nor 25-hydroxyvitamin D are hormones. These are not signaling molecules. The immune system does not use hormonal signaling.
There is very little vitamin D3 in food, fortified or not, or multivitamins. UV-B exposure of ideally white skin can produce plenty of it, but this is impossible for most people to obtain naturally in sufficient quantities throughout the year, and it always damages DNA and so raises the risk of skin cancer. People with black or brown skin would need to be living near the equator without much in the way of clothing or modern housing to get enough vitamin D - and monsoon disrupts that as well.
The only reliable solution is supplementation. The quantities required are small but greater than the very small official recommended intakes which many doctors follow, such as 0.02 mg (800 IU) a day for adults in the USA. New Jersey based Emeritus Professor of Medicine Sunil Wimalawansa has body-weight ratio based recommendations for average vitamin D daily intake to attain, safely, without the need for blood tests or medical monitoring, at least the 50 ng/mL 125 nmol/L the immune system needs to function properly. For those not suffering from obesity, 70 to 90 IU/day per kilogram body weight will attain this. He recommends higher ratios for people suffering from obesity. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/14/2997https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/#00-how-much
For average weight (70 kg 154 lb, and so non-obese) adults this is 4900 to 6300 IU per day, on average. 5000 IU a day sounds like a lot, but it is a 0.125 mg, amounting to a gram every 22 years. Ex-factory, pharma grade vitamin D3 costs about USD$2.50 a gram.
Most people who do not properly supplement vitamin D and who have not had recent extensive UV-B exposure of white skin have only half or or less of the 50 ng/mL 125 nmol/L circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D their immune systems need. So their immune systems never function properly. This enables SARS-CoV-2 and influenza to be transmitted in pandemic or seasonal (winter and spring) epidemic fashion and greatly increases the risk of serious harm and death.
All this should be well known by everyone, but too many people - especially doctors - think "Its too simple. How could it be true?". They should read the research.
This was long so I skipped around a bit and may have missed it, but were anti-anxiety drugs ever mentioned or just SSRI’s? I have two nieces who have taken xanax for years. One did deliver her daughter preterm and now at age 9 she can barely read. Makes me wonder. Just curious what that would do to a developing brain?
Mike this study did not include Vit K2 with the D. It’s recommended to take the two together so the D goes to the bones/teeth and not soft tissues. Supplementation of calcium could also be more of the problem. The docs I trust say to get your calcium through dietary sources.
The other niece is due to deliver her first in February. She’s had at least the first two Covid shots 2 yrs ago, not sure about boosters. And ironically enough is on her 2nd or 3rd round of having Covid. That poor baby!
Thank you so much Rav for the interview with Dr. Adam Urato. Very useful. SSRIs can also cause spinal injuries and liver damage as well as a host of other problems. XO
Maybe next up should be a conversation with a pediatrician and/or a child psychiatrist to discuss prescribing SSRIs to young children. A co-worker of mine has a 7 year old with mild behavioral issues. The issues are only with the mother and do not interfere with school or sports or even other family members. There is no history of anxiety or depression. There are no symptoms indicting OCD and there is no major trauma that would lead one to suspect PTSD. Seems like an excellent case for cognitive therapy or something similar for both child and mother. Instead they prescribed Zoloft. I did a cursory literature search and it does not seem to be indicated in this situation. There don't seem to be many good long term studies on the effects of SSRIs on children as they grow.
However, as we all know, drugs are frequently prescribed outside their approved uses. I am in a different field and don't know how common it is to prescribe SSRIs to this patient population. I would be very curious to hear an interview that discusses how common it is, whether it works better than therapy alone, and what the long term effects are of starting an SSRI in a population this young. To that matter, it might be interesting to hear about the different types of therapy (if any) that are shown to be effecting at managing common behavioral issues in small children.
Thanks for this information about SSRIs. The recommendation for "considering" taking a multivitamin tablet in pregnancy is inadequate.
Low maternal 25-hydroxyvitamin D in pregnancy increases the risk of pre-term birth, preeclampsia, autism, intellectual disability and other neurodevelopment disorders such as schizophrenia and ADHD. https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/#3.2
50 ng/mL 125 nmol/L circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (made in the liver from ingested or ultraviolet-B -> skin produced vitamin D3 cholecalciferol) is needed for proper immune function. This is 2.5 times the level the kidneys need to regulate calcium-phosphate-bone metabolism, but few doctors or immunologists know this or understand that many types of immune cell require a good supply of 25-hydroxyvitamin D as an input to its intracrine (inside each cell) and paracrine (to nearby cells) signaling systems. These play a crucial role in each cell's ability to respond to its changing circumstances. Neither vitamin D3 nor 25-hydroxyvitamin D are hormones. These are not signaling molecules. The immune system does not use hormonal signaling.
Please see the research cited and discussed at: https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/ .
There is very little vitamin D3 in food, fortified or not, or multivitamins. UV-B exposure of ideally white skin can produce plenty of it, but this is impossible for most people to obtain naturally in sufficient quantities throughout the year, and it always damages DNA and so raises the risk of skin cancer. People with black or brown skin would need to be living near the equator without much in the way of clothing or modern housing to get enough vitamin D - and monsoon disrupts that as well.
The only reliable solution is supplementation. The quantities required are small but greater than the very small official recommended intakes which many doctors follow, such as 0.02 mg (800 IU) a day for adults in the USA. New Jersey based Emeritus Professor of Medicine Sunil Wimalawansa has body-weight ratio based recommendations for average vitamin D daily intake to attain, safely, without the need for blood tests or medical monitoring, at least the 50 ng/mL 125 nmol/L the immune system needs to function properly. For those not suffering from obesity, 70 to 90 IU/day per kilogram body weight will attain this. He recommends higher ratios for people suffering from obesity. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/14/2997 https://vitamindstopscovid.info/00-evi/#00-how-much
For average weight (70 kg 154 lb, and so non-obese) adults this is 4900 to 6300 IU per day, on average. 5000 IU a day sounds like a lot, but it is a 0.125 mg, amounting to a gram every 22 years. Ex-factory, pharma grade vitamin D3 costs about USD$2.50 a gram.
Most people who do not properly supplement vitamin D and who have not had recent extensive UV-B exposure of white skin have only half or or less of the 50 ng/mL 125 nmol/L circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D their immune systems need. So their immune systems never function properly. This enables SARS-CoV-2 and influenza to be transmitted in pandemic or seasonal (winter and spring) epidemic fashion and greatly increases the risk of serious harm and death.
All this should be well known by everyone, but too many people - especially doctors - think "Its too simple. How could it be true?". They should read the research.
This was long so I skipped around a bit and may have missed it, but were anti-anxiety drugs ever mentioned or just SSRI’s? I have two nieces who have taken xanax for years. One did deliver her daughter preterm and now at age 9 she can barely read. Makes me wonder. Just curious what that would do to a developing brain?
One warning about excessive Vitamin D intake, Rav:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2516961/
Mike this study did not include Vit K2 with the D. It’s recommended to take the two together so the D goes to the bones/teeth and not soft tissues. Supplementation of calcium could also be more of the problem. The docs I trust say to get your calcium through dietary sources.
Thanks.
The other niece is due to deliver her first in February. She’s had at least the first two Covid shots 2 yrs ago, not sure about boosters. And ironically enough is on her 2nd or 3rd round of having Covid. That poor baby!
Oh my.
Great work, Rav! (I saw you on "The Hill Rising" and just started following you.)
Thank you so much Rav for the interview with Dr. Adam Urato. Very useful. SSRIs can also cause spinal injuries and liver damage as well as a host of other problems. XO